A large area of forest in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai has been burnt down for farming.

Ia Grai District Forest Management Board have found two forested areas in Ia O and Ia Chia communes destroyed.

Many trees were cut down or burnt down with smoke still lingering at the stumps of some of the trees. The areas are just several kilometres from Ia O border post.

According to Ia Grai District Forest Management Board, the agency has three people who are assigned to protect a total area of 6,000 hectares, so they struggle to cover the territory.

Violators often damage the forest at night and when rangers come, they try to escape.

Lam Van Long, head of the board, said that to date he had not received any official report about the case. However, checks showed most of the destroyed plants were bamboo and small trees.

Long added that violators would be poor ethnic minority farmers who did that to take land for farming. Local authorities are investigating the case.

Colonel Vu Trung Kien, head of Gia Lai Province’s border soldier force, said that he would instruct Ia O border post to join the investigation.

Authorities of the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum also recorded several large trees in Tu Mo Rong District had been felled and an investigation is being conducted.

Nguoi Lao Dong/Dtinews