Society
Work starts on 7-km segment of HCM City-Thủ Dầu Một-Chơn Thành expressway
1.
 |
| Almost seven hectares of forest, or around 1,400 trees, were illegal cut in 543 Zone, Quảng Trị Commune in Central Highlands Province of Lâm Đồng early this month. — Photo tienphong.vn |
Viet Nam News
LÂM ĐỒNG — Police in the Central Highlands province of Lâm Đồng have joined hands with the region’s Forest Protection Division to investigate large-scale deforestation in Đạ Tẻh District early this month.
On June 8, the district police discovered that almost seven hectares of forest, or around 1,400 trees, had been illegally cut in Zone 543, Quảng Trị Commune. The cut timber weighed an estimated 440cu.m. The only access road to the zone from the main road had been barricaded with trees and branches, and the illegally cut trees had been left on the scene instead of being split into timber, as is usually done.
Forest rangers and local residents suspect that the trees have been cut not so much as to sell timber but to clear land for sale. There are rumours that the Long Thành-Đà Lạt Expressway would go through this area, which would mean a rise in land prices, the Tiền Phong (Vanguard) newspaper reported.
Considering the scale and extent of deforestation, the provincial police have decided to join the local police and forest rangers in the investigation, local authorities announced on Wednesday.
The forest in Zone 543 is a part of 3,900ha of forest managed by Đạ Tẻh Forestry Plantation Co. Ltd. The forest in the zone is allocated to 13 families for protection. — VNS
