Certainly complete the target of forest cover rate

Although we are only halfway through the implementation of the Resolution of the 16th Provincial Party Congress, term 2020 - 2025, it can be affirmed that the target of forest coverage rate is certainly achieved. To clarify this content, Lao Cai Newspaper reporter interviewed comrade Nguyen Quang Vinh, Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Reporter: First of all, could you please evaluate the results after half of the journey of achieving the target on forest coverage rate according to the Resolution of the 16th Provincial Party Congress?

Comrade Nguyen Quang Vinh: By the end of 2020, Lao Cai province's forest coverage rate reached 56.07%, with a total forest area of 356,584 hectares. The Resolution of the 16th Provincial Party Congress sets a target of reaching a coverage rate of over 60% by 2025 (the additional forest area is 25,011 hectares, equivalent to 3.93%).

This is an extremely difficult task because immediately after the re-establishment of the province, Lao Cai paid attention to investing, protecting and developing forests and the forest area increased sharply from 28% (in 1992) to 56.07% (in 2020), in which the majority of forestry land near residential areas and convenient transportation has been put into afforestation, leaving only small, fragmented areas, far from residential areas, steep hills, bad land, difficult transportation, in poor ethnic minority areas, without resources for afforestation.

Therefore, to achieve the goal of achieving a coverage rate of over 60% by 2025, the agricultural sector and localities must focus on managing and protecting existing forest areas, minimizing the conversion of forest use to other purposes, taking good care of unforested areas, and replanting exploited production forests. In particular, in 2021 and early 2022, the whole province must organize new planting and protection of more than 19,000 hectares of forest so that by the end of 2025, trees will have enough height and canopy to form a forest.

Clearly identifying the above goals and tasks, since the end of 2020, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has advised the Provincial Party Committee to issue the Project on Agricultural and Forestry Development, Population Arrangement, and New Rural Development in Lao Cai Province, period 2021 - 2025 (Project 01-DA/TU dated December 11, 2020). Advised the Provincial People's Committee to assign targets for forest protection, afforestation, and natural forest regeneration in the period 2021 - 2025 to districts, towns, and cities.

Along with that, it is recommended that the district Party Committee, People's Council, and People's Committee at the district level mobilize the entire political system to do a good job of propaganda and mobilizing people to participate in afforestation, forest care, forest protection, and natural forest regeneration. Direct the Forest Protection Department and local forest protection units to guide people to review and prepare land funds; seed production and trading establishments to prepare enough seeds and seedlings for forest planting. Focus on clearing vegetation, digging holes, planting forests at the right time, with the right techniques, and according to the planning; encourage people to plant multi-purpose trees and trees with high economic value. Direct forest owners to review land areas with regenerated trees, bamboo, rattan, etc. that meet the criteria for natural forest regeneration. Submit to the Provincial People's Council to issue a policy to support communes in regions II and III to plant production forests (10 million VND/ha), and at the same time allow the integration of capital sources to support the development of forestry production according to the value chain to increase people's income...

With the above solutions, in 2021 and 2022, the whole province will plant 14,818 hectares of new forests and naturally regenerate 11,794 hectares of forests. The province's forest cover rate in 2023 will reach 58.5%, an increase of 2.43% (equivalent to an increase of 15,465 hectares of forest) compared to 2020. These are areas of planted forests and natural regeneration forests that met the criteria for becoming forests before 2020.

Reporter: According to the results of the announcement of forest developments in 2023, the total coverage rate of the province reached 58.5%. Thus, to achieve the target set by the Resolution of the 16th Provincial Party Congress (forest coverage rate of over 60%), the forest coverage rate of Lao Cai province needs to increase by 1.5%. So, how will this target be achieved, comrade?

Comrade Nguyen Quang Vinh: In order for the forest coverage rate to reach over 60% by 2025, the forest area must increase by 9,546 hectares. According to the monitoring and management results of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, by the end of 2023, the whole province will have more than 12,844 hectares of planted trees and 10,344 hectares of protected and regenerated forests from the beginning of 2022. Therefore, if the weather is favorable, there are no large forest fires and the planted forest area in the basic construction period and protected and regenerated forests have not yet grown and developed well, it is entirely possible to reach a coverage rate of over 60% by the end of 2025.

Reporter: By the end of 2023, the total forest area of the province is 391,144.8 hectares. Currently, the forest area that meets the criteria for calculating the forest cover ratio is 372,381 hectares. Thus, the whole province still has a relatively large forest area that has not been included in the coverage ratio calculation. If by 2025, this area meets the conditions for calculating the coverage ratio, can we exceed the target set by the Resolution of the 16th Provincial Party Congress?

Comrade Nguyen Quang Vinh: The area of planted and protected forests that are likely to meet the criteria for becoming forests in Lao Cai province by the end of 2025 is more than 23,000 hectares. It is expected that in 2 years (2024 - 2025), the forest area will decrease by about 10,000 - 12,500 hectares due to the conversion of forest use purposes for socio-economic development, national defense and security (about 1,000 - 1,500 hectares), and production forests reaching the exploitation period (about 9,000 - 11,000 hectares). In addition, there are other causes such as storms, floods, forest fires, deforestation, protected forests and new planting but not meeting the criteria for becoming forests. Therefore, up to now, our goal is still to strive for a coverage rate of more than 60% by the end of 2025.

Reporter: Thank you very much for your interview!

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/chac-chan-hoan-thanh-muc-tieu-ty-le-che-phu-rung-post382707.html