Rangers of Hang Kia-Paco Nature Reserve make joint patrols in the forest with villagers from Hang Kia Commune (Mai Chau).
Mr. Sung A Vang, Deputy-Head of Hang Kia-Pa Co Nature Reserve Management Board, shared that right at the start of 2021, the Management Board directed the local rangers to safeguard the forests with drastic measures, advising the local administrations to practice proper exploitation of the special-use forests, actively coordinating with police and military forces and local units at the 6 local communes within the Nature Reserve’s boundaries to maintain joint patrols and inspections, preventing illegal encroachment and exploitations from villagers, launching deep and thorough raids into the forest cores, monitoring forest resources situations and biodiversity, keeping a close watch over the local villagers’ practice of clearing ground for cultivation with fire, timely discovering and dealing with encroachments near and into the special-use forests.
Along with forest management and protection, the Management Board attached special importance to biodiversity conservation and supervision. The Board conducted 15 inspecting and supervising routes to safeguard Pa Co pines, red pines, Yunnan cypress (Calocedrus macrolepis), fokienia…and some other endemic species, making a complete inventory of Pa Co pines in place and assessing the distribution and growth of these plants in the two communes of Hang Kia and Pa Co; supervising, creating encoded GPS location markings for constant monitoring.
Community tourism has been exploited by local villagers of Mong ethnicity over the years, organizing trekking trips for tourists to discover the pristine forests. The Management Board maintains close coordination with households living near the forest gates to safeguard and manage the area’s biodiversity, while developing sustainable ecological tourism in the nature reserve./.