Vice chairman of Bac Giang Province, Mai Son, said they would strictly punish anyone destroying natural forests.

“We're going to install security cameras to manage and protect the forests," he said.

The move came after 10 hectares of natural forest in Luc Nam District were cut down by illegal loggers.

According to Bac Giang Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Deputy Director Le Ba Thanh, they were still investigating the case and trying to find out who was behind the violations.

“We've reported five cases of forest destruction since the beginning of this year," Thanh said. "But Luc Nam was the largest."

Thanh said that local people's awareness of forest protection was still low, and many people have destroyed natural forests for farming and plantations.

"We're co-operating with other concerned departments and agencies to investigate this case" Thanh said. "We'll prosecute and strictly punish violators."

Ten hectares of natural forest with hundreds of 40-70 cm diameter trees were previously cut down and removed by some local people in Luc Nam District. The small trees and bushes were cleared and burnt and people were growing gum trees. It is said such destruction had been going on for a long time.

Head of the Luc Nam Forest Protection Department, Ha Anh Uy, said that they had fined three local people for destroying the forest but others continued the illegal work before local authorities decided to take tougher action.

This has become Bac Giang’s biggest forest destruction case so far.