Minister urges preventive measures against forest fires
Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat has instructed local authorities to prevent forest fires and urged them to make it a top priority during this dry season.
In 2013, 241 forest fires occurred nationwide, destroying a total of 932 hectares, mainly in the Central Highlands provinces and the south central coastal localities.
The minister asked each locality to actively implement regulations on the protection of forests and the prevention of fires as well as the need for fire fighting.
He also reminded them to intensify legal education and communication about the dangers of fires and to teach people the procedures to reduce fires.
The minister also instructed inter-sector agencies including forest rangers, the police and army forces to cooperate with the authorities at all levels to mobilise human resources and fire fighting equipment for a timely response to forest fires.
The local authorities were asked to improve the management of farming activities, especially in the areas of clearing new land for shifting cultivation, as well as for increasing control and organising fire pickets to take timely action and tackle fires if they were to happen.
Related agencies and people were asked to keep track of the forest fire situation via the forest protection department's early warning system for forest fires on the website kiemlam.org.vn or by calling 098.6668333.