In the first four months of 2024, 89 forest fires occurred nationwide.

Việt Nam•05/05/2024

In the first four months of 2024, 89 forest fires occurred nationwide.

Sunday, May 5, 2024 | 18:45:24

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On the afternoon of May 5th, in Kon Tum province, Comrade Tran Luu Quang, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Deputy Prime Minister, chaired a joint in-person and online conference with 60 provinces and cities with forests on forest management, protection, and fire prevention and control (FPPC) in 2023 and the first four months of 2024. Attending the conference was Comrade Le Minh Hoan, Member of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development . At the Thai Binh provincial branch, Comrade Lai Van Hoan, Provincial Party Committee Member and Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, along with leaders from several departments, agencies, and localities, participated in the conference.

Comrade Lai Van Hoan, Provincial Party Committee member and Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, attended the conference at the Thai Binh branch.

In 2023, all 60 provinces and cities with forests published their forest status reports, with a total forest area of 14,860,309 hectares nationwide. The area meeting the criteria for forest cover was 13,927,122 hectares, including 2,198,773 hectares of special-use forests, 4,618,453 hectares of protection forests, and 7,109,896 hectares of production forests. The national forest cover rate reached 42.02%. During the year, authorities detected 3,327 violations affecting forests nationwide, a decrease of 597 cases compared to the same period in 2022, impacting 1,047.8 hectares of forest. In the first four months of 2024, authorities detected 650 cases of deforestation, impacting 182.2 hectares.

In 2023, 310 forest fires occurred nationwide, affecting 674.5 hectares of forest, of which 187 hectares were unlikely to recover naturally. In the first four months of 2024, 89 forest fires occurred nationwide, affecting an estimated 498 hectares, a 25% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Three firefighters died in the fires. The main cause was the El Niño phenomenon, resulting in higher-than-average temperatures and a greater number of sunny days.

Delegates attending the conference at the Thai Binh venue.

At the conference, leaders from several ministries, sectors, and localities focused on discussing the difficulties and shortcomings in forest management and protection; the impact of weather on forest fire prevention and control; and proposed solutions to effectively implement forest management, protection, and fire prevention and control in the future.

Concluding the conference, Comrade Tran Luu Quang, Member of the Central Committee of the Party, Deputy Prime Minister, requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to coordinate with other ministries and agencies to review and improve the forestry policy system based on the Forestry Law to enhance the capacity for forest management, protection, and fire prevention and control to meet the requirements of sustainable forestry development; to research and develop appropriate policies and incentives for forest rangers and forest protection forces; to develop mechanisms and policies to create conditions and encourage the participation of individuals, economic organizations, and social organizations both domestically and internationally in forest management, protection, and fire prevention and control; to consolidate, maintain, and improve the operational capacity of steering committees and command centers for forest protection and fire prevention and control at all levels; to strengthen inter-sectoral coordination mechanisms in forest management, protection, and fire prevention and control; and to continue implementing the "four on-site, four ready" principle effectively. He also urged the promotion of the application of science and technology in forest management, protection, and fire prevention and control. Strengthen the mobilization of social capital from legitimate contributions and solicit sponsorships from organizations, economic corporations, etc., to purchase fire prevention and control equipment.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to strengthen inspection and supervision of forest management and protection, and forest fire prevention and control, promptly detecting and handling acts of deforestation; and regularly forecasting and warning about the risk of forest fires. Local authorities should effectively manage and protect forests, prevent deforestation and illegal logging; and review and adjust forest fire prevention and control plans to suit the actual situation.

Ngan Huyen

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