(HBO) - Eight km far from the center of the district, there is 3,500 ha of forest in Thanh Son commune, of which, 70% of the area is the protection forests, assigned to 11 hamlets for management and protection.
The forest protection group of Noong
Luong village, Thanh Son commune (Mai Chau) regularly goes on patrol to
promptly detect the illegal forest encroachment activities.
The area of protection forests is large with many perennial and rare timber trees, holding the headwaters position in regulating water sources at the same time. Therefore, the Party Committee and the authority of the commune always pay attention and direct the People to perform well the forest protection.
Currently,
there are 22 forest protection teams with from 3-5 people each in the whole
commune. They include the village heads, police officers, militia. They go on
patrols at a frequency of 1-2 times every month to timely detect and handle the
acts of deforestation and forest encroachment. At the village meetings, the
heads of hamlets, the secretaries of the Party cell and the reputable people
regularly propagate and sign the commitments with the local people, putting
into the residential conventions and regulations on the forest protection.
Every year, the units contracted for management and forest protection in the
commune receive the supported money in accordance with the policy of payment
for forest environmental services. As a result, the local people are more aware
of the forest protection. In the peak months of the hot season, the forest fire
prevention and fighting are strictly implemented, organizing the clearing of
plants and vegetation, guiding the people to burn up with the correct techniques,
promptly grasping the situation and ensuring the response to the possible
situation.
Up
to now, the forest coverage of the whole commune has reached 63%. The
orientation of forest management and protection associated with economic
development, especially the service of the community tourism, the commune has
been mobilizing the local people to actively participate in improving and
planting forests, protecting the environmental landscapes and assisting the
different types of tourism services and the socio-economic development.
Currently, in the whole commune there are 2 homestays with many types of
services, eco-tourism, which has been highly appreciated by visitors, and have
gone on operation effectively. Besides, the commune is implementing the planning
and the construction of the tourism area of Sam Tang lake with the beautiful
mountains and forests and the total area of 80 hectares. It is expected that
the tourism area will have many interesting services such as lakeside resort,
the health care with herbs, creating jobs for many local workers.
Hoa Binh has taken measures, focusing on removing barriers in terms of mechanism, policy, infrastructure, and upgrading technical infrastructure facilities serving tourism and the quality of human resources, to promote tourism development in the Hoa Binh Lake area.
Over the past time, Da Bac has deployed measures to lure more domestic and foreign visitors to the locality, aiming to turn tourism into the district’s economic spearhead.
Covering an area of over 52,000 hectares spanning districts of Mai Chau, Tan Lac, Cao Phong, Da Bac, and Hoa Binh City, Hoa Binh lake has strong potential for tourism development. In recent years, thanks to the attention of local Party Committees and authorities as well as support from international organisations, the advantages of tourism in the lake area have been utilised.
Mai Chau is a mountainous district and home to many ethnic groups such as Thai, Muong, Kinh, Mong, Dao, and Tay with distinctive cultural identities, creating a diverse and unique cultural treasure. Aware of its advantages, the district has paid attention to the preservation and promotion of ethnic groups’ cultural values so that culture will become a leverage for tourism and contribute to socio-economic development and life quality improvement.