Forest development using native tree species

Ethnic minorities in Do-Ta Vong village take care of green lim trees in the forest garden - Photo: PP

In 2010, the Phong Nha - Ke Bang Regional Project implemented afforestation using native tree species (lim, tram) in the buffer zone communes of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park. Ms. Ho Thi Thoi, a Bru-Van Kieu ethnic group, in La Trong village, Dan Hoa commune, was one of the first households to receive land to plant forests for the project.

Up to now, thanks to persistent care, the nearly 3-hectare ironwood and tram forest of Mrs. Thoi's family has grown well with hundreds of straight ironwood and tram trees, over 10 meters high, with closed canopies like a primeval forest.

Not only Mrs. Thoi, in recent years, many other ethnic minority households in Dan Hoa commune such as: Ho Thi Bang, Ho Thi Bun, Ho Thi Nam, Ho Xuan, Ho Khien... have chosen native tree varieties to plant forests instead of planting acacia and cajuput varieties like before.

In 2021, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of the former Quang Binh province supported La Trong village and Do-Ta Vong village to plant nearly 5 hectares of Do trees. Currently, the Do trees are being actively cared for and growing well by the people.

Mr. Ho Khien, a Chut ethnic in Do-Ta Vong village, a household that received support for doi seeds, said that doi trees are classified as precious wood with high economic value. In particular, doi seeds can be harvested to make spices, currently on the market 1kg of doi seeds costs up to 3 million VND.

Head of the Economic Department of Dan Hoa Commune, Dinh Thi Xoan, said that in the commune, there are about 760 ethnic minority households in 17 villages participating in planting indigenous forests and protecting and regenerating natural forests with an area of over 1,260 hectares. In particular, in Ong Tu village, over the past years, the local community has well protected more than 500 hectares of natural forest around the village.

“As a locality with a large forestry land area, Dan Hoa commune is actively encouraging people, especially ethnic minorities, to plant forests with native tree varieties to develop sustainable forests.

“The time it takes to harvest forests using native tree species is often twice as long as when planting forests using acacia and cajuput trees, but the economic efficiency is dozens of times higher. In particular, the value of forest planting is not only economic but also contributes to environmental protection and the conservation of rare forest species,” Ms. Xoan shared.

Phan Phuong

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/kinh-te/202508/phat-trien-rung-bang-giong-cay-ban-dia-ace4132/