Make forest fire prevention and control plans for each region

The number of forest fires decreased

Binh Thuan is a province on the South Central Coast with two distinct seasons. In which, from November to April next year is the dry season, this is also the time when forest fires are likely to occur.

According to the Forest Protection Department of Binh Thuan province, the province has more than 298,643 hectares of forests, of which more than 272,928 hectares of natural forests and 25,715 hectares of planted forests. As for natural forests, most of the province is of dipterocarp forest, deciduous in the dry season, distributed in high hills, steep slopes, and rugged terrain, causing many difficulties in management and conservation; difficulties in accessing the fire, organizing forest fire fighting when it occurs.

The province's planted and unforested plantations are mainly acacia, casuarina, eucalyptus..., most of which are adjacent to residential areas, tourist attractions and agricultural land, vulnerable to invasion and at high risk of the forest fire.

Faced with the above situation, for forest fire prevention and control, before the dry season, the Forest Protection Department inspects the preparation for forest fire prevention and control at the facility. Along with that, forest fire prevention and control drills were organized at forest owners' units, with the participation of local communities where forests are located.

The Forest Protection Department has also deployed for forest owners to design and construct forest fire prevention and control projects such as burning natural forests along trails and shifting cultivation; plowing white ribbons for plantations; distribution of burning materials to create white ice, and distribution and burning of burning materials in planted forests and collection of combustible materials for coastal casuarina forests.

Ensuring the force to be on duty 24/24 hours, patrolling in areas with a high risk of forest fires, strengthening propaganda and education to raise awareness and responsibility in the community, implementing the motto "4 on the spot" in forest fire fighting.

In addition, coordinate with functional forces to strictly control people entering and leaving the forest area; have a plan to mobilize reasonable forces; strengthen the propaganda and dissemination of the law to the people. If a forest fire occurs, it must be investigated to the end to find out the cause and strictly handle violations, if any.

Mr. Ho Thien Dang, The Head of the Forest Protection Department of Binh Thuan province, said that thanks to the proactive implementation of the above measures, the number of forest fires in the area has decreased in recent years. Specifically, in the 2020-2021 dry season, Binh Thuan province had 26 cases of burning of vegetation (leaves, hay...) under the forest canopy with a total area of ​​35 hectares, a decrease of 15 cases (32 hectares) compared to the same period in 2020. All of the above fire cases were detected early and mobilized the fire fighting force in time, so there was no damage to forest resources.

Do not neglect forest fire prevention and control

For forest fire prevention and control in the 2021-2022 dry season, to reduce damage caused by forest fires, the Forest Protection Department of Binh Thuan province suggested that forested localities should soon proactively direct the implementation of urgent measures. about forest fire prevention and control. Along with that, raise the spirit of vigilance, proactively develop forest fire prevention and control plans for each region, ready to activate in case of emergency.

Mr. Ho Thien Dang noted that units and forest owners about forest fire prevention and control in this dry season must not be negligent and need to improve the roles and responsibilities of forest owners, and the awareness of people' obeying the law on forest fire prevention and control.

In addition, improving the role and responsibilities of the Party committees, the leadership of local authorities, the Fatherland Front Committee and mass organizations in the area in forest protection, forest fire prevention and control. Actively patrolling and inspecting forests, promptly detecting and preventing violations of the Law on Forest Protection and Development.

According to Mr. Ho Thien Dang, on hot days with a high risk of forest fires, the authorities of communes with flammable forests should strengthen propaganda on forest fire prevention and control on the loudspeaker system at the grassroots level and integrate it when propagating forest fire prevention and control at village meetings and sign a commitment to perform well in this work, ensuring that there is no forest fire for households and individuals who register to exploit planted forests in the dry season.

With the motto "prevention is key, fire fighting must be urgent, timely and thorough", in hot days with high fire risk, forest owners and forest protection force organize regular fire duty to receive information and patrol, guarding inflammable forests in order to detect forest fires early and mobilize fire fighting forces in time, minimizing damage caused by forest fires.