I remember the first night I stayed in Cat Tien National Park, I stayed up late talking with Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long, Deputy Head of the Forest Ranger Unit of Cat Tien National Park.
Long said that, with an area of approximately 82,000 hectares, Cat Tien is considered the "green lung" of the Central Highlands and the Southeast region. Located upstream of the Dong Nai River, Cat Tien National Park encompasses vast, interconnected forests in the border area of three provinces: Lam Dong, Binh Phuoc, and Dong Nai.
To protect the forest, the Park's Forest Ranger Unit had to set up 21 guard posts, each spaced about 20 km apart. Long confided: "The forest is vast, but the forest ranger force is thin. So it's not too difficult for those with greed to exploit the forest's resources illegally, such as precious timber and wild animals."
Therefore, to preserve the forest, the rangers of Cat Tien National Park have to guard it day and night. They have to be on duty, sweating and even bleeding to protect the forest.
Nguyen Huu Thang, Deputy Head of the Forest Ranger Station of the National Park, said with a choked voice: "Anything can happen, no matter how carefully we patrol and monitor, we can't keep up."
Thang recounted that in 2023, a group of people went deep into the Cat Tien forest to hunt wild animals. When discovered by forest rangers, they used pepper spray and machetes to resist and attack, seriously injuring several rangers.
This attack left wounds on the face, abdomen, and chest of forest ranger Chìu Văn Hai. Hai took off his shirt to show me, and recounted the story of how he was attacked by illegal loggers, who slashed him repeatedly. The scars, now healed and about a handspan long, are etched on his abdomen.
And even before that, in another incident, forest ranger Pham Quoc Vinh, while trying to stop a violation, also suffered painful knife wounds. Vinh had to be hospitalized for a long time, and his left side bore the marks of knife cuts from illegal loggers.
Forest rangers patrol the Ea Sô forest. |
The Ea Sô Nature Reserve ( Dak Lak province), with its 27,000-hectare forest area, is also a frequent target of illegal loggers. Many violations of forestry laws have occurred here, with the loggers being extremely aggressive, violent, and reckless. In December 2023, Mr. Nguyen Kim Anh, Deputy Head of Forest Ranger Station No. 2 of the Ea Sô Nature Reserve, was shot dead by illegal loggers while patrolling his assigned forest area. Mr. Nguyen Kim Anh passed away after nearly 25 years of service in the forestry sector, leaving behind his wife and two young children.
When I visited, the pain was still evident on the face of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thu, the wife of Mr. Nguyen Kim Anh. Small and gentle, Mrs. Thu recounted, through tears, the fateful day that occurred. She said that on that day, she couldn't believe that people would heartlessly take her husband's life for a few inches of wood or a few wild animals.
I sat in the forest ranger's hut, looking out at the forest of the Ea Sô Nature Reserve, my mind filled with thoughts. In forested areas, incidents of resistance against law enforcement by those violating forestry laws—such as clearing forests for slash-and-burn agriculture, logging, and hunting wild animals—are still occurring, with increasingly sophisticated and brazen methods. The forest area is vast, but the forest ranger force is small. Each ranger is responsible for a specific area or group/team/district, having to cover a large territory. The mountainous terrain is rarely flat, consisting of high mountains, deep ravines, wide rivers, and rugged streams. Patrolling and protecting the forest means facing not only confrontations with those intent on violating forestry laws but also dangers such as wild animals, venomous snakes, and harmful insects, significantly impacting health and causing psychological stress.
Wild cattle herd in Cat Tien National Park. |
According to statistics from the forestry sector, although the number of violations of forestry laws has decreased in recent years compared to the past, it still stands at thousands of cases each year. This shows that forest protection is an extremely difficult and complex task.
Despite numerous difficulties and dangers, the forestry sector in localities has upheld a high sense of responsibility, coordinating with relevant levels and sectors to decisively implement many measures to protect the remaining forest areas to the maximum extent.
However, in order to preserve and protect forests, the forestry sector needs the attention of the entire society, and of all levels and branches of government, in terms of improving living standards, providing equipment, and offering legal documents to enhance effectiveness in dealing with those who violate the Law on Forest Protection and Development.
Mr. Nguyen Quoc Hung, Head of the Dak Lak Provincial Forest Protection Department, emphasized: "To protect the forest, it's not just the forest protection force that needs to be involved, but the entire political system. In particular, we must promote and implement forest protection measures from the grassroots level, from the smallest social unit, the family, to the village and hamlet."
Source: https://baodaklak.vn/phong-su-ky-su/202504/giu-rung-cuoc-chien-sinh-tu-45a05b2/
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