Thai Nguyen - Protective forests are being "carved up", perennial trees are being replaced by young acacia trees

Thousands of square meters of protective forest were cut down in Tan Long commune, Dong Hy district.

Residents of Mo Ba hamlet, Tan Long commune, said that this area used to be a large tree forest, with a paved residential road from the French colonial period. At the same time, this area has a relic site of a concrete house built by the French in 1912.

According to local people, in 2015, some individuals (living in Tan Long commune) cleared trees and cut wood to make fields. The concrete house area built by the French was renovated by a family to serve the purpose of deforestation.

Mr. D.VQ, a local resident, said, “The peak of deforestation activities was in February and March 2025, some individuals continued to bring in machinery to exploit, the sound of chainsaws echoed throughout this forest every day.”

Natural trees are "cut"

Residents of Mo Ba hamlet have repeatedly sent complaints to the local authorities, but the situation continues. According to some residents, after cutting down the protective forest, individuals immediately planted acacia trees in that location. “Now, when you go to that area, you only see young acacia trees, while the old forest stumps are left exposed. Every year they destroy a little bit, it’s heartbreaking to see,” said one resident.

Following the people across the trail, reporters from the Vietnam Law Newspaper were present at the area where the forest had been cut down. The protective forest that was once dense with large trees was now bare, with only bare land, saplings, and tree stumps cut close to the ground. The area where the forest had been cut down was littered with tree stumps that had been cut down, tree trunks that had been taken away, and a few trees that had not yet been transported lying around, next to newly planted acacia rows.

According to the locals, at first only large trees were cut down, but after a while, whenever there was empty land, people planted acacia trees. The protected forest area was thus gradually replaced, "gnawing away" in small patches until it was no longer recognizable.

Not only deforestation, replacing it with acacia trees also has a significant impact on the environment. A man named VVD, who lives near the destroyed forest area, said that the small streams around this area used to have water flowing all year round, but now there is not as much as before.

“It’s not even the middle of the dry season yet but the water has dried up. Rice and tea lack irrigation water, many households have to find water sources for cultivation, which is very difficult. If the forest continues to be destroyed like this, what will we have for production tomorrow?”, Mr. VVD added.

Not stopping there, the water pipes of some households bringing water from the source were all cut and destroyed (suspected to be due to the impact of people destroying forests and planting acacia trees), making the people here very upset.

"The green forest groans" the remaining logs at the scene

Speaking with reporters from the Vietnam Law Newspaper, Mr. Le Cam Long, Head of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Forest Protection Department, admitted that there was a situation where protective forests in Tan Long Commune (Dong Hy) were encroached upon and illegally exploited.

He said that the deforested area mentioned by the reporter is located in Lot 1, Block 7, Sub-area 177. The affected forest area is about 1,400m². At the time of inspection, more than 20 large trees had been cut down, and many acacia beds had grown in their place.

“After receiving the complaint from the people, the Provincial Forest Protection Department issued a document directing the Head of the Dong Hy District Forest Protection Department to preside over and coordinate with the People's Committee of Tan Long Commune, relevant organizations and individuals to inspect and verify the incident,” Mr. Long added.

I think the authorities in Thai Nguyen should soon come to a conclusion and resolve the issue of deforestation and its impact on the environment./.

Trinh Van Tuan Anh

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/thai-nguyen-rung-phong-ho-o-bi-xe-thit-cay-lau-nam-bi-thay-the-bang-keo-non-post549092.html