Mr. Ho Van Dung, from Ke village, Dakrong commune, said that since the establishment of the community forest protection teams, the encroachment on forests and the hunting of wild animals in the Dakrong Nature Reserve have been drastically reduced and prevented. Mr. Ho Van Dung himself has been a member of the forest protection team under the Ke village's forest environmental service program since 2018 and is assigned to protect 195 hectares of forest in sub-area 702 of the Dakrong Nature Reserve.
The forest protection contract team in Bản Kè, funded by the forest environmental service, has 11 members and is responsible for protecting approximately 2,243 hectares of forest. Their work involves conducting 3-4 forest patrols per week. In addition to scheduled patrols, members of the Bản Kè forest protection contract team, whether working in the fields or in the village, must report any suspicious strangers or smoke rising from the forest to the forest rangers immediately, and then proceed to investigate and handle the situation.
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| Mr. Ho Van Ac and the head of A Bung Forest Ranger Station, Nguyen Xuan Tuan, during a forest protection patrol - Photo: SH |
Mr. Ho Van Dung added that in 2025, his family will receive 50 million VND from forest environmental service payments. It can be said that the effective implementation of forest environmental service policies has contributed to increasing income and improving the lives of households in the buffer zone communes under forest protection contracts. Because when economic benefits are linked to responsibility, people will be more proactive in patrolling, preventing, and fighting forest fires. As a result, violations of forestry laws are curbed, and forest cover and quality continue to be maintained and developed stably.
Mr. Ho Van Ac from Cup village, Ta Rut commune, said that he joined the Cup Village Forest Protection Team in 2023. The team is tasked with managing and protecting 1,364 hectares of forest. Joining the team, he received training and information from forest rangers on the Forestry Law and regulations on forest protection and fire prevention and control, which helped him better understand the immense value of forests to the community. The Cup Village Forest Protection Team always proactively develops plans to protect the 1,364 hectares of forest assigned to them.
The team members take turns inspecting and patrolling the forest; on average, each member spends two days a week inspecting and patrolling the forest. The money received from forest environmental service payments has helped his family improve their already difficult living conditions.
According to Hoang Van Chien, Deputy Director of the Southern Quang Tri Special Forest Management Board, the unit's total managed area is 66,145.77 hectares, including the Dakrong Nature Reserve, the Bac Huong Hoa Nature Reserve, and the Ho Chi Minh Highway Landscape Area, located in six buffer zone communes. The Southern Quang Tri Special Forest Management Board has a contracted forest protection force covering over 39,778.29 hectares, with the participation of 18 communities, 10 household groups, and 167 individual households in the buffer zone. In 2025, the board disbursed over 18,442 million VND in forest environmental service payments to residents in the buffer zone communes.
Specifically, from the above funding source, the Management Board of the Southern Quang Tri Special-Use Forest paid for forest environmental services in forest protection contracts covering an area of 17,418.64 hectares to 9 groups/9 communities with 107 participants, 10 household groups with 100 participants, and 2 households with 2 participants. Forest protection contracts were also awarded to 18 communities with a total area of 10,263.97 hectares under the ERPA program; 8,512.35 hectares to 141 households under Program 809; and 3,583.33 hectares to 119 households under Resolution 33/2023/NQ-HĐND of the former Quang Tri Provincial People's Council. In addition, using funds from the Emission Reduction Payments Program (ERPA), the committee has supported 39 projects including concrete roads, rural street lighting, and the repair and upgrading of community cultural centers in buffer zone communes.
It is clear that payments for forest environmental services are not only a source of financial support contributing to green economic development in mountainous areas. When forests truly become a "source of life," the people will be the most effective and sustainable force in forest protection. This is also the foundation for preserving the "green lungs" of the forest, while opening up a path to stable and long-term livelihood development for communities connected to the forest.
Sy Hoang
Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/xa-hoi/202606/nguon-songturung-98d7746/
