There are still many violations.
The border between Kon Tum and Gia Lai provinces spans 183.5 km across nine districts and cities, including the districts of Kon Plông, Kon Rẫy, Sa Thầy, Ia H'Drai, and Kon Tum City (Kon Tum province); and Kbang, Đak Đoa, Chư Păh, and Ia Grai (Gia Lai province). Based on the signed cooperation agreement, from May 2018 to December 2023, the People's Committees of the two provinces directed relevant departments, localities, and forest management units to coordinate information exchange and implement comprehensive and decisive measures for forest management and protection in the border area.
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Forest rangers, police from Dak Smar commune, and the forest management unit organized patrols to protect the forest in their managed area. Photo: Minh Phuong |
Notably, during this period, the functional agencies of the two provinces coordinated to organize 1,361 patrols and raids to protect forests; detected and recorded 275 violations, confiscated over 815 m³ of various types of wood along with many other vehicles and tools. The functional forces handled 269 cases, including: 242 administrative cases, 27 criminal cases, and 6 cases currently under investigation and verification… Currently, the total amount collected and deposited into the state budget is over 2.5 billion VND.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Ni, Deputy Head of the Forest Protection Department of Chu Pah District, said: Chu Pah District and Sa Thay District (Kon Tum Province) share a common border of over 24 km, encompassing two bordering communes and towns: Ya Tang commune (Sa Thay District) and Ia Kreng commune and Ia Ly town (Chu Pah District). The border area has a vast forest area, and the terrain is fragmented by a system of rivers and streams, making access difficult. Therefore, illegal loggers exploit loopholes in forest management and protection to secretly carry out acts of forest resource exploitation. Furthermore, the border forest area contains many valuable forest products, so the illegal exploitation, trading, and transportation of forest products has not yet been completely resolved.
Therefore, from 2018 to the present, in this area, the authorities have received and processed 6 cases of violations in the forestry sector. Of these, 4 cases were handled administratively, 2 cases were criminally prosecuted, and over 41 m³ of round and sawn timber of various types were confiscated. “The forest rangers and specialized forest protection forces of the forest management units are still insufficient, while the border areas are extensive, some areas lack transportation routes, and the terrain is steep and treacherous, making it difficult to regularly organize patrols and inspections to detect and prevent illegal deforestation or people clearing forests for farming. Furthermore, when authorities organize patrols and pursue violators, they move from forest areas belonging to one district to another and vice versa between the two provinces, causing difficulties in forest management and protection and forest product management. Without synchronized coordination between the functional forces of both sides, it is very difficult to handle the situation,” Mr. Ni pointed out some limitations.
Meanwhile, Mr. Nguyen Tien Dung, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Ia H'Drai district ( Kon Tum province), stated: The district has nearly 95,000 hectares of forest and forestry land, of which over 85,000 hectares are forested. Specifically, Ia Toi commune in the district has over 41,000 hectares of forest and forestry land, bordering Ia O and Ia Khai communes (Ia Grai district) and Ia Kreng commune (Chu Pah district). Therefore, the district regularly directs the People's Committees of the communes and forest owners in the bordering areas to maintain inter-agency control checkpoints in key areas prone to violations; and to coordinate patrols and crackdowns on individuals engaging in illegal activities against forest resources in the border communes between the three districts. From May 2018 to December 2023, forest rangers, police, forest owners, and the People's Committees of the communes conducted 152 patrols and raids to crack down on violations of the Forestry Law in border forest areas. As a result, 47 violations were detected in these border forest areas, with a total of over 168.5 m³ of round and sawn timber confiscated; 46 cases were handled administratively, and 1 case was prosecuted criminally.
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| Authorities in Kbang district are intensifying patrols, raids, and enforcement actions against violations of forest resources. Photo: Minh Phuong |
Pointing out some shortcomings in coordination efforts, Mr. Do Van Dong, Vice Chairman of the Ia Grai District People's Committee, affirmed: Ia Grai District has also developed regulations and directed border guards, police, forest rangers, and the People's Committees of bordering communes to effectively implement the signed agreements. However, the border area, with the large surface area of the Se San 4 and Se San 3A hydroelectric reservoirs, facilitates exploitation and transportation by boat, causing many difficulties in the local forest management and protection. Furthermore, the exchange of information on incidents and the process of handling violations between local authorities are slow and lack proactive information exchange to coordinate and organize implementation.
