Located in the northwest of Lam Dong province, the Serepok forest surrounds the basin of the river of the same name - a river mentioned as a "reverse flow" phenomenon before crossing the Cambodian border. This is one of the largest forests in the country managed by a department-level unit under the Department of Agriculture and Environment. For many years, the green color of the forest has been preserved thanks to the coordination between management forces and thousands of households, mainly ethnic minorities, participating in contracting forest protection.
Ms. K'Thao, 30 years old, residing in hamlet 2, Dam Rong 2 commune, said that her family contracted 30ha of forest for 5 years. Members regularly participate in patrols or coordinate when requested.
When abnormal signs are detected, the family immediately reports to management officials and reminds the violator. Each year, income from forest protection reaches about 13 - 15 million VND, contributing to improving life.
Similarly, Ms. K'Dieu, 52 years old, also received a contract for 30ha of forest from 2022. According to her, protecting the forest means protecting water sources for living and production. Although the work is hard, having to wade through streams and forests, households still maintain regular patrols with functional forces to protect the forest.
The Serepok Protection Forest Management Board currently manages more than 62,000 hectares of forest and forestry land in the Serepok and Dong Nai river basins, of which over 50% is protection forest. However, the unit only has 53 officials, arranged at 5 stations in 3 communes of Dam Rong 2, 3, 4 and Lang Biang ward - Da Lat.
Faced with the reality of "many forests, few people", the unit implemented many synchronous solutions. According to Mr. Nguyen Trong Man, Head of the Management Board, first of all, it is to improve the responsibility of officials in charge of the area, strengthen coordination with forest rangers, police, local authorities and adjacent forest owners.
The key solution is to contract forest land to people. To date, the Board has allocated more than 39,000 hectares of forest, of which over 31,000 hectares enjoy forest environmental services, to 3 collectives and 1,115 households. Each household receives about 30 hectares, receiving from 10-16 million VND/year depending on the area. In parallel, officials regularly inspect and coordinate patrols with people 2 times/month, helping to detect violations early and handle them promptly.
The unit also signed 2,600 commitments with households living and cultivating near the forest, requesting not to violate the Law on Forest Protection and Development. Notably, these households did not participate in receiving contracts to avoid taking advantage of them for illegal exploitation. In areas where forest destruction had occurred, the Board erected warning signs and set up checkpoints to prevent recurrence.
Thanks to the above measures, in 2025, the whole area only recorded 6 violations with a damaged area of 0.78ha, a decrease of 25% in the number of cases and 69% in the area compared to the previous year. Functional forces also discovered 20 subjects violating the Land Law with an area of 3.6ha. In the first 3 months of 2026, 2 violations were recorded, including 1 case of forest product storage and 1 case of deforestation of 0.095ha of forest, which have been filed for handling.
Serepok forest not only plays a protective role but is also a unique ecological and cultural space of the Central Highlands region, associated with landscapes, waterfalls and community life. In the context of increasing agricultural land prices, the risk of forest encroachment is still present. However, with the participation of management forces and local communities, the green color of Serepok forest is still being sustainably preserved.
