Difficult situation
Ky Son borders 5 districts of 3 provinces of Hua Phan, Xieng Khouang and Bolikhamxay of the Lao People's Democratic Republic, with a border of 192 km; has the highest average altitude above sea level in the province, with Puxailaileng peak at 2,711m - the highest mountain in Nghe An and the entire Northern Truong Son range. In addition, the district also has many other high peaks such as Pu Soong (2,365m), Pu Tong (2,345m), Pu Long (2,176m) ... It can be said that Ky Son district is the "roof of Nghe An ". The population of the district is about 80,000 people, of which the Kho Mu, Mong and Thai ethnic groups account for 95.9%.
In recent years, with the investment support of the State, the contribution of organizations, enterprises... and the efforts of the people of all ethnic groups in Ky Son, the district has made significant progress in infrastructure as well as socio -economic development, security and defense. However, Ky Son district is still among the poorest districts in the country with a poverty rate of over 51% (of which, many communes have a poverty rate of over 70% such as Muong Tip, Muong Ai,...).
The reason worth discussing today for Ky Son to escape poverty is that the district has promoted its comparative advantages, especially forestry land.
Ky Son district has a total area of 2,094.84 km2 , accounting for 12.64% of the area of Nghe An province. According to the current land use status in 2020 (data in Decision 383 dated September 29, 2022 on approving the land use planning of Ky Son district until 2030), the agricultural land area is 203,288.29 ha, accounting for 97.14%. Of which, the land for growing rice, annual crops, and perennial crops has an area of 5,480.71 ha, accounting for 2.62% (rice growing area: 1,603.36 ha, of which the wet rice growing area is only 216.2 ha).
The forestry land area of Ky Son is 197,792.71 ha, accounting for 94.52% (of which, protection forest area: 116,801.54 ha, production forest area: 80,991.17 ha, of which, production forest is natural forest accounting for 60,043.23 ha).
From the above figures, we can see that the biggest advantage of Ky Son district is forest development and forest economy.
However, despite great efforts in forest protection, the consequences of many years of forest burning for farming by local people have caused Ky Son district to lose forest with the current forest cover rate being only 51.9%. This is a very low rate in the highest mountainous district of the province, with steep hills (compared to Tuong Duong, Que Phong, Quy Chau districts, all of which have a forest cover rate of over 75%).
Because of this, Ky Son district experiences flash floods every year, causing damage to people’s property and destroying the district’s already weak infrastructure. Furthermore, the loss of forests leads to the loss of water sources, soil erosion, landslides, etc.
Cultivation on sloping land is difficult for people when fertile soil is washed away and the land is increasingly degraded, water is scarce, and crop yields are decreasing. Without alternative income, people find new forest areas to burn for farming. This vicious cycle will continue if there is no new approach to solve it. Meanwhile, almost 100% of forests in Ky Son district must be protective forests, which are forests used mainly to protect water resources, protect soil, prevent erosion, landslides, flash floods, landslides, prevent desertification, limit natural disasters, regulate the climate, contribute to environmental protection, national defense, security, and combine ecotourism...
With over 97% of the area being forestry land, the main development orientation of Ky Son district must be to focus on developing the forest economy. With this development orientation, it will not only help the province and Ky Son district reduce natural disasters caused by floods and droughts, but also help the district promote its advantages, creating a livelihood suitable for local knowledge and traditional cultural space. Moreover, with conditions like Ky Son district, this is the direction to take advantage of opportunities to sell carbon credits as well as forest environmental services and develop the economy under the forest canopy.
Solution
To implement that orientation, it will take a long time, however, in the immediate future, it is necessary to implement the following issues:
First of all, focus on protecting the existing protective forest area of the district. With the current thin forest management force, it is necessary to strongly implement the assignment of forest management cooperation to the community. In particular, it is necessary to apply and promote the indigenous knowledge of ethnic groups in forest protection (especially village conventions and traditional customs). It is necessary to guide and train people to understand and do well the work of harvesting, exploiting wood, non-timber products as well as organizing tourism activities, etc. according to the provisions of the Forestry Law 2017.
