The space for plants to grow is shrinking.
According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, in recent times, the city has experienced 582 incidents involving fallen trees, including 250 cases of fallen trees, 235 cases of broken branches, and 97 cases of leaning trees. Damage recorded includes 2 injuries, minor damage to 5 cars and 8 motorbikes, and some damage to buildings. The causes of falling trees and broken branches are adverse weather conditions such as thunderstorms, strong winds, and tornadoes.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, the increasing density of high-rise buildings, transportation infrastructure, underground structures, and sidewalk paving has left insufficient space for tree canopies to grow and for their roots to anchor, leading to negative impacts on the growth, development, and health of the trees.
According to observations by reporters from SGGP newspaper, the problem of trees with exposed roots is occurring on many roads in Ho Chi Minh City. On Le Hong Phong street - the section from Hung Vuong street to 3/2 street (Vuon Lai ward), there are about 52 trees, of which 8 have exposed roots. On Tran Phu street - the section from Le Hong Phong street to Tran Binh Trong street (Cho Quan ward), there are also 7 old trees, of which 4 have roots protruding above the ground…
Duong Van An Street – the section from Street No. 22 to Thai Thuan Street (Binh Trung Ward) is approximately 200m long and has 36 trees, with an average height of 20-25m and a diameter of 120-150cm. Of these 36 trees, we counted 19 with exposed roots. More seriously, some trees have roots that have penetrated deep into the entrance gates of some houses here, such as the trees in front of addresses 91, 105, and 107 on Duong Van An Street.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien, a resident living on Duong Van An street, said that every morning she walks along this road to go to the park for exercise. Seeing the uneven surface of the road with protruding rocks and stones from tree roots, she fears tripping and falling, not to mention the possibility of trees falling at any moment because their roots are exposed above the ground.
Risks lurk
Some tree experts argue that when space is limited, trees cannot grow normally, which can lead to risks such as trees falling or branches breaking unexpectedly during adverse weather conditions like heavy rain or strong winds, causing damage to people and property.
Dr. Dinh Quang Diep, former Head of the Landscape and Horticultural Engineering Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry, stated that some trees are unsuitable for urban areas, such as the Dipterocarpus tree (due to its characteristic height and rapid branching; if not properly cared for and pruned in a timely manner, it can easily lead to risks). Planting trees of unsuitable sizes for urban characteristics, coupled with increasing urbanization, will certainly affect the development of green spaces.
When trees are not allowed to grow naturally, coupled with inadequate care and maintenance, adverse weather conditions will inevitably lead to risks. "The city should plant trees that are only 12-15 meters tall," suggested Dr. Dinh Quang Diep.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Huynh Anh, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Green Parks Company Limited, informed that the company is assigned to take care of trees on many roads currently undergoing renovation, sidewalk beautification, and infrastructure construction, such as Mac Dinh Chi, Suong Nguyet Anh, Tran Hung Dao, Le Thanh Ton, Nguyen Dinh Chieu, Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Nguyen Trai streets, etc.
During construction, some contractors used heavy machinery to demolish and scrape the sidewalk foundation, digging within the safe root zone of trees, exposing the roots and causing mechanical damage to the existing tree root systems along the road. This type of construction poses a potential safety risk to the trees in the surrounding area.
Speaking with a reporter from SGGP newspaper, Mr. Vo Khanh Hung, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, said that to ensure safety, green space management units always implement pruning and dry branch removal according to technical procedures; they also plan inspections and reviews of the green space system on streets and parks to cut down and replace trees that are diseased, old, have hollow roots, or are leaning and likely to fall, posing a danger…
In addition, the Department of Construction has assigned the Center for Technical Infrastructure Management to conduct trial planting of several new tree species such as white Terminalia, square Terminalia, sea almond, drought-resistant Melia azedarach, etc., on some roads and in parks, and the results are currently being recorded and evaluated.
Dr. Dinh Thi Thanh Nga, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Saigon University:
According to Article 604 of the 2015 Civil Code, when damage occurs due to falling trees, the units responsible for maintaining and caring for the trees through bidding must provide compensation. However, according to the law, there may be cases where trees suddenly fall due to natural disasters that the unit responsible for tree maintenance could not foresee or prevent, despite applying all reasonable preventive measures. In such cases, they will not be liable for compensation. In reality, there have been instances of sudden storms or strong winds causing trees on roads to fall or branches to break, causing damage to pedestrians. If these units can prove they were completely blameless, they will be exempt from legal liability for compensation, but proving this will not be easy.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cay-xanh-do-thi-dang-bi-chen-ep-post827174.html
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