Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s new forest areas rose 4.5 percent year-on-yearto 90,700 hectares in the first six months of the year thanks to favourableweather condition, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment.
Of the total areas, 88,800 hectares were production forests, up 5.7 percentfrom the same time last year.
However, only 312,600 hectares of forest were cared for, declining 10.2 percentyear-on-year.
Afforestation in the northern region is entering its main crop. Rapid treeplanting has been seen in Tuyen Quang, Phu Tho and Nghe An provinces.Meanwhile, southern localities are rushed off their feet to grow more forests.
Localities nationwide are preparing nearly 396.13 million seedlings for forestplanting this year, up 45.7 percent from last year’s same period.
About 102 forest fires occurred in the country from the outset of this year,down 64 percent year-on-year. The fires damaged 159 hectares of forest, falling94 percent from the same period last year. Most of the forest fires were theresults of slash-and-burn agriculture.
Some 590 hectares of forest were illegally cut down in the first half of theyear. Hot spots of deforestation are Dien Bien, Dak Nong, Dak Lak and Bac Kanprovinces.-VNA