Kim Hy Nature Reserve is threatened due to illegal logging by local residents in the reserve’s buffer and core zones, said Ha Xuan Minh, a forest ranger.
Kim Hy Nature Reserve, covering over 15,000ha at an altitude of 200-1,000m, is located in the districts of Bach Thong and Na Ri in the northern mountainous province of Bac Can. The reserve is home to many rare animals, such as the vooc ma trang (white-cheeked crested gibbon) as well as a variety of rare plants and trees.
A frightening and all-too-familiar scene occurred in two communes, Con Minh and An Tinh, in Na Ri District in August. About 15 large rare trees and a number of smaller trees were illegally chopped down in a 500sq.m area, according to Nam, another forest ranger.
"These exhibits were seized by the forest rangers recently," Minh said pointing to a huge pile of rough timber at the Kim Hy Nature Reserve’s protection station. Each timber was nearly 0.5m in diameter.
In the past, loggers felled trees manually, which didn’t seriously damage the reserve, but now they log by sawmill, according to Minh.
The forest rangers have found 35 violations so far in 2008, according to the reserve management board’s statistics.
A piece of rough timber, which is about 20cm by 60cm in diameter, will be sold at VND150,000 on the spot, VND180,000 at the forest gate and VND220,000 outside the forest. Due to these high profits, many local residents co-ordinate with illegal timbermen to destroy the forest, said Minh.
"Illegal timbermen are mainly ethnic people living in buffer and core zones of the nature reserve. Although we are aware of the situation, managing transportation in and out the forest and controlling people is very difficult," Minh said.
When local residents in the woods are questioned by the forest rangers they often claim to be looking for their lost livestock, but sometimes forest rangers return to the area only to discover a large tree has been cut down.
The reserve’s protection station has a staff of 11, who work at five locations spread across the reserve. Each staff member is responsible for over 1,000ha of forest, according to the head of one station, Nong Xuan Lanh. "It contrasts with high population density in the region and makes our mission difficult," Lanh said.
About 4,900ha of forest in Con Minh Commune belong to the reserve, including three hamlets in the core zone and three others in the buffer zone. Thus, forest management is very difficult here, said Trieu Thi Len, chairwoman of People’s Committee of the commune.
"We set up a working team led by the head policeman. The team usually patrols the forest, but they haven’t caught any cases," said Len.
However it is not only small-time thieves who are responsible for deforestation in Con Minh Commune. While there are 50 sawmills and five timber-yards operating in the area, only the lumber yard in Lung Pang Hamlet, located in the core zone of the reserve, is licensed.
Acknowledging the unfavourable conditions, the reserve’s management board admits that it does not yet have a plan to prevent the destruction of the forest. "We will promote co-ordination with the province to solve the cases of violation in accordance with law. Additionally, we will propagandise forest-protection," said Nguyen Tien Dung, deputy-director of the reserve’s management board.