Near the forest, near the people

Lao Cai province currently has more than 395,000 hectares of forest, of which more than 256,000 hectares are natural forests, with a forest coverage rate of 59.37%, among the localities with high forest coverage rates in the country. This result is due in no small part to the contribution of local forest rangers, who silently protect the forest and the "green lungs" of the Fatherland's border.

At Forest Ranger Station No. 4 in Seo My Ty village, Ta Van commune, Hoang Lien National Park (Sa Pa town), there are 6 forest rangers who are managing and protecting more than 8,400 hectares of forest and forestry land day and night, including more than 7,700 hectares of special-use forest. The area is large, the terrain is difficult, the work is not without difficulties, especially in the dry season, the risk of forest fires is always present.

Mr. Le Tien Dung, Head of Forest Ranger Station No. 4 shared: "When I first took up the assignment, I spent a whole month going to each village, working, eating and living with the people to learn the ethnic minority language, and learn about their customs and practices so that the propaganda would be effective."

Not only propagating and mobilizing people to comply with the Party's guidelines and policies, the State's policies and laws on forest protection, local forest rangers have long become relatives of the highland people, working and producing with them. During the production season, forest rangers go to the fields with the people to work as the main laborers in the family. The propaganda content is integrated through everyday, close conversations. Since then, people have increasingly raised their awareness of forest protection and development, many violations of the Forestry Law have been detected and promptly handled right at the grassroots level.

In addition to forest protection, local forest rangers also actively mobilize and support people to develop livelihoods under the forest canopy. In Xuan Hoa commune, Bao Yen district, the cinnamon planting model has helped hundreds of households escape poverty and have stable incomes. Few people know that many years ago, people here were still hesitant when officials promoted and encouraged them to plant cinnamon. Only a few households boldly planted experimentally, gradually increasing the area by a few hectares, to date, the whole commune has more than 3,300 hectares of cinnamon.

Along with that, local forest rangers have proactively accompanied the people from the stage of selecting seedlings, instructing on soil preparation techniques, planting, care and harvesting. Up to now, the people have trusted and attached to cinnamon trees, considering this a long-term economic development direction.

The province currently has nearly 200 local forest rangers assigned to communes, wards and towns, regularly coordinating with local authorities to patrol, control and handle violations of forestry laws, while also propagating and disseminating laws to people living near forests.

Each local forest ranger is currently responsible for an average of about 2,000 hectares of forest, mainly in mountainous communes with difficult access. The work is hard and risky, but with the motto of "sticking to the government, sticking to the people, sticking to the forest", the local forest ranger force has promoted its role as an effective advisor to the local Party committee and government in developing plans to protect forests and develop the forestry economy.

From the end of 2024, the Provincial Forest Protection Department will send local forest rangers to work at the headquarters of the People's Committees of communes and towns instead of working at forest ranger stations as before, in order to bring local forest rangers closer to the people and the forests, thereby strengthening coordination with local authorities in effectively managing, protecting and developing forests.

To continue promoting the role of this force in the new period, the unit has synchronously deployed solutions to improve the capacity and operational efficiency of local forest rangers, focusing on training and in-depth development of legal knowledge, situation handling skills, especially forest fire prevention and fighting skills and climate change response.

Along with that, modernize equipment and means for patrolling, monitoring and preventing and fighting forest fires; increase the application of information technology and digital databases in forest management; promote coordination between forest rangers and the government, mass organizations and communities, so that forest protection and development truly becomes a common responsibility of the entire political system and society.

With a high sense of responsibility, dedication and closeness to the people, the forest rangers of Lao Cai province are making an important contribution to realizing the goal of sustainable forestry development, harmonizing ecological environment protection and forest economic development.

Source: https://baolaocai.vn/gan-rung-gan-dan-post402102.html