Dak Lak effectively manages minerals: Protection for sustainable development

Tighten management

As one of five provinces in the Central Highlands region with rich and diverse mineral reserves, in recent years, mineral management in Dak Lak province has been increasingly improved and effective. However, in reality, in some localities, illegal mining of minerals such as sand and stone is still occurring, causing difficulties for local management and loss of resources. Typically, in Krong Ana district, there are many landslides on the river due to sand mining.

a1.-khai-thac-cat.jpg — Sand mining activities on Krong Ana River (Dak Lak province)

According to Mr. Nguyen Van An (MLieng 2 hamlet, Dak Lieng commune, Lak district), for many years now, sand mining along the Krong Ana river has been happening quite continuously, causing landslides in the production land of people along the riverbank. "The land has eroded quite a lot, the riverbank is getting wider and wider, we have sent a petition to the authorities. Recently, a delegation from the district and province came down to inspect and in the past few months, I have seen that the number of ships has decreased significantly but I don't know if it will last long," Mr. An said worriedly.

Talking to reporters about this issue, Mr. Pham Thanh - Head of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Lak district said that, in the face of the riverbank erosion affecting the farming process of the people, the leaders of Lak district have directed the specialized department to coordinate with Dak Lieng commune to inspect the actual situation and make a record. "We have inspected the actual situation and found that there is an erosion situation. For many years, the leaders of Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment have issued many documents with strong instructions on strengthening the handling of this situation. We always closely follow and coordinate with the locality to strengthen the inspection and handling of cases related to illegal mineral exploitation in the area", Mr. Thanh said.

a2.-ovarian-sac.jpg — Local mineral potential is rich and diverse.

According to the leader of the Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee, in the face of the situation of illegal mineral exploitation still occurring in some localities, the Provincial People's Committee has issued many documents directing departments, branches and localities to regularly inspect and handle violations to ensure that mineral exploitation brings benefits to society and contributes to the State budget, creating jobs for local people.

Strengthen inspection and control

According to Mr. Tran Dinh Nhuan - Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Dak Lak province, there are currently nearly 300 mines with 28 main types of minerals in Dak Lak province. Currently, Dak Lak province is also focusing on exploiting minerals for common construction materials, basically meeting the needs of the industry and construction sector in the province. This is also a potential and a resource to help the locality develop its socio -economy, ensuring security and defense at present and in the future.

To contribute to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of state management of minerals, the Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee assigned relevant departments, branches and People's Committees of districts, towns and cities to strictly implement Decree No. 23/2020/ND-CP dated February 24, 2020 of the Government regulating the management of river sand and gravel and protection of river beds and banks; Directive No. 38/CT-TTg dated September 29, 2020 of the Prime Minister on continuing to strengthen state management of mineral exploration, exploitation, processing, use and export activities; and strengthen mineral management in the province.

Currently, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Dak Lak province has developed and advised on the issuance of a Plan for the period 2020 - 2025. Accordingly, many specific measures and solutions for each field have been proposed. In particular, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment focuses on reviewing the system of legal documents under the authority of the Provincial People's Committee in the spirit of administrative procedure reform, creating favorable conditions for businesses to invest, in line with the practical management process in the province to remove "bottlenecks" in attracting investment.

“The Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Dak Lak province also focuses on basic surveys of mineral resources, as a basis for developing plans for protection, management, exploitation and use of mineral resources integrated into the planning of Dak Lak province; focusing on investing in infrastructure, especially information technology infrastructure, strengthening connectivity with departments, branches and People's Committees at district and commune levels in the process of implementing state management of mineral resources; strengthening inspection, examination, handling of violations and especially handling of complaints and denunciations of land conflicts; contributing to stabilizing and developing the local socio-economy in a sustainable manner,” Mr. Tran Dinh Nhuan added.

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