Soil in the Central Highland is undergoing serious degradation, expertswarned at a recent workshop on the region’s development strategy to2020, with a vision to 2030.

At the event, which was jointlyorganised by the Steering Committee for the Central Highlands and NguyenTat Thanh University in Ho Chi Minh City, Prof. Dr. Le Huy Ba from theuniversity said the region has rich soil resources, including 1.3million ha of fertile basaltic soil, which allows the cultivation ofmany types of crop plants, especially industrial plants such ascoffee, pepper, rubber, cashew nut, tea, mulberry and fruit-trees.

However, the area of forest and forest land in the region has beenreduced rapidly due to lax management, resulting in dropping humidityand disappearance of microorganisms in soil as well as diminishingunderground water resource.

On the other hand, the excessiveand unscientific cultivation has quickly deprived the land of itsvegetation cover, thus causing serious soil erosion in the region.

According to the provincial Department of Science and Technology, thevolume of eroded soil on cultivated land can reach 95.1 tonnes perhectare per year, compared to only 12 tonnes per ha of planted forestsand under 6 tonnes per ha of primitive forest.

Participantssaid that a large volume of nutrients in cultivated land in the regionis swept away every year due to land erosion.

Scientists urgedlocalities in the Central Highlands to restrict the destruction ofnatural forests to use land for other purposes, while planting moretrees on unused land to expand forest coverage.

The provincesare also advised to adopt sustainable farming techniques and diversifycrop plants in order to protect ecological balance and limit landerosion, thus contributing to sustainable socio-economic development inthe region.-VNA