Several pine trees in the Bac Bien Ho protective forest were cut down in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai (Photo:VNA) Hanoi (VNA) - National Assembly deputies said on June 19 that the Lawon Forest Protection and Development had not clearly identified responsibilityfor forest protection nor encouraged people to participate seriously inprotecting the country’s trees.
Speaking at a session to discuss the proposed amended forest protectionlaw, Deputy Ksor Phuoc Ha from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai saidevery year there were reportedly 7,000 cases of deforestation and more than20,000 cases of timber smuggling.
Speaking at a session to discuss the proposed amended forest protectionlaw, Deputy Ksor Phuoc Ha from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai saidevery year there were reportedly 7,000 cases of deforestation and more than20,000 cases of timber smuggling.
“Forests in the Central Highlands have been replaced with rubbertrees plantation, but rubber trees can’t make the bare hills green againbecause they discharge CO2. No animals can survive in a rubber plantation,” Hasaid.
The law has not identified who should take responsibility if theforests are destroyed or burnt.
“The law should clearly say that the Minister of Agriculture andRural Development and chairperson of local people’s committees at all levelsshould assume responsibility for forest destruction in areas under theirmanagement,” she said.
Deputy Vo Dinh Tin from Dak Nong province said the draft law hasnot mentioned the role of ethnic minorities in forest protection. “There shouldbe one provision regulating the allocation of forests to ethnic minorities,making sure that they can make ends meet by forestation and have proper incomesfrom protecting the forests,” Tin added.
Deputy Mua A Vang from the northern mountainous province of DienBien agreed. “Only when the community sees that protecting the forest can helpthem earn their living do they want to better protect the forest,” he said.
Vang suggested that the Government adopt incentives forhouseholds, individuals and enterprises to participate in forest protection.
Most deputies agreed with the regulations on forest classificationin the amended draft law, which are forest for special use, protection forestsand production forests. Yet some deputies thought the classification should bechanged.
Deputy Luu Van Duc from the Central Highlands province of Dak Laksaid the classification was not scientific and suitable for management. “Suchclassification only takes into account the technical purposes of the forestsector but not the characteristic factors of each kind of forest, likewater-protecting forests or border forests,” he said.
Deputy Nguyen Van Man from the central province of Quang Binhsuggested the law classify forests into two kinds: protection and production.Protection forests would include natural forests and specialised forests.Production forests would be those used for production and economic purposes.
“This classification method is in accordance with the method usedin many countries and suitable for international co-operation,” Man said.
Airport resettlement
Also on June 19, deputies voted to approve a resolution toseparate works of site clearance, compensation and resettlement in the Long Thanhairport project near HCM City and treat them as sub-projects, clearing a majortechnical obstacle to the project.
Site clearance, compensation and resettlement costs in the Long ThanhInternational Airport project are estimated at 23 trillion VND (over 1 billionUSD). Currently, the amount allocated for these components in the medium-termpublic investment plan for the 2016-20 period is only 5 trillion VND, or 21.7 percentof the total need.
According to the Ministry of Transport, 5,614 hectares of landneed to be cleared for the project, including 5,000 hectares for building theairport terminal and the remainder for resettlement areas. There will be 4,730households receiving compensation.
The resolutionsays the land acquisition process must ensure social security, and stabilityfor the lives and living of people affected by the project. It also requiresthe resettlement area to be built in a synchronous manner in terms of technicaland social infrastructure, ensuring construction standards and norms suitableto local conditions, customs and habits.
The resolutionassigns the Government to direct the People’s Committee of Dong Nai provinceand related ministries and agencies to work on a feasibility study report andsubmit it to the National Assembly for consideration and approval at the 4thsession of the 13th National Assembly.
NA deputies also voted to approve a resolution appointing two judges of thePeople’s Supreme Court, a resolution on approving the State budgetsettlement in 2015, the Law on Irrigation, the amended Law on Tourism, the Lawon Compensation Liability of the State, and some other laws andresolutions.-VNA
The law has not identified who should take responsibility if theforests are destroyed or burnt.
“The law should clearly say that the Minister of Agriculture andRural Development and chairperson of local people’s committees at all levelsshould assume responsibility for forest destruction in areas under theirmanagement,” she said.
Deputy Vo Dinh Tin from Dak Nong province said the draft law hasnot mentioned the role of ethnic minorities in forest protection. “There shouldbe one provision regulating the allocation of forests to ethnic minorities,making sure that they can make ends meet by forestation and have proper incomesfrom protecting the forests,” Tin added.
Deputy Mua A Vang from the northern mountainous province of DienBien agreed. “Only when the community sees that protecting the forest can helpthem earn their living do they want to better protect the forest,” he said.
Vang suggested that the Government adopt incentives forhouseholds, individuals and enterprises to participate in forest protection.
Most deputies agreed with the regulations on forest classificationin the amended draft law, which are forest for special use, protection forestsand production forests. Yet some deputies thought the classification should bechanged.
Deputy Luu Van Duc from the Central Highlands province of Dak Laksaid the classification was not scientific and suitable for management. “Suchclassification only takes into account the technical purposes of the forestsector but not the characteristic factors of each kind of forest, likewater-protecting forests or border forests,” he said.
Deputy Nguyen Van Man from the central province of Quang Binhsuggested the law classify forests into two kinds: protection and production.Protection forests would include natural forests and specialised forests.Production forests would be those used for production and economic purposes.
“This classification method is in accordance with the method usedin many countries and suitable for international co-operation,” Man said.
Airport resettlement
Also on June 19, deputies voted to approve a resolution toseparate works of site clearance, compensation and resettlement in the Long Thanhairport project near HCM City and treat them as sub-projects, clearing a majortechnical obstacle to the project.
Site clearance, compensation and resettlement costs in the Long ThanhInternational Airport project are estimated at 23 trillion VND (over 1 billionUSD). Currently, the amount allocated for these components in the medium-termpublic investment plan for the 2016-20 period is only 5 trillion VND, or 21.7 percentof the total need.
According to the Ministry of Transport, 5,614 hectares of landneed to be cleared for the project, including 5,000 hectares for building theairport terminal and the remainder for resettlement areas. There will be 4,730households receiving compensation.
The resolutionsays the land acquisition process must ensure social security, and stabilityfor the lives and living of people affected by the project. It also requiresthe resettlement area to be built in a synchronous manner in terms of technicaland social infrastructure, ensuring construction standards and norms suitableto local conditions, customs and habits.
The resolutionassigns the Government to direct the People’s Committee of Dong Nai provinceand related ministries and agencies to work on a feasibility study report andsubmit it to the National Assembly for consideration and approval at the 4thsession of the 13th National Assembly.
NA deputies also voted to approve a resolution appointing two judges of thePeople’s Supreme Court, a resolution on approving the State budgetsettlement in 2015, the Law on Irrigation, the amended Law on Tourism, the Lawon Compensation Liability of the State, and some other laws andresolutions.-VNA
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