KonTum (VNA) - The Chu Mom Ray National Park’s use ofadvanced technology for management has reduced the number of illegallogging cases and forest fires.
Covering an area of 56,000ha, the park is located in the two districtsof Ngoc Hoi and Sa Thay in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum.
Forestry management and protection have faced difficulties because local forestrangers must cover a very large forest area.
Besides the 14 forest guard stations in the park, there arenow 19 new and smaller forest guard posts at critical points.
The new posts are equipped with modern devices that help staff follow firesafety regulations.
The park uses Geographic Information System (GIS) technologyfor surveillance and control of its forest resources via a databaseof satellite images from the GIS.
Vo Sy Chung, the park’s director, said forest rangers have been provided withsmartphones and apps that help them in their jobs.
During the dry season, from November to May, manyfires were detected and extinguished quickly thanks tothe forest-fire warning system, he said.
The park’s managers can now directly supervise their forest rangers working atstations and posts or through patrols and inspections.
As a result of the new surveillance, violations of the Law on Forest Protectionand Development have decreased in number.
Since the beginning of this year, nine violations have been discovered, down by12 compared to the same period last year.
The number of illegal logging violations represents ayear-on-year decrease of nearly 93 percent.
Compared with traditional methods, the use of advanced technology in forestresource management has higher accuracy, Chung said.
In the coming time, the park plans to increase the number of devices as well asset up more mobile teams to make sure that forest areas are under control.-VNA