Many centuries-old trees in a protection forest in Cam Village of Van Canh District, located in Binh Dinh Province, south-central Vietnam were chopped down unlawfully, Luong Dinh Tien, chairman of the district People’s Committee said on Monday.

Situated in Cam Village in Canh Lien Commune sharing a borderline with Tan Xuan Commune in Tay Son District, the protection forest is under the management of the Van Canh protection forest management board.

Deforested areas were mainly found near the Co, Chuoi, Da Trai and Dong Mit Mai streams.

Stretching an area from Co Stream to Da Trai Stream, 10 trees with a diameter of 0.3-1 meter were sawn down, while five other centuries-old trees have been felled at Chuoi Stream, which is part of Co Stream.

Given the scene of logging cases, loggers used saws to chop down trees and sectioned them off to easily carry them out of the forest.

A ranger, who works at a ranger station run by the Van Canh protection forest management board, confirmed the ongoing deforestation, adding that the station sent rangers to the scene of logging cases for inspection.

Y Ka Lach, a forest protector at the station, said that several loggers had been caught red-handed deforesting.

The station frequently calls on residents to join hands with officers to protect the forest, but several individuals show no cooperation and threaten to kill rangers after drinking.

The deforested area remains a hotspot as there are many big trees left, said Nguyen Thi To Tran, deputy head of the Binh Dinh Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

“Many rangers are at the scene to check the situation,” Tran said.

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