The border zone between the Forest Protection Stations of Mường Lay, Mường Nhé, and Nậm Pồ (Điện Biên province) and Nậm Nhùn and Mường Tè (Lai Châu province) spans a natural area of over 324,518 ha, including more than 210,477 ha of forested land. However, the terrain consists mainly of high mountains, steep slopes, numerous ravines, and trails crossing through forests, making patrolling and control difficult. The majority of residents living in bordering areas belong to ethnic minority groups facing difficult lives and relying primarily on swidden farming and non-timber forest product extraction. Encroaching farming and settlement persist in selected areas, escalating risks of deforestation, illegal timber harvesting, and forest fires.

To manage bordering forest areas effectively, Điện Biên and Lai Châu forest protection forces have maintained coordination regulations, stepped up information exchanges, and organized inter-agency patrols and field inspections to discover and handle violations promptly. Forestry law dissemination has been accelerated; during the first six months of 2026, forest protection forces organized 173 dissemination sessions across border villages with over 10,000 attendee visits, while coordinating 4 focused dissemination conferences for 251 participants. Dissemination content focused on Forestry Law regulations, forest protection and FPFF responsibilities, technical guidance on safe swidden burning, and mobilizing residents against illegal harvesting, transport, and trading of forest products.

Concurrently with dissemination, forest protection forces coordinated with police, military, local authorities, and forest owners to organize patrols across key areas. In the first six months of the year, units conducted 36 patrol shifts with 293 officer visits, controlling situations and preventing hotspots of deforestation and illegal timber harvesting.

Tạ Đức Đặng, Head of the Mường Lay Forest Protection Station, stated: “Bordering territories are vast and rugged, making it difficult to achieve high efficiency if each unit operates independently. Therefore, we focus on strengthening coordination among forest protection stations, regularly exchanging information, organizing inter-agency patrols, and promoting the roles of local authorities and residents to detect and prevent violations promptly, enhancing forest management, protection, and FPFF efficiency.”

Information exchanges between units are maintained regularly. In the first six months of the year, forest protection forces conducted 38 telephone exchanges and 28 direct meetings to coordinate verifying and handling arising cases. Regarding FPFF work, units proactively track weather developments, update forest fire risk warnings, review “four on-the-spot” plans, step up duty shifts during the dry season, and guide residents on safe fire usage during production. Thanks to proactive prevention, fires were detected and handled promptly. In the first six months of 2026, four forest fires occurred in the bordering area, affecting approximately 0.3 ha; all cases were documented and processed according to regulations.

Inspections and handling of forestry law violations have been strictly enforced. Through patrols, functional forces detected and processed four administrative violation cases - including three illegal deforestation cases covering a total area of over 4,165 of natural forest, and one case involving the illegal storage of over 1.2 of sawn timber. All violation cases were handled in accordance with regulations, raising deterrence and prevention.

In the coming time, forest protection forces will continue strengthening coordination in managing and protecting border forests; accelerate technology applications in monitoring forest dynamics and early detection of forest loss and fire risks; maintain periodic briefings and information exchanges; and raise public awareness and responsibility in protecting forest resources.