GIA LAI — The People’s Committee of Gia Lai Province has proposed that the Government and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development use 91ha of forest land for non-forestry purposes to continue construction of the Ia Mơr irrigation system.

The proposal was made after the Ia Mơr irrigation work completed its first construction phase and was set to begin the second phase.

In 2005, the Government approved a project to construct the Ia Mơr irrigation system in Gia Lai Province, which was invested by the Irrigation Work Investment and Construction Management Board No.8 with total investment capital of more than VNĐ1.2 trillion (US$52.8 million).

As planned, the irrigation work will supply water for nearly 12,500ha of agricultural land in Gia Lai and Đắk Lắk provinces and to 50,000 residents living in the border communes in Chư Prông District.

Work was divided into two phases and the first phase of building reservoirs is complete.

In the second phase, a system of channels and canals will be built for water to flow into these reservoirs. This system will run through 91ha of forest land connecting Đắk Lắk Province’s Ea Súp District and Gia Lai Province’s Chư Prông District.

However, last July, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc announced the closure of natural forests and ordered maintaining 2.25 million hectares of natural forests, prohibiting the area from being used for other purposes, even for approved projects, except those related to national security and defence.

The move was aimed at seeking solutions to recover forests in the Central Highlands region sustainably to cope with climate change in the 2016-2020 period.

Nguyễn Anh Dũng, chairman of Chư Prông District’s People’s Committee, said a total of 91ha were under the management of the Ia Mơr Forest Protective Management Board and Ia Mơr Commune’s People’s Committee.

If approved, the replaced forest would be planted next year, he added. — VNS