An additional 8,000 hectares of protection and production forests will be planted in northern mountainous Lao Cai province this year.

The province plans to focus on lowland districts and along newly built and upgraded highways, notably the Noi Bai – Lao Cai highway running through Tan An commune and Cam Duong commune.

The locality’s reforestation has been implemented through the active involvement of local relevant bodies and ethnic minority groups, said To Manh Tien, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The work has greatly contributed to the forestry sector’s restructuring efforts, designed to improve local incomes and attract travellers, he added.

Planted forests cover almost 50,000 hectares and account for one fourth of the total forestry in Lao Cai. Local forest coverage has exceeded 50 percent thus far, particularly in Van Ban, Bao Yen and Bao Thang districts where forests areas make up 50-65 percent of all lands, a fourfold increase from 1995 coverage.-VNA