On April 15, Mr. Ngo Khanh Toan - Head of Phu My Regional Forest Protection Department (Gia Lai Provincial Forest Protection Department) - said that the unit is verifying and clarifying the case of Mr. Bui Van Thang - former Director of the Protection Forest Management Board (BQLRPH) of Phu My district, former Binh Dinh province (now BQLRPH Phu My, Gia Lai) - arbitrarily exploiting protection forest.
We will also clarify whether Mr. Thang shows signs of occupying protection forest area for planting and exploiting or not. Because through inspection, from 2012 to now, the forest area was contracted to 1 household to stand in name, but in fact Mr. Thang is the person directly managing, exploiting and benefiting, although the policy of contracting to households ended in 2010 - Project 661," Mr. Toan said.
The Head of Phu My Regional Forest Protection Department also said that, in principle, when Project 661 ends, Phu My Forest Protection Management Board must liquidate contracts with contracted households and report to competent authorities to request policy approval.
However, Phu My Forest Protection Management Board did not report, nor liquidated the contract, allowing people to arbitrarily destroy crops on the contracted forest area, continuing to plant acacia hybrid using people's capital.
Phu My Regional Forest Protection Department will clarify the responsibility of the Director of Phu My Forest Protection Management Board when it was discovered that Mr. Thang arbitrarily exploited protection forest but intentionally concealed it, without reporting to the forest protection unit for handling.
The responsibility of the forest owner - Phu My Forest Protection Management Board is to report the incident to the forest ranger agency when violations are detected within the prescribed time limit. However, Phu My Forest Protection Management Board did not report, even though it had detected and made a record of the incident. Only when the press reflected, the forest ranger agency grasped and handled it. This is an act of deliberate concealment," Mr. Toan said.
According to the Head of Phu My Regional Forest Protection Department, the Provincial Inspectorate has intervened to inspect, clarify and handle the responsibility of Phu My Forest Protection Management Board when allowing problems to occur in the exploitation of protected planted forests under Project 661.
As Lao Dong Newspaper has reported, in 1996, implementing Project 661, Deo Nhong Agro-Forestry Farm (now Phu My Forest Protection Management Board) planted protection forests with state budget funds, the planting species were cashew trees, black muong trees and acacia leaves in plot 1a, sub-zone 166.
From 2000 to 2007, Deo Nhong Agro-Forestry Farm prepared contract documents and signed contracts to manage and protect protection forests for 2 households. However, because these 2 households did not care for and protect forests according to the signed contract, this unit terminated the contract.
From 2008 to 2012, the above-mentioned forest area was managed and protected by Phu My Forest Protection Management Board, not contracted.
Project 661 ended in 2010, but on January 5, 2012, Phu My Forest Protection Management Board still signed a contract to assign Mr. Dinh Ba Trang (resident of Phu My Nam commune) to manage and protect protective forests planted, the acacia hybrid tree species planted in 2007 in plot 1a, sub-zone 166 until the planted forest is allowed to be exploited.
Mr. Trang is the person named in the contract, but in fact Mr. Thang is the person directly managing, protecting, exploiting and benefiting from this forest area.
By 2020, Mr. Trang proposed to return the area of protection forest that had been contracted in plot 1a, sub-zone 166. However, Mr. Thang did not liquidate the contract according to regulations, still keeping it to continue managing, exploiting and benefiting himself.
