Protecting ancient sandalwood trees

QTO - More than 30 years ago, the Bru-Van Kieu and Pa Ko ethnic groups in many villages along the Se Pon River in Lia and A Doi communes searched the forests for valuable timber species such as rosewood, ebony, and other precious trees to plant around their houses and on their fields.

Trekking through the forest, crossing ravines and streams, and climbing up the hill, I, along with Mr. Ho Van Com (49 years old) from Ky Tang village, Lia commune, finally arrived at an area of ​​cultivated land with more than 60 ancient sandalwood trees growing naturally. Mr. Ho Van Com said that the ancient sandalwood trees in Lia and A Doi communes are of the large-fruited species, and the older the tree, the redder and more durable its wood becomes. Currently, hundreds of households of the Bru-Van Kieu and Pa Ko ethnic minorities in Lia and A Doi communes own at least a few trees, with some owning as many as 30-40 ancient sandalwood trees, so many people often say they have wandered into the "territory" of ancient sandalwood trees when they set foot in this land.

According to village elder Am Moan (80 years old) in A Quan village, Lia commune, his family currently owns dozens of ancient sandalwood trees, as well as a nearly 2-hectare rosewood garden. Since 1994, whenever he went to the fields, plantations, or into the forest and encountered wild sandalwood trees, he would dig them up and plant them around his garden to use as stakes for pepper plants. He has cared for these sandalwood trees ever since. Over the years, dozens of people have offered to buy the ancient sandalwood trees and rosewood garden for tens of millions of dong per tree, but elder Am Moan has refused to sell.

A garden of sandalwood trees on the hillside farm of the people in Lìa commune - Photo: SH

For Mrs. Ho Thi But in Hamlet 7, Lia Commune, the six ancient sandalwood trees, over 32 years old, are her "inheritance" from her late husband. Each tree, tens of meters tall, spreads its green foliage, providing shade for Mrs. Ho Thi But's stilt house. In recent years, many people have inquired about buying the six ancient sandalwood trees, but Mrs. But has refused.

According to Nguyen Minh Hien, head of the Lao Bao Forest Ranger Station, forest protection awareness campaigns targeting the Bru-Van Kieu and Pa Ko ethnic minorities require flexibility and adaptability to be effective. For example, when educating Bru-Van Kieu and Pa Ko households in Lia and A Doi communes that own ancient sandalwood trees within their land use rights, forest rangers must visit each household to explain that sandalwood harvesting requires authorization from the competent authorities. Unauthorized harvesting of this rare species without the approval of relevant agencies constitutes a violation of the law. It is absolutely forbidden to harvest ancient sandalwood trees, as well as other forest species in natural forests or "ghost forests," because sandalwood belongs to the rare and precious wood group IIA, and its harvesting is prohibited.

Sy Hoang

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/xa-hoi/202602/bao-ve-giang-huong-co-thu-f8b1955/