Ninh Thuan (VNA) - The south-central province of Ninh Thuan isfocusing on strengthening the management and protection of natural forests,afforestation and developing the forest economy in association with buildinglivelihoods for people in the buffer zone.

Dang Kim Cuong, Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and RuralDevelopment, said to improve the efficiency of planted forests, the provincehas planted trees that can adapt to a dry climate and valuable trees likejackfruit, avocado and grapefruit.

The department reported in 2020, it has planted nearly 843ha of forest andcared for 1,294ha of forests under the sustainable forestry developmentprojects.

Ninh Thuan signed contracts to give local households more than 66,587ha offorest under the Government's Decree No 75/2015/ND-CP.

On average, each household received 30ha of forest to protect and develop theeconomy.

Additionally, it has provided rice to households so they could protect theforest with peace of mind, Cuong said.

Chau Van Khuc, who lives in Phuoc Huu commune, Ninh Phuoc district, said in2016, the Tan Giang Lake’s Protective Forest Management Board assigned hisfamily 30ha of forest under a forest protection contract for 400,000 VND perhectare annually.

The family planted fruit trees and raised breeding cows to earn an annualincome of about 80 million VND.

The province is building infrastructure systems in difficult areas andinvesting in clean water supply and irrigation systems to aid people livingnear forests.

According to Cuong, thanks to protectingand planting forests, the quality of local forests has improved with many poorforest areas restored and forest coverage increased to a rate of 46.8 percentin 2020.

The management of natural forests is still being closely monitored, thedirector said, and local authorities have controlled deforestation.

However, forest fires and deforestation prevention has faced many difficultiesdue to the dry and hot climate, as well as drought.

Dangerous terrain also causes difficulties for forest management and protection,according to Cuong./.