There is insufficient evidence to conclude that a local resident illegally exploited the forest.

Based on the information and documents obtained by the reporter, along with confirmation from the authorities, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that Mr. Mac Trung Tinh illegally exploited the protected forest.

Reporters from Hai Phong Newspaper and Radio & Television worked with Mr. Mac Trung Tinh.

Actual exploitation

Newspapers and radio and television stations in Hai Phong received a complaint from Mr. D. (in the complaint, Mr. D. stated that he lives in Bo Doc village, Le Dai Hanh ward, Hai Phong city) alleging that Mr. Mac Trung Tinh, a fellow villager, is suspected of illegally exploiting protected forest land.

In his petition, Mr. D. wrote: Mr. Mac Trung Tinh was assigned to manage and care for approximately 9 hectares of protective forest in Bo Doc village. This forest area "is being illegally cut down and exploited."

"The perpetrators, along with the homeowner, used motorized vehicles, machinery, and equipment such as cars, excavators, cranes, chainsaws, and a large workforce," the petition stated.

Immediately after receiving the complaint, on September 12th, the reporter contacted Mr. D. for a detailed discussion. Mr. D. stated that he works in forest planting and care, with his main tasks being clearing weeds, planting, and caring for forest trees.

Around September 7-8, Mr. D. personally discovered that the forest trees were being cut down. “Mr. Tinh's family was assigned to manage and care for about 9 hectares of protective forest, of which 3 hectares have been transferred to the military for management, and the remaining 6 hectares are managed by his family. In addition, Mr. Tinh's family was assigned about 2 hectares of production forest, but this production forest was harvested two years ago. The forest currently being harvested is definitely 100% protective forest,” Mr. D. stated.

Location of the forest area that Mr. Mac Trung Tinh is exploiting.

According to Mr. D., Mr. Tinh sold 6 hectares of protected forest, which he was assigned to manage and care for, to several people for illegal logging. Mr. D. also provided some images and video clips recording the logging and tree cutting.

To avoid affecting the person who wrote the petition, we asked this person to guide us directly to the forest, which is allegedly a protected forest area that Mr. Tinh illegally cut down and exploited.

On the afternoon of September 12th, we went to the exact location that Mr. D. had reported.

A team of reporters from Hai Phong Newspaper and Radio and Television went to conduct a field inspection, combined with verifying coordinates, with officials from the Forest Management Board and the Nam Chi Linh Forest Management Station, regarding the area of ​​forest exploited by Mr. Mac Trung Tinh.

After arriving at the location as directed by Mr. D., the reporter made a video call to him to confirm the location once again. Mr. D. confirmed that the reporter had arrived at the correct spot. Before our eyes, it was indeed true that a section of the forest at the foot of the hill had been cleared.

Production forests

To determine the type of forest in this area, the reporter contacted the People's Committee of Le Dai Hanh Ward, the Forest Management Board, and the Forest Ranger Station of Area 4 (Hai Phong Forest Protection Department).

Mr. Ngo Quang Truong, Deputy Director of the Forest Management Board, said that the unit had received information regarding suspicions that Mr. Mac Trung Tinh's family was illegally cutting down protected forest. "We affirm that the area of ​​forest that Mr. Mac Trung Tinh is exploiting is entirely production forest. There is no illegal logging or cutting down of protected forest," Mr. Truong stated.

To clarify further, Mr. Truong provided the reporter with a set of documents including the application and commitment letter requesting permission to exploit the production forest from Mr. Mac Trung Tinh; minutes of the meeting regarding the request to exploit the production forest between the Head of the Nam Chi Linh Forest Management Station (the unit responsible for the forest area belonging to Mr. Tinh's family), local officials, and Mr. Mac Trung Tinh; the production forest exploitation plan of the Nam Chi Linh Forest Management Station; and Decision No. 36/QD-BQLR dated July 30, 2025, of the Forest Management Board on the exploitation of the production forest.

A portion of the forest exploitation plan for production purposes, prepared by the Nam Chi Linh Forest Management Station on July 29, 2025, clearly specifies the coordinates of the forest area that Mr. Tinh is permitted to exploit.

Accordingly, Mr. Mac Trung Tinh was assigned a production forest contract in lot 12a+21, section 5, sub-area 21, Bo Doc area, Le Dai Hanh ward, with a requested exploitation area of ​​1.93 hectares. The northern and western boundaries border the forest land contracted by another family, while the eastern and southern boundaries border land managed by the ward People's Committee. Decision 36 also clearly specifies the VN 2000 coordinates, projection zone 6, to determine the location of the production forest area permitted for exploitation by Mr. Tinh's household.

To verify this visually, we, along with Mr. Ngo Quang Truong and several officials from the Nam Chi Linh Forest Management Station, went to the exact location of the forest that Mr. D. (the petitioner) had complained about. There, Mr. Truong reaffirmed: “The area of ​​forest Mr. Tinh is exploiting is a production forest, not a protection forest. The exploitation is entirely in accordance with the law.”

Previously, on September 11, 2025, the Forest Protection Department of Region 4 compiled a report on the current state of the forest after logging. The report was drawn up between forest rangers, officials from the Nam Chi Linh Forest Management Station, land administration officials from Le Dai Hanh ward, and Mr. Mac Trung Tinh.

Map showing the location of the production forest area that Mr. Mac Trung Tinh is permitted to exploit.

The minutes clearly state that the inspection coordinates match the coordinates attached to Decision 36, coinciding with the actual forest location. The minutes state that "the contracted household has harvested only the allocated area, without encroaching on or harvesting trees in the adjacent forest area. There is no dispute over forest property with neighboring contracted households."

We met directly with Mr. Mac Trung Tinh, who provided us with a contract for forest planting signed in 2008 with the then Hai Duong Provincial Forest Management Board. In that contract, the map of the forest planting area matched the coordinates of the Forest Management Board.

In addition to the images and videos that Mr. D. provided on September 12th, a few days later he provided more images, including a map of the protected forest land that Mr. Tinh was contracted to manage.

The map of the protected forest area provided by Mr. D. (the petitioner) shows a location (highlighted in red) that does not match the area of ​​forest that Mr. Tinh is exploiting.

However, after verifying the facts and reviewing relevant documents, the reporter found that the area of ​​protective forest that Mr. Tinh was contracted to manage (as provided by Mr. D.) did not match the area of ​​forest that Mr. Tinh was exploiting. On September 16, 2025, when the reporter and the Forest Management Board's working group conducted a field inspection, the area of ​​protective forest contracted to Mr. Tinh, located on the hilltop, was not encroached upon at all.

Based on the information and documents obtained by the reporter, along with confirmation from the authorities, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that Mr. Mac Trung Tinh illegally exploited the protected forest as alleged in Mr. D's complaint.

HA KIEN - THE ANH

Source: https://baohaiphong.vn/khong-du-can-cu-cho-rang-mot-nguoi-dan-khai-thac-trai-phep-rung-522091.html