Resolution... from the people's hearts - Part 2: Protect the forest... protect the future!

(QBĐT) - For ethnic minorities in Quang Binh , life has always been closely linked to the forest through many generations, from birth, growing up and passing away. The A Rem people in Tan Trach commune (Bo Trach) or the Khua people in Trong Hoa commune (Minh Hoa) are the same, they believe that the forest has a soul, living in harmony with nature will receive peace and protection from Mother Nature. Protecting the forest... is protecting the future. Nowadays, people protect the forest not only by village conventions but also by a proper resolution - a resolution to protect the forest!

Forest protection goes into resolution

Ong Tu village belongs to the remote mountainous commune of Trong Hoa (Minh Hoa) located entirely in the Giang Man mountain area of ​​the Truong Son range with 33 households and 143 Khua people.

Taking us to visit the vast primeval forest located next to the village, Ho Thay, Secretary of the Party Cell of Ong Tu village, excitedly said: "Thanks to the people joining hands to seriously implement the resolution on forest management, protection and development for many years, Ong Tu village is always fresh, cool, with abundant and clean water. During the rainy season, there are no landslides like in neighboring villages...".

Stopping to rest next to an ancient tree as big as three people could hug, Party cell Secretary Ho Thay recalled: Starting from the resettlement project in 1994, Ong Tu village was supported with 20 million VND each year to carry out forest protection work. That was also the time when the whole village started to sit together to build a forest protection convention to serve as a basis for joint implementation. Not long after that, the contents of the forest protection convention were included in the resolution by Ong Tu village Party cell through each term and each year to be implemented more seriously.

Km39 village, settlement of A Rem people, Tan Trach commune (Bo Trach).

In the 10 years (2005-2015), deforestation caused many areas of natural forest in Giang Man mountain to be "wiped out". However, the large primeval forest of Ong Tu village still exists proudly to this day. In addition to joining hands to protect 80 hectares of community forest, Ong Tu village also received an additional 41 hectares of forest to protect and nurture. The people planted nearly 10 hectares of lim forest, which is now more than 10 years old.

Ho Hung, Deputy Secretary of the Party Cell, Head of Ong Tu Village, continued the story: Previously, seeing some places where natural forests were being cut down to plant economic forests, Ong Tu villagers "hesitated" in the process of implementing village covenants and resolutions related to forest protection work. Some individuals had opinions such as: Living next to the forest without exploiting large timber to build houses, sell for money to make a living, expand the area for farming, plant economic forests... then keeping the forest will keep you poor forever?

Determined to preserve the primeval forest, in addition to advocacy and propaganda, in 2021, Ong Tu village Party Cell issued Resolution No. 01-NQ/CB on leadership, direction, management, protection and development of Ong Tu village forest with a number of key tasks and solutions, such as: Continuing to strengthen the dissemination of resolutions, directives and decisions of Party committees at all levels, especially Directive No. 13-CT/TW, dated January 12, 2017 of the Secretariat on strengthening the Party's leadership in forest management, protection and development; reorganizing the forest protection team to operate more effectively; strictly prohibiting and preventing acts of slash-and-burn farming or tree planting on protected forest land; arranging forest patrol forces to effectively prevent acts of illegal forest encroachment...

Ho Phoong, a party member residing in Ong Tu village, shared: The primeval forest of Ong Tu village currently has many types of precious wood, such as: Lim, tau, de, soong, trin, su, vang... with root diameters from 0.5-2m. Living next to the "golden" forest, no one in the village dares to exploit it arbitrarily and indiscriminately. Because the people here understand that no longer having a forest means losing a significant amount of income from harvesting forest products every year, the source of domestic water is scarce, the climate becomes suffocating, the risk of natural disasters and landslides threatens to "wipe out" the village. For the people of Ong Tu village, protecting the forest is like protecting their own home and life.

Keep the forest… keep the love

When they first left the cave (in 1958), the A Rem ethnic group in Tan Trach commune (Bo Trach) had only about 100 people. Currently, the population has increased to 400 people, settled at Km39, Road 20 Quyet Thang. Loyal to the Party and Uncle Ho, from the early Party members, to now 40 outstanding children of the A Rem ethnic group have the honor of joining the Party.

Like the Van Kieu, Ma Coong, Sach, May... people, the A Rem people have lived closely with the forest from generation to generation. For them, the forest is a living space, a place to nurture and practice skills and knowledge to survive in the depths of the forest. The privileges bestowed by Mother Forest help the A Rem people always have a strong vitality, overcoming difficult and deprived periods. Therefore, the A Rem people always live in harmony, honestly and respectfully with Mother Forest. In the subconscious of the people for generations, protecting the forest is a mission to coexist and receive protection.

Precious trees in the community forest area of ​​Ong Tu village, Trong Hoa commune (Minh Hoa).

A Rem village elder Dinh Rau shared: Many generations of A Rem people have relied on the forest for their livelihood, so protecting the forest is the responsibility and duty of every A Rem child. The people always believe that the mother forest also has a soul. Therefore, up to now, even when life is stable, there has never been a case of the A Rem people massively cutting down forests or helping bad guys destroy the forest. Even when collecting bamboo shoots, people are aware of keeping an appropriate number of bamboo shoots so that they can continue to grow. When collecting firewood, they only take dry wood or trees that have been broken by storms, and do not cut fresh branches from trees that are growing well. In addition, when going into the forest to find honey or medicinal plants, conical leaves... they always take enough, leave a part and never exploit it all.

At a time when the life of the A Rem ethnic group was still difficult, the Secretary of Bo Trach District Party Committee Nguyen Hong Thanh visited and encouraged the people to plant native rosewood trees, which are only found in the core area of ​​the World Natural Heritage Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. Now the rosewood forest of the A Rem people in Tan Trach commune is 20 years old with an area of ​​8 hectares. Whenever mentioned, the people always affectionately call it the "Secretary Thanh" rosewood forest.

Settling in Km39 village on Road 20 Quyet Thang, the life of the A Rem people changes every day. Dinh Ba, Secretary of the Party Cell of Km39 village, confided: The people know how to raise livestock and grow crops, the A Rem children study hard, gradually narrowing the gap with people in the lowlands. In addition to supporting solid houses, the people also learn many new ways of doing business to develop production, eliminate hunger and reduce poverty.

Now, Secretary of Bo Trach District Party Committee Nguyen Hong Thanh is no longer here, but the Hue wood forest of "Secretary Thanh" still exists, with some Hue trees nearly 30cm in diameter. For more than 20 years, the A Rem people of Tan Trach commune have divided each Hue tree among themselves to care for and preserve. Preserving the Hue wood forest is not only a duty to the mother forest but also a way to help the people remember and preserve the affection and dedication of Secretary of Bo Trach District Party Committee Nguyen Hong Thanh to the A Rem ethnic group.

In the period of 2019-2024, localities have handed over nearly 30,000 hectares of production forest land to the ethnic minorities. Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park Management Board, protective forest management boards, Long Dai Industrial Forestry Company Limited, and Bac Quang Binh Industrial Forestry Company Limited have assigned 130,000 hectares of forest to the ethnic minorities for care and protection... thereby limiting deforestation and increasing income for the people, helping many households have more conditions to develop the economy, increase income, and contribute to sustainable poverty reduction.

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Source: https://www.baoquangbinh.vn/chinh-tri/202409/nghi-quyet-tu-long-dan-bai-2-giu-rung-giu-tuong-lai-2221155/