Localities have to protect their coastal forests

Under the PM’s decision, during the five-year period, localities have to protect their coastal forests, rehabilitate 9,602 hectares of forests, plant 46,058 hectares of new forests and grow 23.5 million trees in certain areas. 

If the plan can be fulfilled, the total area of coastal plantation forests will rise to 356,753 hectares by 2020, while the forest coverage will rise from 16.9 percent in 2014 to 19.5 percent in 2020. 

However, experts said the targets may be unattainable.

According to Trieu Van Luc, director of the Forest Development Department, some afforestation projects have been proceeding slowly because of the lack of capital. In some localities, the land areas reserved for coastal forests have been used for other purposes. 

Meanwhile, reports from local authorities about afforestation are unreliable as they are not updated.

Most of the plantation component projects have been implemented with money from the State and funding from NGOs. 

The central province of Nghe An is facing difficulty as the areas for coastal forests are fragmented, far from each other. The locality still cannot develop a large concentrated protective forest area of tens of hectares.

Meanwhile, an analyst commented that the financial support of VND30 million per hectare provided by the State is not attractive enough to encourage afforestation 

Coastal mangrove plant species have a low survival rate. They do not thrive in severe soil conditions and climate. A lot of money is needed to build security barriers to protect young trees and apply special care methods.

In Ha Tinh province, according to the local forest rangers’ unit, only 55-60 percent of forests are still alive. In some areas, where there were large forests in the past, the forests have declined or no longer exist. 

It is estimated that 390 hectares of mangrove forests in Ha Tinh City, 340 hectares in Thach Ha district, 340 hectares in Ky Anh and 270 hectares in Nghi Xuan district have been lost.

Most of the mangrove forest area has been used for other purposes, including aquaculture, tourism service development, infrastructure item development and embankments. In addition, natural calamities also damage forests every year.

However, Luc said the afforestation plan has gained certain achievements. The "green walls" play an important role in protecting embankments, important roads and areas prone to erosion.

The Forestry Directorate has recently asked local authorities to prioritize forest plantations in coastal areas at the beginning of the year when natural conditions are favorable. 

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Thien Nhien