Vietnam's Hue investigates large-scale destruction of coastal protection forest

Le Ngoc Tuan, head of the Hue City Forest Protection Agency, confirmed late Friday that over 2.5 hectares of coastal forest in Phong Quang Ward had been illegally cleared, with 1,461 keo lua liem trees, scientifically known as acacia crassicarpa, cut down.

The destruction was discovered on July 2 during a routine patrol by the Northern Hue Forest Ranger Unit, which found numerous acacia trees, measuring six to 30 cm in diameter, sawed near the base. 

The damaged forest lies next to a residential resettlement area in An Loc Village, a site known for frequent coastal erosion.

"The trees have been marked for investigation," Tuan said.

"We are currently tracking information related to buyers, sellers, and the transportation of the wood out of the protected area."

He added that the incident shows signs of large-scale, coordinated logging and may have occurred during the early stages of the new two-tiered government system, which consists of provinces/cities and wards/communes and began recently. 

Authorities plan to determine individual responsibilities as part of the probe.

Coastal protection forests in Vietnam are designated under national forestry law as critical for erosion control and environmental protection.