From people's awareness to effective sustainable forest management

“All households, regardless of their size, must be equally responsible for protecting the forest; anyone who harms the forest, even if it is just a bamboo shoot, must be punished...”. This law is not included in any legal document, but it was unanimously included in the village covenant by the people of Bua Cau hamlet, Nat Son commune (Phu Tho province). A simple way of doing things, but it is a vivid expression of the spirit of “the whole people protecting the forest” that is spreading strongly from the grassroots.

Staff of Pa Co Nature Reserve Management Board inspect special-use forest conservation areas

When people's awareness becomes a "green shield"

Mr. Bui Van Thi, a resident of Bua Cau hamlet, shared: The hamlet's forests are located in border areas, far from residential areas, so protection is very difficult. For many years, the hamlet has established 4 forest protection teams, each team has 25-30 people on duty 24/7 at the guard huts. Every household must have someone participating, and when it is the turn of each household, that household sends someone to participate. Forest patrolling and guarding is maintained continuously, not only by obligation but also by the spirit of volunteerism and self-awareness. From that consensus, Bua Cau not only keeps the green primeval forests but also maintains the community discipline of everyone working together to protect their own resources.

If Bua Cau is a symbol of perseverance in preservation, then Tham Luong, Quy Duc commune is a story of awakening and revival. Mr. Ly Van Tam, Head of Tham Luong hamlet, recalls: Before 2011, the whole hamlet lived thanks to the forest and also violated the law because of the forest. When 60/65 households were prosecuted for cutting down forests in Pu Canh Nature Reserve. After that event, the whole hamlet seemed to wake up. From then on, we encouraged each other to replant and preserve each tree and each piece of forest.

Forest rangers coordinate with police, military and forest protection teams of Mai Chau commune to patrol and protect protective forest areas in the area.

On the hillsides that were once burned, the Tham Luong people held knives and hoes, bringing up young trees to plant. Mr. Ly Van Tam added: Not only re-greening the land, people also expanded production forest planting with Bodhi and Chau trees as the main ones, both restoring natural forests and developing the economy . Up to now, the whole hamlet has 700 hectares of forest. Of which, 460 hectares are planted forests, with an average of nearly 4 hectares per household. With a 6-7 year exploitation cycle, each hectare of forest brings in an income of 120-135 million VND, the forest has turned into "green gold". Now we consider protecting the forest as protecting our home. Thanks to that, in the middle of the Pu Canh forest, the hundred-year-old trees still stand tall, proving the change of the whole community that once made mistakes.

Grassroots approaches like those in Bua Cau or Tham Luong show that when people are empowered, benefit, and voluntarily participate in forest protection and development, forests become more sustainable than ever.

Forest development - from "greening" to sustainable livelihoods

According to the Provincial Forestry and Forest Protection Department, since the beginning of 2025, the unit has deployed a series of synchronous solutions, creating positive changes throughout the area. Comrade Tran Van Thuan - Deputy Head of the Provincial Forestry and Forest Protection Department said: Since the beginning of 2025, the unit has advised and promptly deployed legal documents, organized dozens of training and propaganda classes on forest protection, development and forest fire prevention and control (PCCCR). Along with that, inspection and patrol work has been strengthened, especially in the border areas with neighboring provinces and key protective forests. Thanks to that, the entire area of ​​natural forests and planted forests is absolutely protected.

Provincial Forest Rangers work with people to expand planted forest areas with large timber tree varieties.

Not only stopping at protection, forest development work has been promoted. The whole province has planted 19,500 hectares of new forests, reaching 102% of the plan. Of which, mainly production forests with varieties of acacia, eucalyptus, and linden. In addition, 5.1 million scattered trees were planted on roads and residential areas, contributing to raising the forest cover rate of the whole province to 43.52%. The Department also advised and supported 2,377 hectares of large timber production forests, 206 hectares of protective and special-use forests, and granted sustainable forest management certificates to 40,300 hectares of forests.

In particular, linking forest development with people's livelihoods, paying for forest environmental services and converting large timber forests is creating economic incentives for mountainous households. At the same time, the Department has also advised the Provincial People's Committee on policies to support localities in repairing 42km of firebreaks, contracting protection of 37,169ha of forest, accepting and putting into use Xuan Son Forest Ranger Station, and strengthening the capacity of "four on-site" forest fire prevention and control.

Although achieving remarkable results, according to comrade Tran Van Thuan: Forest protection work still exists, that is, lack of synchronous coordination, limited management of plant varieties, and small forest fires in some places. However, with the determination to "prevent and strictly handle all acts of encroachment on forests", along with the participation of the entire population, forest management and protection work in the province is still affirming new steps forward.

From production forests to nature reserves, green is returning. This is not only the result of policy, but also the crystallization of awareness, responsibility and belief that protecting forests means protecting life today and tomorrow.

Manh Hung

Source: https://baophutho.vn/tu-y-thuc-nguoi-dan-den-hieu-qua-quan-ly-rung-ben-vung-242326.htm