Ca Mau (VNA) - Authorities in the southernmost province of Ca Mau have taken emergency measures to protect coastal forestsagainst climate change and destruction caused by humans.

Meteorologists have warned thatclimate change would cause large areas of forests along the coast to disappearever year.

According to the Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development’s division to combat natural disaster, in thepast decade Ca Mau lost 300-400ha of protective forests per year. The area offorest lost since 1989 is 5,000-6,000ha, which is equivalent to an averagecommune.

Nguyen Ngoc Tien, chairman of theNgoc Hien district People’s Committee, said protective forests were shrinkingdue to erosion worsened by climate change and human impacts.

Immigrants from other provincescaused difficulties for Ca Mau authorities in not only managing social orderand security but also protective coastal forests in the Cape Ca Mau NationalPark.

Ngoc Hien district iscriss-crossed by rivers and canals that allow entry into the forests, allowingpeople to illegally log and exploit resources in the mangroves.

The trees are used to buildhouses and to make charcoal.

The Ca Mau Forest RangersDepartment said to protect the coastal forests provincial authorities havelaunched propaganda campaigns on how the forests act as a protective barrieragainst climate change and natural disasters, increased patrolling of the forestsand begun to penalise people flouting forest protection laws.

[Ca Mau loses nearly 450ha of coas﷽tal land each year]

They are also creating jobs forlocals introducing aquaculture models in the salt marshes to developforest-based community tourism.

These serve to both reducelogging and other illegal acts and nurture the forests.

To Quoc Nam, deputy director ofthe province Department for Agriculture and Rural Development, said the volumeof alluvium brought into the region had reduced greatly and forests did notgrow naturally unlike in the past.

"Afforestation is requiredto gradually restore the coastal forests," he said.

The province is buildingembankments along sections of the coast affected by erosion such as in KhanhTien – U Minh, Kinh Moi – Da Bac, and Huong Mai – Tieu Dua.

It spent 652 billion VND (nearly 30 million USD) on building and repairing 23.7km of dykes.

These efforts have helped itrestore over 300ha of forests.

The province plans to use fundsfrom climate change projects and the World Bank and EU to restore over 1,000haby 2020.

Ca Mau has a total of 24,100ha ofprotective forests, mainly in the coastal districts of Ngoc Hien, U Minh, TranVan Thoi, Phu Tan, and Dam Doi.-VNA