The forest is just some hundred metres away from the DT 725 Road and a crowded residential area in Nam Ban Town. It lies next to the farmland of local people.
Many trees have been found dying. Someone had drilled holes of between 10-15 cm into the trees and poured herbicides into them.
Besides the trees that have been poisoned, some larger ones of up to 60 metres in diameter have been felled down and burnt. Most of the trees are between 20-30 years old.
Speaking at a press conference on October 4, vice chairman of Lam Dong Provincial People's Committee, Pham S, asked for an urgent investigation into the forest destruction.
There have been similar recent cases in the province where illegal loggers have cut down, burnt or used chemicals to poison the trees to use the forest land for farming.
Earlier in July this year, over 143 pine trees in Me Linh Commune, Bao Lam District were also killed for farmland.
