LookAtVietnam – Efforts need to be stepped up to protect the UNESCO recognised Pu Mat National Park, which has long been exploited by illegal loggers, said Nguyen Van Minh, deputy director of the park.

The Pu Mat National Park. (Photo: http://www.moitruongdulich.vn)

According to Minh, since the beginning of this year, there have been 24 cases of illegal logging, and rangers have confiscated 32cu.m of wood.

Sinh said the park was home to 2,494 plant and 241 animal species, many listed in the Red Book for protection.

Hostile environment

Nguyen Thanh Nhan, director of the park, said rangers were often attacked by illegal loggers and poachers.

“We often have stones thrown at us. Illegal loggers are very violent and are ready to use weapons against rangers.”

He added that on several occasion rangers were physically attacked and threatened with HIV-infected syringes and even bombs.

Luong Hai Nam, a ranger at Tam Dinh station, said he remembers only too vividly the time he was attacked with a syringe that later was found not to contain the HIV-virus.

Nhan said when detected, smugglers often tried to bribe rangers, resorting to violence if that failed.

Other non-human threats include malaria and poisonous animals and plants.

In addition, he said, rangers must be on a constant look out for fire.

Nhan said that from May to August, rangers had to work full time 24 hours a day without leave because of the risk of bush fires.

Nhan added that rangers faced enormous difficulties. He said the scale of the operation was mind-blowing - just 84 rangers have to patrol 194,000ha of park spreading across Anh Son, Con Cuong and Tuong Duong districts in the central province of Nghe An.

Alternative measures

Nhan said that other local departments often assisted the over-worked rangers.

Park stations are open round the clock seven days a week.

To make their lives easier, rangers run education programmes for locals.

Minh said: “We have built up some economic development models such as tree planting, oxen grazing, brocade making and knitting for the locals.”

He added that the park management committee had also organised ecotourism trips with stops at ethnic minority villages.

In this way, he said locals can make a living by acting as tour guides, selling cooking and by providing overnight accommodation.

As a result of these programmes, over the last 10 years, Minh said deforestation had been reduced.

There has also been a drop in the hunting of rare animals. He also said there had been no reports of bush fires in the last decade.

Ngan Thi Lien, a resident of Con Cuong district, said: “Like many other families in the area, my family was heavily reliant on the park’s resources for making a living.”

She said she used to go to the park for firewood while her husband hunted animals and collected wood for making furniture.

However, she said that was no longer the case. Lien said her family now earns over VND19 million (US$1,055) a year after taking out a VND2 million loan for breeding animals.

However, Minh is not complacent.

“While we have been making progress on preserving the park, more effort must be made by the management committee, rangers and locals to protect Pu Mat, the biosphere reservation zone recognised by UNESCO in November 2007.”

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News