More than half of a mangrove forest in Ky Anh Town of Ha Tinh Province in north-central Vietnam has died from unidentified reasons.

The mangrove trees in Ky Anh Town’s Ky Ha Commune are dying en masse, with noticeably leafless branches and dried trunks littering the forest.

The dieback emerged at the end of 2021 and is continuing to spread, according to local residents.

The condition has caused concerns over a lack of shielding against wind storms and a decline in aquatic resources living under the mangrove trees.

Planted in 1994, the forest in question covers an area of more than 43 hectares, according to the Ha Tinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

An inspection by the provincial agriculture department reported that there were more than 25 hectares of forest, or 60 percent of the area, where dead mangrove trees could not be revived. 

Only 17 hectares of living trees remain.

The department said it has yet to indentify the cause of the dieback, but has used testing to rule out harmful organisms.

The department also proposed that the provincial People’s Committee invite central forestry agencies and related units to determine the cause and formulate a plan to remove the dead trees in preparation for planting new ones.

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