Patrolling in Ia Kieng Commune, Gia Lai Province
Since early 2020, Gia Lai authorities have checked swathes of vulnerable forests since the province has nearly 600ha of forestland, 90% of which is natural forest. Districts in the east will be the hardest hit as they will face wildfire, water shortages and drought.
The personnel to patrol the forest is too thin and may not detect the fire in time. Buon Don District has over 10,000ha of forestland but only nine people to patrol. They have faced various issues in managing and fighting against loggers.
Moreover, the underground water has decreased due to the decreasing forestland and caused more severe droughts. Last year, the drought in the Central Highlands badly affected tens of thousands of hectares of crops and the daily lives of the locals.
It is forecasted that the rainfall in the Central Highlands this year will continue dropping. The water levels in many rivers in Gia Lai and Dak Lak decreased sharply. If the deforestation continues, droughts in the Central Highlands will worsen.
Do Xuan Dung, head of Dak Lak Forest Protection Department, said they would assign more staff to patrol important areas like Buon Don and Ea Sup districts. The military will help with forest protection works when the provincial authorities requests. The authorities will also raise the warning levels in areas that are often prone to wildfires.
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development in Phu Yen Province asked districts that are adjacent to Dak Lak and Gia Lai to work together to protect the forests from wildfires and loggers. The loggers have to travel and transit the timber through Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa and Binh Dinh to other destinations.
Doan Ngoc Co, deputy head of the Gia Lai Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said, "We’ll not let the forest bleed like in previous years. Moreover, we'll strictly punish forest managers whose lax management leads to wildfires or rampant illegal logging. Corrupted state employees will also be strictly punished."