As many as 20 hectares of mangrove forests have been planted over the past two years in the Tran De district of southern Soc Trang province, helping mitigate the impact of natural disasters in the area.

The point was raised at a workshop held on November 29 by the Soc Trang Red Cross society to review how the UK-funded project in the field has panned out.

The project, which was sponsored by the UK Premier Oil Company, aims to improve and increase the area of mangrove forests in the coastline areas of Soc Trang province, preventing soil erosion caused by rising sea levels.

Following the success of a pilot scheme in 2011, the company granted 1.6 billion VND (75,000 USD) to local residents to plant over 100,000 trees over 20 hectares, which will be expanded further next year.

Deputy Chairman of the Tran De People’s Committee Lam Van Be said he hopes the province will receive more support from both domestic and foreign sponsors to increase the layers of protective forest density to shield local communities from natural disasters.-VNA