Forests in Khanh Hoa are located in mountainous and hilly terrains making it difficult to control fire when it happens...
Forests in Khanh Hoa are located in mountainous and hilly terrains making it difficult to control fire when it happens. Besides, there are some other obstacles including the fact that vegetation dries out in dry season, increasing the risk of fire.
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| Forest fire prevention in Ninh Hoa, Khanh Hoa. |
Ready to deal with emergencies
Forests cover an area of nearly 202,587ha including 166,467.5ha of natural and 36,120.2 ha of cultivated land in Khanh Hoa Province. 20,000ha of forest is now in a high risk of fire, mainly in the districts of Khanh Son, Khanh Vinh, Ninh Hoa, Van Ninh and Cam Ranh Township.
To protect forest recourses, since the beginning of the year, local authorities have actively taken measures to control and prevent forest fire. Grass fires are a major concern for firefighters in dry seasons and they get quickly out of control and can cause serious damage. Propaganda campaigns have been launched to raise the public awareness of forest protection and fire prevention. One of the most important methods of fire prevention is educating the public because most of forest fires are started by people. Forest fire officials have warned people not to light grass fires.
Specially trained agents are permanently on standby to discover timely cases of Illegal forest destruction and deal with emergencies. Fire prevention specialists frequently work in co-ordinated teams. 409 forest fire control teams with 4,120 members have been founded in Khanh Hoa Province. 144km of firebreaks are also used in containing fires. Together with firemen, 1,000 police have been mobilized to deal with any emergencies. Statistics show that in the first quarter of 2010, two forest fire cases occurred in Khanh Hoa destroying 3,2ha of forest.
Obstacles
However, at present, there is a lack of firefighting equipment. Besides, fire is traditionally used by small-scale farmers as a tool for conversion of forest into plantations and agricultural land. In time of drought, the fires may go out of control, resulting in severe damage to the forest and the surrounding region.
For effective fire control and prevention, the local authorities need to help farmers with intensive farming. Specially trained agents must be permanently on standby to discover timely any cases of Illegal deforestation, make sure fires are not carelessly ignited and deal with any emergencies.
N.T
