BinhPhuoc (VNA) - Authorities in the southern province of Binh Phuochave apologised for deforestation violations in the province.
Theapology was delivered by Nguyen Van Tram, Chairman of the provincial people’sCommittee at a meeting with a working group led by Mai Tien Dung, Minister andhead of the Government Office, on February 20.
Tramattributed the shortage of forest rangers to ineffective forest management,adding that each ranger was responsible for 700ha of forest.
NguyenVan Loi, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee, admitted shortcomings inforest protection work.
Hehas promised to clarify the responsibilities of relevant officials and takedrastic measures to overcome shortcomings.
Addressingthe meeting, Dung said the provincial authorities did not follow an order byPrime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc last June to close natural forests nationwide.
Specifically,hundreds of ha of natural forest area had its designated use changed illegally,he said.
Dungasked provincial authorities to strictly implement the Prime Minister’sinstructions on forest protection.
"Thenatural forest should be closed and shifting from so called "poor"forest which means forest suffering exhaustion for other purposes should beconsidered carefully," he said.
TheMinistry of Public Security’s Environmental Crime Police Department in Augustlast year detected various violations by provincial authorities relating toturning over 575 ha of forest into land for husbandry and cultivation.
Theproject was later suspended.
Accordingto the department, provincial authorities granted a licence to an enterpriseexploiting the natural forest without compiling a report on the environmentalimpact.
Theprovincial authorities violated regulations on forestation when allowing SongBe Rubber Company to exploit the natural forest before the project’s approval.
BinhPhuoc Province’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development also erredwhen granting a license to an enterprise that was not authorised to performhusbandry.-VNA