Green sprouts from the people's hearts - Lang Son Newspaper and Radio and Television Station

- In recent years, in many localities in the province, the afforestation movement has been changing strongly. If in the past, people mostly relied on the support policies of the State, now, seeing the economic efficiency of forests, many households and businesses have proactively invested and expanded forest areas. These "green shoots" now not only grow from the land but also bloom from the hearts of the people - from the change in economic thinking, contributing to sustainable forestry development.

People of Van Thuy commune, Chi Lang district take care of eucalyptus

Van Thuy Commune, Chi Lang District, if there was previously a vacant land area, now it has been covered with green of acacia, pine, anise trees... Mr. Kiem Van Suong, Ban Du village, Van Thuy commune shared: Before, I had to wait for a project to support seeds, fertilizers, and techniques before daring to plant, but in the past few years, I have seen that the forest provides a stable income, so I have invested in planting and caring for it myself. For example, in 2023, my family exploited pine wood with a total of nearly 1,000 trees, worth about 400 million VND. After exploitation, I continued to invest in seedlings and fertilizers to plant and care for eucalyptus with an area of ​​more than 3 hectares. Thanks to the attention to care, the trees are currently in the process of growing and developing well.

Along with Mr. Suong, people in Van Thuy commune have also actively and proactively planted forests. Mr. Linh Duc Tien, Chairman of Van Thuy Commune People's Committee, said: The whole commune currently has over 2,000 hectares of pine, acacia, eucalyptus forests... of which over 1,500 hectares of planted forests have become forests, bringing economic efficiency of 100 - 200 million VND/household/year. This is the result of the propaganda and mobilization process and especially thanks to people realizing that planting forests is a sustainable way to get rich.

Not only the people of Van Thuy commune, the socialized forest planting movement has spread throughout the province. The good news is that in this transformation process, the people are no longer “followers”, but have become the decisive subjects. People proactively search for seeds, learn techniques, and cooperate in production to consume products.

In addition to the people, enterprises operating in the forestry sector also play an active role in the socialization process. A typical example is Loc Binh Forestry One Member Co., Ltd., which is currently managing and exploiting about 4,300 hectares of forest, of which about 2,500 hectares are production forests. On average, the company plants 250 hectares of new forest (mainly acacia, pine, eucalyptus) per year. At the same time, the company annually contracts with people to plant and care for forests with an area of ​​800 hectares.

According to the data of the Forest Protection Department, the annual target for afforestation in the province is 9,000 hectares, on average, each year, the State's capital support for afforestation is low. Therefore, to complete the forest development target, the Department has advised the Department of Agriculture and Environment to advise the Provincial People's Committee to direct districts and cities to proactively source funds to support afforestation, promote socialization in forest protection and development.

Thanks to that, on average, the whole province plants over 9,000 hectares of new forest each year, exceeding the planned target. In 2024 alone, the whole province planted over 9,700 hectares of new forest, of which more than 9,200 hectares of new forest were planted from socialized sources invested by companies, businesses, and people. Since the beginning of 2025, the whole province has planted about 3,500 hectares of new forest. The area of ​​forested land has increased over the years, from 518,766.49 hectares in 2020 to 580,280.41 hectares in 2024, with forest coverage reaching 64.1% in 2024.

Forest development has contributed to increasing income and improving people's lives. On average, 1 hectare of small timber forest with a cycle of 5-7 years has a value of 150-200 million VND, 1 hectare of large timber forest with a cycle of 12 years or more reaches 350 million VND. In 2024, the value of forestry production will reach more than 4,000 billion VND, achieving the set plan.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Loan, Deputy Head of the Forestry Sub-Department, said: The clear change in the socialization of forest planting is evidence of a positive change in people's awareness. In the coming time, the unit will continue to coordinate with the People's Committees of districts and cities to promote forest management, protection and development, promote the socialization of forest planting, and at the same time, promote the application of technology in forest management, build forest planting models associated with value chains to increase people's income.

Socialization of forest planting has truly “taken root” in the hearts of the people. Currently, forests are a livelihood, bringing high income to people. Actively planting and caring for forests contributes significantly to completing the targets of forest planting and developing the forestry economy in a sustainable direction.

Source: https://baolangson.vn/mam-xanh-tu-long-dan-5047666.html