Halt proposed to projects linked to forest land use change in Phu Yen
The Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNForest) has proposed a halt to two projects developing commercial activities in natural forest and forestry land in the central province of Phu Yen.
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In its inspection conclusion issued on July 14, VNForest suggested its umbrella Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ask the Phu Yen provincial People’s Committee to stop the beef cattle farming project in the sub-areas 310 and 311 in Song Hinh commune of Song Hinh district and list the two sub-areas in the local protection forests planning.
Phase I of the beef cattle farming project of the Thao Nguyen Phu Yen Breed Joint Stock Company was set to cover nearly 393 hectares.
The land area, as the VNForest inspectorate said, is completely located in the sub-areas 310 and 311, which are next to and stretch over 20km along the main dam of the Song Hinh hydropower reservoir.
These areas are natural forests, land contiguous to the protection forest in the Hinh River basin, and the alternative forest of the Ba Ha River hydropower project. Therefore, they are very important to the protection of the Hinh River hydropower reservoir.
However, the Phu Yen provincial People’s Committee did not assess the project’s effects as regulated in the Prime Minister’s Directive 1685/CT-TTg, dated September 27, 2011.
Its action was also not in line with Directive 13-CT/TW, dated January 12, 2017, of the Party Central Committee’s Secretariat on enhancing the Party leadership over forest management, protection and development.
VNForest also requested the New City Vietnam Co. Ltd, the investor of a high-end tourism site in An Phu commune of Tuy Hoa city, to suspend all activities negatively impacting coastal forest.
The administration asked Phu Yen’s Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to direct its forest protection sub-department and subordinate units to promptly verify the company’s exploitation of about 2.7 hectares of protection forest without permission of an authorised State agency.
VNForest also asked the agriculture ministry to order the Phu Yen People’s Committee to clarify the responsibility and strictly handled collectives and individuals causing violations.
