Forest is destroyed in Quảng Nam Province. The province has seen a number of forest destruction cases recently and provincial authorities determined management overlap and loose inspections led to the problem.— Photo baotainguyenmoitruong.vn

QUẢNG NAM — Quảng Nam Province has seen a number of forest destruction cases recently and provincial authorities determined management overlap and loose inspections led to the problem.

Nguyễn Nhuần, deputy chairman of the Bắc Trà My District People’s Committee, said late last week three different organisations manage the Sông Tranh Protected Forest, including the Sông Tranh Management Board, the Sông Tranh Forest Ranger Unit, and the Bắc Trà My Forest Ranger Unit. This overlapping management led to the tardy discovery of forest destruction. So Nhuần suggested only one organisation to manage the forest.

Phan Tuấn, director of the Quảng Nam Forest Management Department, told Lao Động (Labour) newspaper that from the beginning of last year through now, the department discovered more than 120 cases of illegal forest destruction affecting more than 273ha. Most of the cases affect protected forests. Several forest managers did not keep close watch on areas they were responsible for, Tuấn said. And authorities did not perform regular inspections of forest management.

Huỳnh Tấn Đức, director of the Quảng Nam Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the department plans to re-arrange the system of forest management boards to improve protection effectiveness. For now, the forest would be managed by forest ranger divisions, he said.

Recently, the Quảng Nam Economic Police seized Nguyễn Cường, deputy director of the Đắc Mi Protective Forest Management Board in Phước Sơn District, for making corrupt use of his position to appropriate properties.

Cường used 45cu.m of wood in the forest, worth more than VNĐ252 million (US$11,200), for his personal purposes. He sold part of the wood, and used the remainder to build a house for himself and to build offices for the board.

By the end of last year, provincial authorities discovered a number of forest destruction cases, affecting hundreds of cubic metres of the Sông Tranh Protective Forest in Bắc Trà My District.

Some forest management board workers co-operated with the investigation. Some employees of the Sông Tranh protective forest management board were discovered to have collaborated with forest destroyers. These workers were temporarily suspended from their work for further investigation. — VNS