According to Nguyen Van Hai, Director of Kon Plong Forestry One-Member Limited Company (Kon Tum province): The forest area managed by the company spans six communes and one town in Kon Plong district, interspersed with and adjacent to agricultural land and residential areas; bordering Kon Ray, Dak Ha, and Tu Mo Rong districts (Kon Tum province), Kbang district (Gia Lai province), and Ba To district (Quang Ngai province), thus posing a potential risk of violations of the Forestry Law. More worryingly, the local population consists mainly of ethnic minorities, whose lives are still difficult, and who continue to maintain the practice of clearing forests for slash-and-burn agriculture, thus putting pressure on forest management and protection efforts.
Strengthen the implementation of coordination regulations.
Discussing solutions for implementing the coordination regulations, Mr. Le Thanh Son, Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Kbang district, informed: Kbang district has a border area of over 67 km with Kon Plong and Kon Ray districts (Kon Tum province). In particular, Kon Ka Kinh National Park and Kon Chu Rang Nature Reserve are two core areas of the Kon Ha Nung Plateau World Biosphere Reserve, possessing many rare and valuable resources, making them frequent targets for illegal loggers. However, in the past, coordination between localities with these bordering forest areas has been limited, only at the level of information exchange. There has been no specific plan for coordination between the functional forces of the district and communes in the border area to patrol, crack down on, and promptly prevent and handle violations.
The Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Kbang district emphasized: "In the coming time, functional forces between bordering districts need to develop a plan to promptly and decisively handle violations. Furthermore, they need to promptly exchange information and coordinate to resolve difficulties related to the management and protection of border forests; provide manpower and resources to facilitate coordinated pursuit, investigation, and handling of violations, especially in key areas."
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| The households in Tơ Vơn village (Ia Khươl commune, Chư Păh district) participate in forest management and protection contracts to improve their livelihoods and increase their income. Photo: Minh Phương |
As evidence of some solutions to prevent and mitigate illegal deforestation for slash-and-burn agriculture, Mr. Nguyen Van Hai, Director of Kon Plong Forestry One-Member Limited Company, informed: The company has reviewed and identified the area of agricultural land within or adjacent to the company's forest land planning area, and has also established maps of areas at risk of deforestation for slash-and-burn agriculture to organize patrols and prevention efforts.
In addition, the organization arranged for these households to sign commitments not to expand or illegally clear forests for farming, and established forest protection regulations for 35 communities contracted to protect the forests for implementation. As a result, the forest area under the company's management, which was once considered a hotspot for violations of the Forestry Law, has now been brought under control. In 2023, only 2 incidents occurred, a decrease of 8 incidents compared to 2023, with the volume of illegally harvested timber and the area of forest damaged accounting for a very small percentage.
To further enhance the effectiveness of coordinated forest management and protection in border areas, Vice Chairman of the Kon Tum Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Huu Thap requested that departments, localities, and forest management units strictly implement relevant directives in the field of forestry; and at the same time, strengthen the forest ranger force and specialized forest protection forces to ensure the effective performance of assigned tasks.
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The Forest Protection Departments of Gia Lai and Kon Tum provinces signed a cooperation agreement on the management, protection, and development of forests, and the handling of violations of forestry laws in the border area between the two provinces. Photo: Minh Phuong |
Along with developing and implementing a coordinated forest management and protection plan, it is necessary to effectively allocate land and forests, and contract out forest management and protection to organizations, individuals, and local communities in border areas to create livelihoods, increase income, and attract people to participate in forest management and protection...
In addition, based on the regulations on coordinated management and protection of border forests signed by the People's Committees of the two provinces, Vice Chairman of the Gia Lai Provincial People's Committee Duong Mah Tiep also requested the leaders of Kon Tum province to pay attention to directing relevant departments, localities, and forest management units to closely coordinate with their counterparts in Gia Lai province to decisively and comprehensively implement measures to effectively manage and protect forests and forest products in the border area.
In particular, it is necessary to proactively exchange information and organize good coordination in forest patrol and protection, and forest fire prevention and control to prevent the occurrence of hotspots of deforestation and forest fires; maintain a regular meeting schedule to exchange information, experiences, and resolve obstacles and shortcomings in order to better perform tasks in the future.
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