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Forests in Vietnam’s Central Highlands at risk as development projects take priority

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LÂM ĐỒNG, Vietnam — In 1991, Trần Văn Ry migrated from his home in northern Vietnam to Lâm Đồng in the country’s Central Highlands. Along with hundreds of other migrants, he took part in a government initiative to reforest the area’s hills, many of which were deforested and barren following the U.S.-led war. Today, Ry cultivates flowers and vegetables on around 8 hectares (20 acres) of land in the shadow of the forest he helped plant. Ry says his plot used to be scrubland that he cleared for settlement and cultivation during the reforestation initiative. “I plant forests, not encroach on forest land,” Ry says. However, the land he farms is officially classified as forestry land rather than agricultural, a designation Ry is currently working to have changed. Nestled beneath a long, deep slope, surrounded by the protection forest of Tà Nung (in Đà Lạt city, Lâm Đồng province), the land where Trần Văn Ry cultivates various flowers and vegetables is all currently designated as forestry land. Image by Nam Phong. Delisting forest a quarter the size of Ho Chi Minh City In Lâm Đồng, Ry’s story isn’t unique. Agricultural land dots the hillsides and mountain slopes throughout the province, with patches of coffee and durian interspersed with pine forests. According to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Lâm Đồng province, agricultural production currently takes place on about 52,000 hectares (128,500 acres) zoned for forestry in the province. Rather than removing such encroachments, the province is seeking to…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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