Second, for the remaining forest land area, based on the analysis of site conditions (including terrain conditions, soil conditions and climate) to develop specific forest restoration plans for each region and commune. According to research by scientists from the Forestry University, good site conditions of this area account for about 15.9% (equivalent to about 15,000 ha), average site conditions account for about 29% (equivalent to 20,000 ha) and the rest are poor conditions.
From here, forestry scientists recommend: for areas with good site conditions, organize enclosures and protection for the forest to recover itself to reduce costs; for areas with average site conditions, organize a combination of enclosures, protection, and restoration with replanting new trees to increase density. For areas with poor site conditions, organize complete replanting.
Third, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Provincial People's Committee are requested to prioritize Ky Son district to be the first beneficiary of the Carbon Credit Sales Program under the Emission Reduction Payment Agreement (ERPA) Project with the Forest Carbon Partnership Fund of the World Bank signed with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in October 2020. According to this agreement, Vietnam will reduce 10.3 million tons of carbon emissions from 6 provinces in the North Central region by 2025 to receive 51.5 million USD.
This fund, together with funds from other programs, can be used to provide funding (pay) for people to protect, restore, plant and care for forests from now until 2030, especially with priority given to poor and near-poor households. To take advantage of this opportunity, it is recommended that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and the People's Committee of Ky Son district accelerate the process of land and forest allocation, and promote activities to prepare procedures to meet the requirements of the Carbon Credit Sales Agreement.
Fourthly, for newly planted forest land, in addition to native large timber trees (po mu, sa mu...), it is necessary to pay attention to using some native multi-purpose trees (can be exploited for fruit, leaves,...) such as doi, chestnut, trau xoan, mac khen, hawthorn, red pine... At the same time, pay attention to developing some trees suitable for the temperate sub-region of Ky Son district such as pear, peach, apple, persimmon,...
Fifth, there is a roadmap to increase productivity (using slow-release fertilizers) and gradually reduce (or even completely convert) the area of upland rice cultivation. With an average yield of about 1 ton/ha (about 1 million VND/ha/year), there will be many options to change the structure or support people to focus on planting and caring for and protecting forests.
Sixth, promote the development of concentrated medicinal herbs and under forest canopy to promote the strengths of the sub-climate and high terrain of Ky Son district on the basis of cooperation with pharmaceutical processing enterprises. Promote innovative start-ups in the field of medicinal herbs and promote indigenous knowledge of medicinal herbs and traditional remedies.
Seventh, there is a roadmap for developing green tourism in the district; connecting with Con Cuong, Nam Dan districts, Vinh City - Cua Lo Town and Xieng Khouang - Luang Phrabang (Laos).
Eighth, the Provincial People's Council and People's Committee should provide Ky Son district with a superior and different mechanism and policy to help Ky Son district overcome difficulties and promote the advantages of forest land. In particular, there should be a different policy so that the poor and near-poor people of Ky Son district can live by planting, protecting, restoring and developing forests from their own efforts instead of not wanting or daring to receive forests and forest land as at present.
In the immediate future, invest and pay people to restore and plant forests on production forest land as the mechanism for protective forests from now until 2030. Create conditions and support for the district to attract businesses that grow and process medicinal herbs, forest products, and tourism to invest in the district. Especially attract ODA projects on forest restoration and development, especially support carbon credit procedures as well as livelihood development for people.
The planning of Nghe An province to 2030 and vision to 2050, which was recently approved by the Prime Minister on September 14, 2023, identifies: Restructuring the economy associated with innovation of growth models, development of green economy, circular economy, digital economy. In particular, maintaining stable forest cover at 58%.
The restoration and development of forests in Ky Son district not only helps the district promote its advantages, develop the forest economy, overcome the consequences of deforestation, and minimize natural disasters, but also helps the midland and lowland districts to convert nearly 90,000 hectares of forest land to other land purposes to bring about higher land use efficiency while still maintaining the forest cover ratio. This is the basis and argument for the whole province to join hands to help Ky Son.
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