Conference on forest management, protection, fire prevention and fighting

On May 5, in Kon Tum province, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang chaired an online conference on forest management and protection (QLBVR) and forest fire prevention and fighting (PCCCR) in 2023 and the first 4 months of 2024. Attending at the Ninh Thuan province bridge were comrade Le Huyen, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee; representatives of leaders of departments, branches, localities and forest management boards in the area.

In 2023, 60/60 provinces and cities with forests announced the forest status with a total forest area of 14,860,109 hectares nationwide (natural forest is 10,129,751 hectares; planted forest is 4,730,157 hectares). The forest area meeting the criteria for calculating the coverage ratio is 13,927,122 hectares (natural forest is 10,129,751 hectares, planted forest is 3,797,171 hectares), of which special-use forest is 2,198,773 hectares, protection forest is 4,618,453 hectares, production forest is 7,109,196 hectares. The national forest coverage rate reached 42.02%. In 2023, the authorities detected 3,327 violations affecting forests nationwide, a decrease of 597 cases compared to the same period in 2022, with an affected forest area of 1,047.8 hectares. In the first 4 months of 2024 alone, the authorities detected 650 cases of deforestation with a total affected area of 182.2 hectares, a decrease of 75.7 hectares. The deforestation cases were mainly in the provinces of the Central Highlands, the Northern mountainous region and the North Central region. Regarding forest fire prevention and control, in 2023, there were 310 cases nationwide, with an affected forest area of 674.5 hectares, of which the forest area with the potential to recover was about 487.5 hectares (due to brush fires and undergrowth fires that do not affect the forest), and the forest area with the potential to self-recover was about 187 hectares. In the first 4 months of 2024 alone, there were 89 forest fires nationwide with an affected area of about 498 hectares, mainly planted forests, poor natural forests and young, recovering forests, an increase of more than 25% compared to the same period in 2023. The main cause is the impact of the EL Nino phenomenon, people's carelessness in slash-and-burn farming, using fire in the forest... has greatly affected forest management and protection work, causing economic damage and affecting the ecological environment.

Comrade Le Huyen, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee attended the conference at the Ninh Thuan province bridge.

Concluding the conference, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Luu Quang requested the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to coordinate with ministries, branches and localities to continue reviewing forest areas to serve planning work, develop plans to implement policies on forest protection and development. Review, propose supplements and perfect mechanisms and policies on sustainable forestry development. Strengthen propaganda, raise awareness and responsibility for forest management and forest fire prevention and control; proactively plan and implement forest fire prevention and control measures during the peak dry season months; pay attention to the lives of forest protection, forest development and forest fire prevention and control forces. Strengthen the application of information technology in forest management and forest fire prevention and control to monitor and track forest developments, enhance the capacity of effective forest management and forest fire prevention and control, serve the direction and operation of all levels of forest management and forest land, forest fire prevention and control...

Tien Manh

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