Authorities and people patrol to remove cases of setting traps to hunt wild animals.

Preserving forests, creating livelihoods

The forests in the north of Hue city are mostly in Phong Dien and Phong Thai wards with an area of over 53,600 hectares. These forests are not only the “green lungs” that help regulate the climate, but also a source of livelihood and a “shield of armor” to protect against natural disasters for the local people.

From 2011 to present, implementing the policy of allocating forests to the community for management, the old Phong Dien town (now Phong Dien, Phong Thai, Phong Dinh, Phong Phu wards and part of Phong Quang ward) has effectively implemented many policies and projects such as Project 430 of the People's Committee of the old province (now the city) for the period 2010 - 2014 on land allocation and forest leasing approved on March 2, 2010; Decree No. 75/2015/ND-CP of the Government dated September 9, 2015 on mechanisms and policies for forest protection and development, associated with the policy of rapid and sustainable poverty reduction... for the period 2015 - 2020 and the policy of payment for forest environmental services (DVMTR). Up to now, in this area, more than 3,900 hectares of forest have been allocated to 13 communities and groups of households in Phong Thai and Phong Dien wards. Among them, communities such as Tan My, Ha Long, Khe Tran, Tan Lap... (Phong Dien ward); Son Qua (Phong Thai ward)... are bright spots in the management and protection of natural forests.

Mr. Dang Van Nong, Tan My village, Phong My commune (now Phong Dien ward) and more than 200 other local households have been contracted to protect more than 540 hectares of natural forest since 2011. Notably, from 2014 to present, the village has received an average of more than 250 million VND per year from DVMTR. Since then, Tan My people have considered the forest as their home garden, working together to protect, regenerate, and replant... Every year, villagers meet to discuss and evaluate the quality of the forest; at the same time, set out goals and plans for effective forest management and protection.

“Since being assigned the forest, we have changed our thinking, working together to protect the forest to help push back illegal logging as well as reduce the number of annual forest fires and create new livelihoods,” said Mr. Nong.

Tan My TDP community (Phong Dien ward) surveyed the forest area assigned for management.

Linking rights with responsibilities

In addition to the forest allocation policy, Phong Dien and Phong Thai wards... also implemented Directive No. 65/2015/CT-UBND dated December 4, 2015 on strengthening forest and forestry land management measures in the city to strengthen forest and forestry land management. The local forestry sector has advised the People's Committees of the wards to establish interdisciplinary working groups, issue annual plans, and direct areas and residential areas to organize people to declare the forest land they are using, as a basis for inspection and handling of acts of encroachment on forest resources. Since then, the situation of deforestation and encroachment on forestry land in the area has tended to decrease significantly. In the period of 2016 - 2018, there were only 3 cases of illegal deforestation with a total damaged area of 1.54 hectares. Regarding forest land encroachment, in 2019, 5 cases were recorded in Phong My commune (now Phong Dien ward) with an area of more than 21 hectares, but all were detected and handled promptly.

From 2017 to present, Phong Dien and Phong Thai wards have inspected and reviewed more than 183 hectares of forest land currently used by local people, mainly land transferred by Phong Dien Forestry Company and Song Bo Protective Forest Management Board. In Phong Dien ward alone, there are more than 116 hectares of land declared by local people to be in use, showing that the need to legalize land use is very large.

During the process, the wards coordinated with forest owners such as the Phong Dien Nature Reserve Management Board and the Bac Song Huong Protective Forest Management Board to implement contracts for buffer zone protection. Accordingly, the communities received an additional 400,000 VND/ha/year from the forest protection contract source; at the same time, they were supported with 50 million VND/year to invest in welfare works, such as concrete roads, water tanks, community houses, etc.

The community forest management model in the northern gateway area of Hue City is proving its sustainable effectiveness when combining economic benefits, legal responsibilities and awareness of environmental protection. Communities are not only paid about 500 thousand VND/ha/year from the Forest Environmental Services and 205 thousand VND/ha/year from the greenhouse gas emission reduction payment program (ERPA), but also benefit from livelihood support and production development expansion.

In fact, in communities such as Tan My, Ha Long, Tan Lap (Phong Dien ward), illegal logging has almost stopped. After being assigned, forests are regularly patrolled; a methodical forest protection plan is developed. In particular, the Tan My community has also established a forest monitoring network based on villagers, thereby detecting encroachment early.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Thao, Deputy Head of the Forest Protection Department in the northern part of the city, said that currently, Phong Dien and Phong Thai wards have a forest coverage of more than 57%. This area can be considered to hold one of the "green treasures" of Hue City. Forests are not only resources, but also a decisive factor for sustainable development in the locality. Therefore, protecting, preserving and developing forests is a continuous task that the government, functional departments and people here are carrying out with the highest spirit and responsibility.


Article and photos: SONG MINH

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/kinh-te/giu-la-phoi-xanh-o-cua-ngo-phia-bac-thanh-pho-156126.html