THÁI BÌNH – Thái Bình Province aims to plant more than 1,320 hectares of coastal forests in the next five years and protect almost 4,000ha of forest.

The plan by the province’s authorities aims to recover lost forest areas, consolidate existing forest areas and grow new forests in coastal areas.

In addition, the plantation will bring much-needed benefits to the local populace, like creating jobs, generating additional livelihoods, and ensure national security and bolster defence.

VNĐ392 billion (US$18.7 million) is the estimated capital required to complete the plan, of which, VNĐ386 billion will be used to plant trees and build support components.

Land illegally encroached upon by industrial zones and urban areas as well as land used by ineffective seafood farms located near sea dykes will be reclaimed and converted to forests, thus enclosing the forest belt.

More technology will be used in forestry, including researching suitable plants for each type of terrain and researching new methods to control pests in mangroves, hence raising the trees’ survival rates.

In the next five years, Thái Bình Province will prioritise the implementation of some key projects, according to the province’s authorities.

The recovery and sustainable development of mangrove forest ecosystem project, with total investment of $2 million, was funded mostly by the South Korean government. The project to mitigate seawave impacts, stabilise seashores, and plant mangrove forests to protect sea dyke No 5 & No 6 will also be high on the agenda.

According to the province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, last year, the province finished taking inventory of its forestry resources and determined that province-wide, 9,160 hectares of land are reserved for forestry use - 3,700 hectares of which are woodlands, concentrated in two coastal districts Tiền Hải and Thái Thuỵ.

Thái Bình Province merely has protection forests and no production forests so legal logging activities are non-existent.

The province’s forest is part of the Red River Delta’s wetland biosphere and helps to mitigate the impact of climate change, resist saline intrusion, protect sea dykes, help conserve biodiversity, restore ecological balance and environmental protection.

The province implemented numerous projects to plant new forest area and to consolidate and protect existing forests in 2011-2015. Five hundred ha of coastal protection forest and millions of ‘scattered trees’ were planted. – VNS