Forests in the districts of Son Ha, Tay Tra and Son Tay in the central province of Quang Ngai are being cut down to sell unripe Sterculia lychnophora beans, which locals call “uoi”, to sell to Chinese businesspeople.
Ta Tien, head of the Son Ha district’s Forest Rangers’ Unit, said the unit’s workers found 13 old uoi trees chopped down in the watershed area in Son Trung and Son Ky Communes.
He said more and more people have been flocking to the locality to fell trees, fearing that more forest areas would be affected.
People have chopped trees down to look for uoi beans to sell to Chinese businesspeople, who have accepted to pay a surprisingly high price of VND50,000 for fresh beans and VND200,000 for dry beans.
“In previous years, farmers only collected fallen beans. But now they try to collect everything they can, including unripe beans, because Chinese businessmen accept unripe beans. They fell trees with engine saws and then collect beans,” Ha, a local resident in Son Ky Commune, said.
Dang Ngoc Dung, secretary of the Son Ha District’s Party Committee, also expressed his worry about the massive collection of uoi beans. The local authorities have released a document on strictly prohibiting the illegal exploitation and trade of uoi beans to protect the forest resources from being harmed.
The mountainous district of Son Tay also receives 200-300 people every day who come to fell fresh trees for uoi beans.
Tran Minh Thanh, deputy head of the Son Tay district’s Police, said the local relevant parties have been joining forces to carry out a series of campaigns of chasing illegal tree loggers, but this has not kept the loggers away.
Thanh said that the high prices paid by Chinese businesses are too attractive for local farmers because they have ignored the ban.
Uoi beans have also been harvested en masse in Quang Nam Province.
Those who come to Tien Lanh Commune in Tien Phuoc district are surprised when they see new trails to the forests.
As uoi trees are mostly located in the deep forest, illegal loggers have to open the trails which allow them to carry uoi beans more easily.
In Ward No 556, at least five paths have been opened, on which motorbikes can travel easily.
When reporters asked people who were sawing old, tall trees why they still tried to exploit uoi trees despite the ban, they said that all the families in the locality have members felling uoi trees.
One of the farmers said if forest rangers appear at the site, he runs away. The Tien Lanh commune authorities have reportedly seized 100 kilos of illegally exploited uoi beans.
A local authority said the Tien Lang watershed area is a “hot spot” in the province where serious deforestation has occurred.
The official said it takes a tree many years to grow, but a tree can be cut down in a flash.
“I wonder if precious forestry products will be seen in the future, if people destroy it today,” he said.
