Thousands of hectares of forest are reviving or being re-planted in the northern province of Ha Giang’s Dong Van district that is home to a UNESCO-recognised geological park, the Dong Van stone plateau.
Five years ago, the district embarked on a project to protect and develop forests, under which forests and forest land have been allocated to households or ethnic minority villages and hamlets for care and protection.
Local authorities have promoted the role of village chiefs and patriarchs, and encouraged ethnic minority villages to build their own regulations for the protection and development of forests.
The authorities have also strengthened forest protection and development system from the district to grassroots-levels and worked out policies to support households engaged in the work.
Thanks to these concerted efforts, Dong Van has managed to double its forest coverage to 34 percent from 17.2 percent in 2005, with more than 3,000 hectares afforested. Currently, all of its 18,000 hectares of forest are allocated to almost 9,000 households for care and protection.
The move has helped to promote the image of the Dong Van stone plateau, which was officially named as a member of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network (GGN) on October 3.
The plateau covers a total area of 2,350 sq.km stretching over the districts of Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van and Meo Vac, and is 1,400-1,600 m above sea level.
Preliminary statistics show the plateau is home to a host of features connected with the earth’s landforms and the processes that shape them, with 45 geomorphologic and 33 tectonic heritages, many of them rating international and national significance. It also boasts a broad range of fossils of thousands of species of ancient creatures from 400-600 million years ago.
Approximately 250,000 people belonging to 17 ethnic minority groups are living on the plateau./.
Five years ago, the district embarked on a project to protect and develop forests, under which forests and forest land have been allocated to households or ethnic minority villages and hamlets for care and protection.
Local authorities have promoted the role of village chiefs and patriarchs, and encouraged ethnic minority villages to build their own regulations for the protection and development of forests.
The authorities have also strengthened forest protection and development system from the district to grassroots-levels and worked out policies to support households engaged in the work.
Thanks to these concerted efforts, Dong Van has managed to double its forest coverage to 34 percent from 17.2 percent in 2005, with more than 3,000 hectares afforested. Currently, all of its 18,000 hectares of forest are allocated to almost 9,000 households for care and protection.
The move has helped to promote the image of the Dong Van stone plateau, which was officially named as a member of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network (GGN) on October 3.
The plateau covers a total area of 2,350 sq.km stretching over the districts of Quan Ba, Yen Minh, Dong Van and Meo Vac, and is 1,400-1,600 m above sea level.
Preliminary statistics show the plateau is home to a host of features connected with the earth’s landforms and the processes that shape them, with 45 geomorphologic and 33 tectonic heritages, many of them rating international and national significance. It also boasts a broad range of fossils of thousands of species of ancient creatures from 400-600 million years ago.
Approximately 250,000 people belonging to 17 ethnic minority groups are living on the plateau./.
