As Lao Dong has reported, in Cao Bang for many years, there has been a situation where many enterprises hold large areas of forest land while people living next to the forest do not have forest land for cultivation.
Accordingly, in the 2010s, thousands of hectares of forestry land (forest land) were handed over by the Cao Bang Provincial People's Committee to enterprises for management, protection, and implementation of production forest planting to develop the economy.
According to information from the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the entire province of Cao Bang has currently allocated tens of thousands of hectares of forest land to units and enterprises with the need to implement forest economy projects in the area.
However, after receiving the land handover, the enterprises have given many reasons for not implementing forest planting according to the plan. This has led to most of the handed-over land being left unused and inefficient.
According to research, forest land was also handed over to Quang Minh Co., Ltd. with an area of 3,300 hectares, but to date, this unit has not effectively utilized the allocated forest land.
As for Cao Bang Forestry Co., Ltd. (VINAFOR), which was allocated about 18,700 hectares by the Cao Bang Provincial People's Committee, only 630 hectares have been planted in recent years.
Seeing this inefficiency, people want the local authorities to soon reclaim the inefficient areas for people to lease again.
Mr. Nong Van Tai (Thang Loi commune, Ha Lang district) said that many people in the commune want to plant and exploit forests, but the land has been leased to enterprises for a long time. "They plant very few trees, leaving most of the land unused. It would be better if the land was leased to people who could actively take care of it and generate more economic benefits," Mr. Tai said.
However, reclaiming the allocated forest land faces many difficulties, mainly due to the allocation and leasing of forest land between the Cao Bang Provincial People's Committee and enterprises being mostly done on paper without clear delineation in the field.
Mr. Nguyen Phuong Huy - Chairman of Ha Lang District People's Committee - said: "This causes great difficulty in surveying and re-determining boundaries to indicate where enterprises previously leased from. For a long time, enterprises have not directly managed the leased land, and people have encroached somewhat on the company's leased area."
According to research, the Development and Trade Engineering Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Hanoi) is requesting to terminate a nearly 2,000-hectare project in Ha Lang district (in 3 communes: Dong Loan, Thang Loi, Minh Long) after receiving the land for many years but not planting forests as planned.
According to a representative of the Ha Lang District People's Committee, for nearly 2 years, the district government has continuously requested the Cao Bang Provincial People's Committee to soon reclaim nearly 2,000 hectares leased by the Development and Trade Engineering Co., Ltd. to return to people for leasing and re-cultivation.
The process of returning these land areas is also challenging when the boundaries of forest plots are unclear. A leader of the Cao Bang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development shared with reporters that currently, according to the new regulations of the Government, the unit responsible for reviewing and proposing solutions for these areas to the Provincial People's Committee is the Cao Bang Department of Natural Resources and Environment (TNMT).
"People have repeatedly expressed their opinions when enterprises receive land but do not plant forests as planned, hoping the province will reclaim the land for people to self-produce more effectively. However, the fact that the forest was previously allocated on paper makes it difficult and costly to review and handle now," said a representative of the Cao Bang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.
According to research, on June 20, the Development and Trade Engineering Co., Ltd. continued to send an official letter requesting an extension of the land return period; the Cao Bang Provincial People's Committee is directing the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to carry out the procedures to reclaim the land and hand it over to the local government for management according to regulations, to be completed in July 2024.
Recently, the Cao Bang Department of Natural Resources and Environment has developed a plan to invite units to coordinate in reviewing ineffective forest land areas to propose solutions to address the above-mentioned issues.
