According to a report by the Vietnam Administration of Forestry under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, there were 449 violations of the Forest Law in Dak Nong Province in the first 11 months of 2022. Specifically, the province has 31 cases of illegal forest exploitation and 308 cases of illegal deforestation, damaging 63 ha of forests of all kinds. With forest law violations, Dak Nong is assessed as the province with the fourth highest number of deforestation cases across the country.
Facing the alarming situation of deforestation, persons with joint and several liabilities explained that deforestation occurred only on a small scale with an average of 0.2ha of forest per case, and the number of deforestation cases decreased gradually year by year. However, with the fourth highest number of deforestation cases across the country, frankly, the forest protection in Dak Nong Province is extremely weak, showing signs of managerial neglect.
Regarding the cause of many forests being cut down and encroachment on forest land taking place on a large scale, according to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dak Nong Province, the forest management and protection force is too thin, so they cannot grasp, detect, and handle violations timely. In addition, in recent years, forest rangers have massively quit their jobs, causing the province's forestry sector to face a serious human resource crunch.
Dak Nong and Central Highlands provinces have entered the dry season, and deforestation tends to increase. The authorities of Dak Nong Province have been strengthening patrols, management, and protection of forests and strictly dealing with deforestation, encroachment on forest land, and forest law violations to deter and prevent forest law violations.
The Vietnam Administration of Forestry asked the Chairman of the People's Committee of Dak Nong Province to pay attention to directing agencies and units in the area to strengthen forest protection measures to promptly prevent and strictly handle forest law violations.
To protect the remaining forests, Dak Nong Province’s authorities need to soon have solutions, specific and more radical mechanisms to retain and attract human resources for the forestry sector, and at the same time, equip modern support tools for forest rangers to detect and prevent timely and effectively deforestation and wildfires.
If the province does not take action soon, the consequences will be devastating once the forests are destroyed and cut down uncontrollably. Therefore, local authorities need to embark on directing the investigation and handling involved individuals and organizations, especially officials who abet loggers.
