Urban trees are being squeezed.

Urban trees play an important role in reducing air pollution and are a place to rest during hot weather. However, trees are now becoming a concern for many people due to the risk of falling due to the impact of urban renewal.

The roots of a tree on Huyen Tran Cong Chua Street (Ben Thanh Ward, HCMC) protruded and encroached on the road. Photo: MINH HAI

Space for plants to grow is limited.

According to statistics from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, in the past time, there were 582 tree incidents in the city, including 250 cases of fallen trees, 235 cases of broken branches, and 97 cases of leaning trees. Damage recorded included 2 injured people, 5 cars, 8 motorbikes with minor damage, and some damaged structures. The cause of fallen trees and broken branches was due to adverse weather factors such as thunderstorms, whirlwinds, and tornadoes.

The leader of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction said that the increasingly dense presence of high-rise buildings, traffic works, underground works, concreted sidewalks, etc. has left insufficient space for tree canopy growth and for root systems to anchor and cling, leading to negative impacts on the growth, development and health of trees.

According to SGGP reporters, the situation of trees with roots sticking out is happening on many streets in Ho Chi Minh City. On Le Hong Phong Street - from Hung Vuong Street to 3/2 Street (Vuon Lai Ward), there are about 52 trees, of which 8 have roots sticking out. On Tran Phu Street - from Le Hong Phong Street to Tran Binh Trong Street (Cho Quan Ward), there are also 7 ancient trees, of which 4 have roots sticking out of the ground...

Duong Van An Street - the section from Street 22 to Thai Thuan Street (Binh Trung Ward) is about 200m long, with 36 trees, the average height of which is 20-25m, and the diameter of which is 120-150cm. Of the 36 trees mentioned above, we counted 19 trees with uprooted roots. More seriously, there are trees whose roots have penetrated deep into the entrance gates of some houses here, such as the trees in front of addresses 91, 105, 107 Duong Van An Street.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Lien, a resident on Duong Van An Street, said that every morning she passes this section of the road to go to the park to exercise. Seeing that this section of the road is full of rocks and bricks due to tree roots protruding from the ground, she is afraid of tripping over them and falling, not to mention that she does not know when the tree will fall because the roots have protruded from the ground.

Risks lurk

Some tree experts believe that when space is limited, trees will not be able to grow normally, which can cause risks such as trees falling, branches suddenly breaking if encountering unfavorable weather such as heavy rain, strong winds, etc., causing damage to people and property.

Dr. Dinh Quang Diep, former Head of the Department of Landscape and Garden Technology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry, said that there are some trees that are not suitable for urban areas, such as the oil tree (due to the characteristics of the oil tree being very tall and branching quickly, if care and pruning are not done in time, it will easily cause risks). Planting trees with sizes that are not suitable for urban characteristics, combined with increasingly strong urbanization, will certainly affect the development of green trees.

When trees are not allowed to grow naturally, and are not properly cared for and maintained, risks cannot be avoided if the weather is unfavorable. “The city should plant trees with a height of only 12-15m, which is the standard,” Dr. Dinh Quang Diep said.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Huynh Anh, Deputy Director of Ho Chi Minh City Green Parks and Trees Company, informed that the company is assigned to take care of trees on many roads that are undergoing renovation, sidewalk beautification and technical 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...

During the construction process, some construction units used mechanical equipment to demolish, scrape the pavement, dig in the safe root zone of trees, exposing the roots, causing mechanical damage to the root system of existing trees on the road. The above construction poses a potential risk to the safety of the tree system in the surrounding area.

Speaking with SGGP Newspaper, Mr. Vo Khanh Hung, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction, said that to ensure safety, tree management units always carry out pruning and dry branch treatment according to technical procedures; make plans to inspect and review the tree system on streets and parks to cut down and replace diseased, old, root-rotted, or leaning trees that are likely to break and cause danger...

In addition, the Department of Construction assigned the Technical Infrastructure Management Center to conduct experimental planting of a number of new tree species such as white canarium, square-shaped banyan, sea banyan, drought-resistant mahogany, etc. on a number of roads and in parks, and is in the process of recording and evaluating.

Dr. DINH THI THANH NGA, Lecturer, Faculty of Law, Saigon University:

According to Article 604 of the 2015 Civil Code, when there is damage caused by fallen trees, the units that are performing tree maintenance and care under the form of bidding must compensate. However, according to the provisions of the law, there will be cases where trees suddenly fall due to natural disasters that the unit that is taking care of and maintaining the trees cannot foresee or prevent despite applying all reasonable preventive measures. In that case, they will not be responsible for compensation. In reality, there have also been cases where sudden storms or strong winds cause trees on the road to fall, branches fall, causing damage to passersby. If these units prove that they are completely not at fault, they will be exempted from compensation liability in terms of legal aspects, but proving this will not be easy.

MINH HAI

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/cay-xanh-do-thi-dang-bi-chen-ep-post827174.html