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After one and half an hours of crossing steep mountains, reporters reached the timber-rich area of Hoa Son Forest in Minh Hoa district of Quang Binh province, under control of the Minh Hoa Afforestation Yard.
Just within two hours of weaving through the trails, they saw hundreds of felled logs of precious wood, which sells for very high prices in the market.
The sawing traces left on trunks showed that trees were felled at different moments in the last three months. The smallest trunk had a diameter of 80 cm, while larger trees had a diameter of up to 1.2-1.3 meters.
A guide said illegal loggers felled only large trees with a minimum diameter of 80 cm.
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Numerous precious timber planks chopped down by illegal loggers have been left on the ground, aimd vast clearings in the Hoa Son forest. |
“As you see, the forest has been devastated. It now looks just like a battlefield,” he said. “There is not much precious wood left."
The guide and reporters left the forest in another direction instead of following the usual way so they could avoid seeing the sad spectacle of felled trees. However, what they saw 10 minutes later was even worse.
Four large trees with a trunk diameter more than one meter had been chopped down in a vast forested area of 150 square meters.
Two of them had not been sawn by illegal loggers to get planks of wood. Loggers apparently had just finished sawing and carrying the wood away minutes before.
Just 150 meters away, two other trees were also chopped down. It was estimated that the felled trees represented hundreds of cubic meters of wood, which could be used for different purposes.
Long logs of wood are used to build houses, while 40 cm-wide planks are used to make coffins and smaller ones household items.
A goi nep (Aglaia spectabilis) was discovered by reporters barricading the trail. It must have been chopped down not a long time before. Next to it, there was a small tree with a diameter of 30 cm.
“The small tree was still too young to give wood. But illegal loggers still felled it so they could chop down the goi nep tree more easily,” the guide explained.
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