Forests in Gia Lai province’s Mang Yang district (Photo: VNA)Forestsin the region, which includes the provinces of Lam Dong, Dak Lak, GiaLai, Kon Tum and Dak Nong, face a high fire risk because of hot weather.
Atthe beginning of the dry season, the provinces instructed localities toestablish fire-prevention plans and strictly implement them in thedry season.
InDak Nong province, the Forest Protection Sub-department in September last year instructedlocalities and forest owners to set up prevention plans. The sub-department hasorganised forest fire prevention drills and more inspections.
DakNong has 125,000ha of forests, including 78,300ha of natural forest and46,700ha of manmade forests in danger of high fire risk, according to theprovince’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Inthe dry season, which lasts between November and April, local farmers cleartheir fields by burning, which can cause fires to break outin forests near the fields.
LeQuang Dan, deputy director of the department, said the province’s forests havea thick layer of vegetation covering the ground and many forests are pine andbamboo forests, which easily catch fire in the dry season.
Atthe beginning of the dry season, localities and forest owners cleared dryvegetation and set up fire breaks in forests.
InGia Lai province, localities set up forest protection stations in fire-proneforests to monitor fires and protect forests around the clock before andafter Tet (Lunar New Year).
InGia Lai’s Krong Pa district, the district’s Forest Protection Bureau, forestowners and the district’s communes have monitored forests around the clock toprevent fires and other activities that violate regulations.
NguyenVan Hoan, Deputy Director of the Gia Lai Department of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, said the province has provided information on legal forestprotection regulations to residents.
GiaLai, which has the largest forested area in the Central Highlands region, has514,000ha of forests, according to the province’s Forest ProtectionSub-department.
InKon Tum province, the provincial People’s Committee ordered the head ofrelevant departments, agencies and district level People’s Committees, andforest owners to take fire-prevention measures at the beginning of thisyear.
Underthe order, the head of relevant departments, agencies and district levelPeople’s Committees will bear main responsibility for forestviolations and forest fires.
KonTum’s localities have prepared human forces and facilities, made firebreaks in forests, and established plans for preventing and controlling forestfires in each area.
TheCentral Highlands region has more than 2.5 million hectares of forested land,accounting for 17.5 per cent of the country’s total forest area, according tothe Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Theregion has a forest coverage rate of 45.9 percent./.
VNA
