VietNamNet Bridge – The forests on Phu Quoc Island, including
the forests within ecotourism projects, have been destroyed severely just
because local people expect to get the compensation from the State.
A lot of ecotourism development
projects have been licensed on Phu Quoc Island. All of the projects cover big
areas with vast forests, including primeval forests. After the land was
allocated to the investors to develop projects, the forests have been destroyed
severely.
Lan Anh Company in June 2008 got
the license from the Kien Giang provincial people’s committee to develop the
Vung Bau ecotourism site which is expected to cover an area of 267 hectares in
Cua Can town on Phu Quoc Island.
In principle, protecting and developing
forests is a must for the investors of ecotourism projects. However, in
reality, the forests on the land area allocated to Lan Anh Company have been
damaged immoderately.
Tien Phong reporters have found a
forest in hamlet No. 4 of the project’s area, where trees have been chopped
down in an area of 30,000 square meters. Local people cut off the trees in
order to receive the compensation from the State.
The compensation could be worth
of a fortune for any one. A local resident, pointing to a part of the forest in
the Lan Anh Company’s project area, saying that the compensation could be up to
two billion dong.
The destroyed forest had been put
under the management of the Phu Quoc National Park and Cua Can commune
authorities until it was allocated to Lan Anh Company.
A source from the investigation
agency has revealed that the compensation money would be taken back, because
this is the forest land, while the tree cutting should not be considered as a
work to be paid.
Prior to that, in early 2011, tens
of big trees with the diameter of 30-50 cm were found chopped down also in the
land area allocated to Lan Anh Company to develop the ecotourism project. Most
of the trees were the ones belonging to 5-7th groups of timber.
However, it was quite a surprise
that the Phu Quoc district localities at a meeting with the leaders of the Kien
Giang province, said that the tree cutting was licensed by the commune’s
localities and the district’s forest ranger unit.
Meanwhile, Lan Anh Company had no
information about the deforestation. Nguyen Phat Luc, an executive of Lan Anh
Company, said at the meeting: “I have heard that local people encroached on the
forest land area in order to get compensation money. However, we do not pay
money directly to farmers; therefore, we do not have detailed information.”
In 2008, Starbay Vietnam Company
Ltd got the investment license from the Kien Giang People’s Committee to
develop a project on an area of 540 hectares in Ghenh Dau commune, which was
then put under the control of the Phu Quoc National Park.
The 1.8 billion dollar project is
expected to comprise of many different items, including restaurants, hotels,
entertainment areas, golf course and forest ecotourism site. However, while the
project is still “lying immovably”, a lot of large pieces of the forests have
been devastated.
Reporters found out a lot of big
trees lying on the ground, just one kilometer far away from the coastal area.
It was still unclear who have destroyed the forests and what for.
When asked about the project
implementation, Quoc Anh, Deputy Head of the Board of Management of the Phu
Quoc island development, said the provincial leaders try to meet Starbay’s
representatives to discuss the issues relating to the project, but they have
failed to contact them.
Compiled by Thanh Mai
Business & Investment Opportunities
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