All their neighbours were cutting down trees, attracted by the prospect of making money quickly. But people in one village refused to let their forest be destroyed. Today, they’re reaping the benefits of that bold decision.
When hundreds of hectares of mangroves in the central province of Quang Nam’s Nui Thanh District were cut down to build shrimp ponds about 25 years ago, residents in Dong Xuan Village were determined to say no to a ‘fast buck’ because they realised the true value of their village’s forest.
At the time the decision was viewed as backward, but in the end it has helped them to retain a “museum” of typical mangroves which provide them with sustainable livelihoods and protects them from natural disasters.
Tam Giang is like an oasis, just over 1km from the district’s administrative centre.
It’s 5am, and Do Thi Lieu is returning from the river that flows through the mangroves. Despite the dark rings around her eyes caused by lack of sleep, she looks cheerful.
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