The Da Nang Steering Committee for the Implementation of the Sustainable Forestry Development Target Programme and the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to organise an online meeting to discuss forestry development strategies for the 2021-2025 period, and summarizing forest protection, fire prevention and fighting tasks in 2020.

During the 2016 – 2020 period, the number of forest law violations decreased in quantity and damage level with only 266 violations levied with administrative violations and 13 others facing criminal charges.

Also, 45 cases of forest fire occurred on an area of 197ha, a decrease of 42% in the number of blazes and a reduction of 79% in forest damage as compared to the 2011 - 2015 period.

Da Nang’s functional forces have made joint forces to carry out 4,663 unscheduled patrol and inspection visits per week, destroyed 40 illegal camps, removed 3,500m of traps, and detected 115 violators.

In the 2021 - 2025 period, the city sets a target of planting production forests of 6,500ha, an annual average of 1,800ha, of which planting large timber forests and converting small timber growing areas into large ones covering a total area of 2,500ha, planting protective and special-use forests with a combined sum of 700ha, equivalent to 1,170 million trees.

Also, heed will be paid to stabilising the city-wide forest coverage rate of 47% or more, restoring and improving the quality of 46% of the total poor natural forests, enhancing the efficiency of biodiversity conservation and forest protection capacity, minimising violations of the laws on forestry, and ensuring environmental security in parallel.

This year is now seeing the city’s great efforts to protect 100% of the existing forest area and newly created forest one, take more proper measures to ensure forest fire prevention and fighting safety, especially during the peak of the dry season, and timely prevent forest blazes.

Reporting by HOANG HIEP - Translating by A.T