Nghe An has over 12,000 hectares of pine trees that have not been treated, at risk of forest fires.

Pine forest area in Thuong-Tan-Loc commune, Nam Dan district has dense vegetation, high risk of forest fire. Photo: Van Truong

Sneaking into the pine forest area of ​​Thuong-Tan-Loc commune, Nam Dan district these days, one can see that most of the understory is dense with pine trees. Due to not being collected for a long time, the pine needles after falling down form a layer of dry "mulch", posing a very high risk of forest fires.

Mr. Tran Minh Nam - a resident of Thuong-Tan-Loc commune said: "In the past, when there were no gas stoves or electric stoves, we, the people living near the forest, often went into the pine forest to collect pine needles and ground cover for cooking. However, in the past 5 years, people have been able to take the initiative in fuel, so collecting ground cover is no longer done regularly, so the ground cover is getting thicker and thicker."

In 2023, some areas in the pine forest area of ​​Thuong-Tan-Loc commune (Nam Dan district) were burned due to dense vegetation. Photo: Van Truong

Mr. Nguyen Canh Loc - Chairman of the People's Committee of Thuong-Tan-Loc Commune said: The treatment of the understory of pine and acacia forests in the commune is quite little. Since the beginning of the hot season until now, the whole commune has only treated 150 hectares/1,200 hectares of pine and acacia forests. Of which, the Nam Dan Special Use Forest Management Board has treated 120 hectares, and the commune has treated 20 hectares. The reason for the lack of treatment of the understory is that in recent years, the price of pine resin has dropped sharply, so people are not interested in producing and taking care of the forest.

Mr. Vo Trong Cuong - Head of Nam Dan-Hung Nguyen Forest Protection Department added: Nam Dan district has over 4,000 hectares of pine forest, however, the whole district has only handled 366/4,000 hectares in key areas, including the tomb of Ba Hoang Thi Loan in Nam Giang commune, the temple of King Mai Hac De in Nam Dan town, and Dai Tue pagoda in Nam Anh commune.

The area of ​​​​the understory of pine forests is mainly treated by the Nam Dan Special-Use Forest Management Board. The remaining pine forests managed by communes have not been treated, the main reason is still lack of funding.

The vegetation in the pine forest area of ​​Dien Phu commune, Dien Chau district grows wildly but has not been treated. Photo: Van Truong

In Dien Chau district, forest fires occur frequently every year, but the dense undergrowth under the pine forest canopy is not treated.

Observations in the forest area along Xuan Duong lake in Dien Phu commune (Dien Chau district) show that the understory under the pine canopy grows well and densely. Meanwhile, this forest area bordering Nghi Dong commune, Nghi Loc district is often visited by people, and the risk of forest fires is very high during the hot season.

A representative of the People's Committee of Dien Phu commune shared: Due to financial difficulties, the commune has not had the conditions to handle the vegetation. In recent years, the commune has mainly carried out prevention work, such as sending forces to guard and control the forest gates to promptly detect and handle incidents when they occur.

According to the report of Dien Chau District Forest Protection Department, the whole district has nearly 6,000 hectares of pine forest area, but most of the pine forest cover has not been treated. The district faces many difficulties in forest fire prevention and fighting because the area does not have forest owners such as forestry companies or protective forest management boards. Most of the above forest areas are assigned to communes and residential communities for management.

Processing pine forest vegetation in Yen Thanh district. Photo: Van Truong

In addition, the areas of vegetation treatment in Do Luong, Nam Dan, Quynh Luu, Nghi Loc districts are also very limited. Mr. Tran Quoc Minh - Head of Forest Protection Management Department, Nghe An Forest Protection Department said: Currently, the whole province has more than 15,476 hectares of flammable pine forests, however, the annual clearing of vegetation only reaches over 3,000 hectares, while more than 12,000 hectares of pine have not been cleared. The areas that have been cleared of vegetation, Mainly, units such as forestry companies or the Forest Protection Management Board manage and allocate funds for treatment, while the remaining areas managed by the commune are mostly not treated, so the risk of pine forest fires is very high.

Some key pine forest areas in Nam Dan district have been treated for vegetation. Photo: Van Truong

The reason why many areas of vegetation have not been treated is due to financial difficulties. To treat 1 hectare of vegetation under the pine forest canopy costs from 4 to 5 million VND. While the funding for forest fire prevention and control is also very limited, forest management units and localities also have to spend on purchasing additional firefighting equipment, training, maintaining watchtowers, building firebreaks, etc.

Source: https://baonghean.vn/nghe-an-co-tren-12000-ha-thong-chua-duoc-xu-ly-thuc-bi-nguy-co-chay-rung-post288159.html