A road in the Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary is cleaned and grass cut to minimise forest fire risks. (Photo: VNA) With a totalarea of nearly 40,000sq.km, the delta, which comprises 12 provinces and Can Thocity, has about 347,500ha of different types of forests, including mangroveforests, cajuput forests, national parks, nature reserves and bird sanctuaries.
Many forestareas in the delta are said to be at high risk of forest fires because of theweather and illegal human activities including lighting fires insideforests.
In An Giang,the mountainous districts of Tri Ton, Tinh Bien and Thoai Son have 7,400ha offorests, accounting for 44 percent of the province’s total forest area, deemedat high risk of catching fire, according to the provincial Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development.
Tran Phu Hoa,head of the province’s Forest Protection Sub-department, said they haveinstructed forest owners and forest protectors to strictly follow regulatedmeasures to prevent and control forest fires.
The provincehas formed 17 forest protection and development groups in Tri Ton and Tinh Biendistricts and mobilised 2,500 people from the military, police and other forceswho stand ready to fight forest fires in mountainous areas.
It has alsomobilised trucks, boats, fire extinguishers and other equipment.
Localauthorities have announced that they will strictly penalise people who violateforest protection regulations and trigger fires.
“If there arelarge forest fires, the province’s forest rangers in co-operation with thecommune People’s Committee and police will investigate the cause and strictlypenalise violators,” Hoa said.
Apart frommobilising teams, vehicles and equipment, delta authorities have also carriedout public awareness raising campaigns about the importance of preservingforests and preventing forest fires.
The delta hasalso taken measures to remove inflammable materials, build fire breakers andstore water in canals.
In Bac Lieu province,prolonged hot weather has elevated fire risk to the fifth level, the highest,at the Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary.
Located in BacLieu city’s Nha Mat ward, the sanctuary covers 380ha and has more than 100 birdspecies and 96 fish species.
The Bac LieuManagement Board of Protective Forests and Special Use Forests has arrangedteams to monitor the sanctuary round the clock and prevent people from enteringit illegally.
In Kien Giang province,many cajuput forests in U Minh Thuong, Hon Dat, Kien Luong and Giang Thanhdistricts and Phu Quoc city are at the third, fourth and fifth levels of forestfire risks.
In the first twomonths of the year, Phu Quoc has suffered 13 forest fires damaging about 6ha ofgrass, bush and replanted trees.
Le Quoc Anh, ViceChairman of the Kien Giang People’s Committee, has instructed forest owners andlocalities to strengthen preventive measures and stand ready to mitigateimpacts of any forest fire that might break out.
The province’srelevant agencies have been told to step up inspections and strictly penalisepeople who violate forest protection regulations.
Kien Giang hasmore than 70,800ha of forests, a coverage of 12 percent.
Long An provincehas more than 22,000ha of forests, mostly cajuput trees, which can easily catchfire in the dry season as they contain oil, according to the province’s ForestProtection Sub-department.
Forest growingcompanies and farms in the province have been equipped with additionalfacilities to prevent forest fires.
Long VuAgriculture and Forestry Farm manages nearly 1,000ha of forests in Thanh Hoa andDuc Hue districts.
Ho Van Ngại,deputy director of the farm, said they have bought more pumps and boats,increased the number of firefighters, built more fire watch “towers” andinstalled signs warning locals of forest fire risks./.
VNA
