VietNamNet Bridge – Mekong Delta’s provinces have been urged to get highly
ready to fight against the forest fire in the dry season.
Drought comes, fire watches for the chance
The sun has been scorching in the southern province of Ca Mau these days, while
the drought chaps the rice fields. Visitors can see the rice withering, while
fishes and shrimp died because of the water exhaustion. The 8,500 hectares of
the U Minh Ha forests have suffered from the heavy drought.
In the province, 41,000 hectares of the cajuput, mostly located in U Minh and
Tran Van Thoi districts have been in the danger of getting fired. The fifth
level alarm bell has been rung over the 5,000 hectares of forests in the U Minh
Ha National Park.
Le Chi Thien, Deputy Director of the national park fears that local people may
enter the forests these days to catch bees and chop down trees, which would
cause fire.
Thien said that some 10 forest fire cases have occurred since March 2013, mostly
because of the illegal poachers and lumberjacks.
A report by the Kien Giang provincial authorities showed that 1,500 hectares of
forests on Phu Quoc Island, 8,000 hectares in Hon Dat district, 3,000 hectares
of the preventive forests in An Bien district have been exhausted in water.
Getting ready to rescue the forests
Le Thanh Trieu, Chair of the U Minh district people’s committee, said the
provincial authorities have approved the district’s proposal to temporarily
close the forests since March 12 until the rainy season. This means that the
whole U Minh Ha cajuput forest has been put under the strict control in the dry
season.
Ca Mau is the locality which has the largest area of cajuput forest, 36,500
hectares, including 8,000 hectares of the primitive forest put under the
management of the U Minh Ha Vo Doi National Park.
With the decision, normal people cannot access the restricted forests, while the
people responsible for the forest protection must not bring combustible
materials. Other people can only enter the forests if they obtain the licenses
from the local authorities.
About 1,000 people, including forest rangers, afforestation yard officers and
local people have been on the 24/7 duty to protect the forest. All the
firefighting equipment has been in the high readiness to work effectively to
extinguish fire.
In Kien Giang province, the local authorities have requested competent agencies
and local people to protect the U Minh Thuong forest and the 36,500 hectares of
the forests on Phu Quoc Island, including 29,600 hectares of the special use
forests. Huynh Long Hai, Head of the Phu Quoc island forest ranger unit, said
the alarm bell level 5 (very dangerous) has been rung over all the forests on
the island.
An Giang province has also decided to close the forests and stop all activities
in there to strengthen the forest protection in the dry season.
Forest fires, together with the deforestation, are the biggest reasons behind
the sharp fall of the forest area in Vietnam.
The central region of Vietnam is believed to be the locality where there is the
large area of forests cut down by illegal lumberjacks. Most recently, local
newspapers have reported that 50 hectares of the teak wood forests hundreds of
years old in the Vu Quang National Park in Ha Tinh province have been found
devastated.
Compiled by C. V