Floods and landslides unveil the importance of forests

With a forest coverage of over 65%, including many special-use forests and rare primary forests, Tuyen Quang stands out in forest management, protection, and development.

Mr. Trieu Dang Khoa, Deputy Director of the Tuyen Quang Provincial Forest Protection Department (FPD), stated that effective management and protection of forests, especially ancient and special-use primary forests, play a crucial role in mitigating floods and landslides. Forest protection is not just about reforesting barren land and hills, but also about building long-term forest protection strategies to establish multi-layered ancient forests.

Multi-layered forests, when experiencing heavy rainfall, help reduce the intensity of rainwater through each canopy layer, and the roots of these forest layers help disperse water, minimizing the destructive power of runoff. Moreover, the multi-layered root systems also help retain soil, reducing erosion and landslides.

Focusing on forest management and protection, the Tuyen Quang FPD regularly advises the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on implementing the Law on Forestry and forest management and protection efforts in local areas, especially in key special-use and primary forest regions, which are home to many rare and valuable tree species.

Since the beginning of the year, FPD of Tuyen Quang province has inspected, detected, and handled 60 violations of the law, including 50 cases of administrative penalties and 10 criminal cases, which marks a reduction of 31 cases compared to the same period in 2023, a 34% decrease. This figure reflects the determination of the forest protection force in raising public awareness and encouraging active participation in forest management and protection.

Currently, Tuyen Quang province is home to vast special-use forests, such as the Na Hang – Lam Binh forest, Cham Chu forest, and Tan Trao. These special-use forests contain many rare tree species, some of which are hundreds of years old, and are strictly protected, significantly contributing to ecosystem balance, soil retention, water preservation, and minimizing flash floods, landslides, and erosion.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Thuong, a resident of Tan Lap hamlet, Tan Trao commune, Son Duong district, shared that in the past, many villagers deforested. However, over the past 20 years, forest protection has improved. At the beginning of 2020, when Tuyen Quang province implemented a policy of contracting households to protect forests, Mr. Thuong’s family was assigned to protect 30 hectares of forest.

Mr. Thuong stated that forest protection is not just for receiving contracted payments but also for protecting the country’s natural resources, ensuring the safety of households, and securing the future of the next generation. During recent floods, dangerous landslides occurred in barren land, denuded hills, and young forests, threatening the lives and property of households. As a result, he felt that the effective management and protection of forests have become even more meaningful.

Despite these significant achievements, forest management and protection in the province still face certain challenges. Some natural forests do not yet have clear ownership, as they are under the management of communal authorities. Additionally, many valuable and rare forest products are frequently subject to illegal exploitation.

Furthermore, most of these forests are concentrated in border areas with neighboring provinces, remote and isolated regions where people still face significant economic difficulties. Some individuals, lacking full awareness, have illegally cleared forests to claim land, destroyed natural forests on allocated land to plant new forests, or illegally exploited, bought, sold, and transported forest products. These challenges are key tasks that the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and FPD of Tuyen Quang province will focus on addressing in the upcoming period.