Right from the beginning of the year, the Tuần Giáo Forest Ranger Division directed area rangers to stay close to the grassroots, advising commune People’s Committees on issuing plans for forest management, protection, and wildfire prevention and control. It has maintained coordination mechanisms with police, military forces, and forest owners in patrolling, inspecting, and handling violations. Identifying public outreach as a vital solution to raise community awareness, during the first six months of the year, the forest ranger force coordinated with communes to organize 115 communication sessions with 8,374 participants, mobilized 7,516 people to sign forest protection commitments, and carried out 120 broadcast segments on grassroots public address systems totaling nearly 115 airtime hours.

In parallel, the Tuần Giáo Forest Ranger Division coordinated with local authorities, forest owners, and functional forces to conduct 264 patrol missions involving more than 1,260 participant turns, promptly detecting high-risk encroachment spots and strictly controlling key areas, particularly zones vulnerable to deforestation for agricultural expansion.

Hạng A Tếnh, Deputy Head of the Tuần Giáo Forest Ranger Division, stated that the unit identifies forest management and protection as tasks that must be carried out right from the grassroots. Therefore, the division has directed rangers to stay close to their assigned areas, working in close coordination with commune authorities, police, military forces, and forest owners to patrol, monitor, and handle violations promptly, while stepping up outreach to heighten public awareness and engage communities in forest protection and wildfire prevention.

Chiềng Sinh commune is one of the units effectively carrying out forest management and protection. The commune covers a natural area of over 20,878 hectares, including more than 9,065 hectares of forested land with a forest cover rate of 43.08%. Since early in the year, the commune People’s Committee has directed and maintained 24/7 wildfire prevention standby teams during the dry season and organized the signing of forest protection commitments across every village and household.

Year to date, the commune has conducted outreach across 100% of villages with 584 participant turns, aired 107 broadcasts over grassroots loudspeakers, and partnered with the Tuần Giáo Forest Ranger Division to distribute materials to 100% of village heads. Alongside outreach, the commune maintained interdisciplinary patrol teams, conducting 42 patrol missions with 225 participant turns. In addition to safeguarding existing forested acreage, the Tuần Giáo Forest Ranger Division coordinated with Chiềng Sinh commune to implement replacement afforestation in 2026 across a total area of 163.73 hectares.

Nguyễn Hồng Cường, Vice Chairman of the People’s Committee of Chiềng Sinh commune, stated that the commune consistently identifies forest protection as a regular duty of the entire political system and the people. The locality maintains grassroots forest protection teams, steps up patrols, conducts outreach, collects signed commitments across every village and home, and works closely with forest rangers to detect, prevent, and handle forest encroachment promptly, thereby preserving existing forests and raising public conservation awareness.

Forest management and protection across the area still face numerous difficulties due to rugged terrain, inconvenient transport networks, under-canopy clearing, and encroachment on forest land for coffee and crop planting. In the first six months of the year, the Tuần Giáo Forest Ranger Division detected 46 forestry violations, including 42 cases of illegal deforestation, two violations of wildfire prevention regulations leading to forest fires, one violation regarding forest animal protection, and one case of illegal storage of forest products, with all incidents handled in accordance with regulations.

Looking ahead, the Tuần Giáo Forest Ranger Division will continue stepping up patrols and inspections across key areas, working in close coordination with local authorities and functional forces to strictly punish deforestation and illegal land encroachment. It will also accelerate tree planting, manage post-fire and post-deforestation lands, and elevate outreach efficiency to encourage the public to join hands in preserving forests.