Environmental consequences
Lao Dong Newspaper has just published an article reflecting the situation of large-scale construction projects overlapping land planned for Tam Dao National Park (NP). This prolonged situation makes local people worried that it will create bad precedents that cause forest encroachment and ecological environment to be affected.
Not only affecting land use planning and natural forest ecosystems, these works also have a negative impact on the lives and agricultural production of local people for a long time.
At the resort located in Thai Ba village (Son Thuy commune, Tuyen Quang province), from vast hills of trees, thousands of square meters have now turned into solid structures. In addition to affecting the ecosystem, people here also face a shortage of domestic water.
Leveling hills and changing the status quo has encroached on the only stream of the locality. Water pipes from upstream to the resort also cause many consequences.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (Son Thuy commune, Tuyen Quang province) said: "The resort initially organized leveling to get ground, then proceeded to build.
Since this project appeared, local people have often lost natural water sources when the stream leading water from upstream has been buried by soil and rocks during construction, changing the flow. Life has also become more difficult because of this.
Also according to Ms. Phuong, people are concerned that construction activities right at the foot of Tam Dao National Park, where there is water and headwater forest, may leave long-term consequences when the land is eroded, causing risk of floods and landslides.
Mr. Nguyen Quang Huy (Son Thuy commune) said that in the dry season, local people have to pull pipes up to the forest to bring water for daily needs. This is quite expensive and hard work.
Meanwhile, the water pipes of the resort are large in size, connected directly to the upstream, causing water discharge to decrease. An entire stream is now dry to the bottom, not to mention the risk of pollution when the project comes into operation, generating waste right from the upstream," Mr. Huy said.
According to the report of Tam Dao National Park, the resort in Thai Ba village has been granted 1 certificate of land use rights for forest planting by Thien Ke Commune People's Committee (old); Son Duong District People's Committee (old) issued 1 certificate of land use rights for residential land.
Through inspection, the above location belongs to plot 284A, belonging to the overlapping area between people and Tam Dao NP. This is an area within the planning of Tam Dao NP but has not been recovered and handed over on the ground and has not been granted a red book to the Park for management.
Thien Ke (old) Forest Protection Station has repeatedly made inspection records. Up to now, Tam Dao National Park continues to direct the Forest Protection Department to regularly coordinate with Son Thuy Commune People's Committee to inspect, detect and promptly report violations for local authorities to handle according to regulations.
Water source pig farm
While the ambiguity due to overlapping with planned land and the boundaries of Tam Dao National Park has not been completely resolved, pig farms in Quan Chu commune, Thai Nguyen province are still negatively impacting the lives of local people every day.
Mr. Nguyen Van Thuy (Dong Phu village, Quan Chu commune) said that 5 years ago, local people blocked the road to protest the pig farm's operation.
The pig farm is located at the headwaters, so it greatly affects people's lives. There are times when the stream water is cloudy, many fish die, and a strong stench rises.
The fact that the farm is located at the headwaters is unacceptable. Not to mention, the area of the waste tanks also encroaches on Tam Dao National Park," Mr. Thuy said.
Bringing reporters close to the waste tanks of the pig farm, Mr. Vu Van Vui (Dong Phu village, Quan Chu commune) said that in February, fish in the stream died en masse, stretching for kilometers. The pig farm is located at the source, so it will definitely cause an impact.
People are very upset when the farm is built at the water source. Fish in the stream often die white, and many livestock of people grazing around are also affected.
We hope that functional agencies will have a handling plan so that this situation does not recur," Mr. Vui said.
Talking to a reporter of Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Duong Van Hinh - Vice Chairman of Quan Chu Commune People's Committee said that the locality has received feedback on the situation of fish deaths due to pig farms.
Functional forces have gone to inspect. However, when inspecting, the stream water was still clear, without sediment, and it is unclear why the fish died.
It is true that there are dead fish, but the cause cannot be determined. In fact, the locality also does not have machinery to conduct monitoring," the leader added.
Faced with the situation that many construction projects exist due to overlapping planning with land in Tam Dao NP that has not been thoroughly resolved, the consequences have become apparent, directly affecting the lives of many people.
When the boundary between residential land and forest land has not been decisively determined, inspection, supervision and handling of violations face many difficulties. If not resolved thoroughly, the above-mentioned inadequacies will continue to lead to long-term consequences and impacts on the environment and people's lives.
