VietNamNet Bridge – A sua tree (Dalbergia cochinchinensis – Alstonia) tens of years old in the National Park of Cuc Phuong have reportedly been chopped down and sold for money by the No. 9 forest rangers.

Private or public?

Nguyen Viet Kieu, Head of the Forest Ranger Unit No. 9, affirmed that the sua tree was not grown with the state’s money under the national forestation program. Kieu said it was the tree grown by the officers of the park, which means that this was the private asset of the workers and it could be sold with the approval of the leaders of the park.

While affirming that the forest rangers spend money and efforts to grow the tree, Kieu did not remember who joined the plantation process.

“All the details of the tree sale have been reported to the local authorities, while I alone cannot make decision on the issue,” Kieu explained.

However, he admitted that the forest ranger unit has sold the sua tree for VND600 million.

Sharing the same view with Kieu, Truong Quang Bich, Director of the Cuc Phuong National Park, affirmed that the tree was grown by the workers personally. “We have decided that the tree was the asset of the forest rangers, therefore, they had the right to decide what to do with it,” he said.

When asked about the proofs to show that the sua tree was planted by the forest rangers, Bich also said there is no such proof. Meanwhile, local people believe that forest rangers arrogated the tree to themselves and unilaterally sold the tree for money.

Bich affirmed that the Cuc Phuong National Park Board of Management only did one thing – certifying that the sua tree was an asset of forest rangers, while the forest rangers did not have to ask the permission of the board of management when they sold the tree. Therefore, there was no official decision from the management board about the sale of the tree.

What’s the truth?

When asked about the administrative procedures forest ranger followed when selling the sua tree, Bich said there were the application from the forest rangers, and the certification by the local authorities and relevant agencies.

“It was the commune’s authorities which came to check the tree and signed in all necessary documents. They know the situation well,” Bich said.

However, Chair of the Cuc Phuong Commune--Dinh Thuc Chien, has denied the involvement in the case. “We did not know about the sale of the sua tree,” he said.

“We have just received a notice that the national park has liquidated some volumes of timber, but they said it was acacia,” Chien said.

“In the past, they (the forest rangers) asked the commune’s localities to certify the ownership of the sua tree, but I refused to do that. I said I was not on the right position to intervene this,” he added.

“They said they wanted to sell the tree for fear that the tree may be stolen one day. However, I think protecting trees is their duty,” he continued, adding that the sale of the tree has not been informed to the commune’s localities.

According to Bui Van Quynh, Head of the Police Station in Cuc Phuong commune said 22 cases of selling sua tree in the commune have been discovered since 2010.

Kinh te Nong thon