Central province probes illegal tree clearing

Authorities in the south central province of Khanh Hoa have started investigations into the illegal clearing of five hectares of forest.

The cleared area under investigation in Ninh Tay Commune was part of a 221 hectare tree planting project which was still awaiting approval.

The investigation was spurred on October 2 when the Forest Protection Bureau in Ninh Hoa District discovered workers from Van Phuoc Ltd. Co. removing trees, 3-10 meters high with diameters of 6-25 centimeters, from the cleared area.

Van Phuoc was still awaiting approval for the tree planting program, however, the workers claimed they were collecting timber to make makeshift workers houses in expectation of a green light for the project.

The workers and a representative from the company claimed they had only removed enough trees to make houses, and were not responsible for destroying the five hectares of forest where they were found.

The company representative claimed the company had found the area like that after local residents had cleared it a month earlier in September.

According to the bureau, the destruction of the area was illegal as forests that contain more than 50 cubic meters of wood per hectare must be left untouched.

Assessment confusion

Khanh Hoa Agriculture and Forestry Design and Investigation Enterprise under the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development admitted that it had made a mistake when it assessed the area in June.

In the assessment given to Van Phuoc, the enterprise had wrongly declared that only 11.6 hectares should be left untouched while the rest could be planted and improved.

After the deforestation was detected on October 2, authorities said the enterprise should have informed the company to preserve 60 hectares.

Reported by Xuan Hoa

Update from: http://www.thanhniennews.com/society/?catid=3&newsid=42825