Mobilizing forces to protect forests
On April 28, in an exchange with a reporter from Lao Dong Newspaper, Mr. Pham Van Tan - Director of the Forest Protection and World Heritage Center (under the Management Board of Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park, Quang Tri province) said that they are focusing on directing stations and teams to closely monitor the area and strictly implement the 2026 forest fire prevention and fighting plan.
Forces are deployed to be on duty 24/24 hours in areas with high fire risk, strengthening patrols and controls to detect early and promptly handle fire-causing points.
The task of forest fire prevention must be put first, not to let large fires occur causing damage. Units need to proactively plan, be ready with forces and means to respond in all situations," Mr. Tan emphasized.
According to Mr. Tan, the unit has reviewed and developed a forest fire prevention and fighting plan for the period 2026-2030 and a plan for 2026 based on taking opinions from relevant forces. At the same time, the work of issuing and supplementing fire prevention tools and equipment has also been deployed to ensure readiness to respond when forest fires occur.
In addition, monitoring weather developments and controlling areas at high risk of fire are carried out regularly. Propaganda work is also promoted to raise awareness of people in buffer zones in using fire, limiting the risk of fire spreading into the forest.
Currently, forest fire prevention and fighting plans continue to be completed and supplemented, ensuring proactive response in all situations, minimizing damage caused by forest fires.
24/24 hour on-duty to control fire risk
Regarding this issue, the People's Committee of Quang Tri province requests all levels and sectors to identify forest fire prevention and fighting as a key and urgent task in the dry season; strictly implement the motto "prevention is the main thing, firefighting is timely and effective" and "4 on-the-spot". Forest owners must complete forest fire prevention and fighting plans, strengthen patrols and duty shifts in high-risk areas.
Mr. Nguyen Van Duan - Deputy Head of Quang Tri Forest Protection Department said that since the beginning of April, the forest protection force has maintained 24/24 hour duty, focusing on controlling coastal protection forest areas, forests near residential areas and places where fires have occurred.
At the same time, the province is also promoting the application of technology in forest management, such as camera surveillance systems, early fire warning and integrating data on the GIS platform to monitor forest developments in real time.
According to assessments by functional agencies, the risk of forest fires in the dry season of 2026 is still high due to complicated weather developments. Therefore, besides the involvement of specialized forces, the role of local people is identified as a decisive factor.
Mr. Duan informed that only when people raise awareness and proactively prevent, will forest protection work achieve sustainable efficiency.
In the coming time, units will continue to strengthen patrols, expand control routes, strictly handle violations, and at the same time promote propaganda and inter-sectoral coordination to protect forest resources and ecosystems in the area.
