FOREST BELT OF THE K9 HISTORICAL RELIC AREA – DA CHONG
Colonel TO NGOC CHUNG
Head of Logistics
President Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum High Command
In early October 1995, in my new role as the Deputy Head of Logistics, Party Secretary, appointed by the Head of Logistics to oversee Unit 285 under the Logistics Department, I attended the quarterly review for the third quarter with Unit 285 at K9, Ba Vi, Ha Tay. During the report on the protection of the K9 historical site, what worried me the most and occupied my thoughts was the vast area of D-K9, covering 60.5 hectares with 1,200 meters of trails, and a ditch separating it closely from Lien Bu village, Minh Quang commune, Ba Vi, which was frequently targeted for illegal logging. The Center for Forest Tree Genetics of the Vietnam Academy of Forest Science, responsible for reforestation projects in K9, had planted trees several times but failed to protect them. The hills remained bare, and wild vegetation continued to grow unchecked. In the adjacent areas, the local residents were still facing many difficulties.
At that time, the Command team of Unit 285 consisted of Lieutenant Colonel Dang Thuc as the Unit Commander, Major Nguyen Duc Quang as the Deputy Political Chief, and Major Thai Van Dot as the Deputy Chief with concerns. The comrades suggested that the leadership and command of the Logistics Department should report to the High Command for assistance in reinforcing personnel and installing barbed wire fences for protection. As the leader and commander of the agency at that time and in a new position, I was not fully aware of the situation, so I requested the Unit Command Team to conduct a direct on-site survey of the entire D area. Following the patrol trail along the Da River from Lien Bu village to the Ba Vi Farm, going up Route 87 to Che, there were only four households (Mr. Mon, Mr. Bui, Mr. Thu, and Mr. Luc). All four households were veteran soldiers, former military personnel who had been discharged and settled here to cultivate and build a livelihood. There was a straight road leading from the middle of Lien Bu village directly to the center of the D area. According to the report from Unit 285, every day dozens of local residents brought herds of buffalo and cattle to graze, cutting wood and damaging the forest trees in the area. The unit had actively tried to prevent this but had not achieved effective results. Numerous incidents of prevention and resolution had occurred, despite the active support of unit leaders, local authorities in Minh Quang commune, and Lien Bu village. However, an effective solution to protect the D area forest has not been found.
It is evident that at this time, there needs to be a new direction, a coordinated proactive approach from all levels, from grassroots to the High Command and local authorities. The key point for protection work now is the 'people's hearts fence.' However, to ensure the peace of the people's hearts and protection for the unit, a new mechanism and policy must be established to help the local residents. This is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed. The day after, we worked with the Party Committee and the People's Committee of Minh Quang commune. I remember it was a heavy rainy day, and the road from Che to Minh Quang was muddy due to the many trucks transporting ore from Che. There was no asphalt road, and after 12 kilometers through submerged streams, it took us nearly 10 hours to reach the commune's People's Committee. Comrade Dinh Ngoc Thu - Chairman, Comrade Nguyen Anh Xuan - Vice Chairman, Comrade Ngo Van Chien - Secretary, and Comrade Dinh Xuan Khi - Chairman of the Veterans Association of the commune arranged the meeting and actively discussed solutions with our unit. During the discussion, many opinions suggested tightening security, adding more guard posts, regularly assigning people for surveillance, opening the forest for local residents to collect wood, leaves, and letting cattle graze for two sessions per week. At that time, the local leaders also had no suitable solution. I asked for the opinion of Comrade Dinh Xuan Khi - Chairman of the Veterans Association of the commune: If our unit sought the help of the Veterans Association in taking care of and protecting the forest, could they handle it? Comrade Khi stated that the commune could not guarantee it, but if the commune leadership mobilized and delegated the task to the Veterans Association of Lien Bu village, they could do it under the condition of reasonable support policies.
Since working with the commune's leadership and government, we had many concerns. I sought the opinion of Comrade Hoang Kim Khuong - Head of Logistics, with his experience and high sense of responsibility. He supported my proposal to boldly and necessarily establish a new mechanism. However, he emphasized that the K9 historical site is a national forest managed by our unit, and there is no precedent for assigning work within the area to external entities. Comrade needed to carefully consider and study the state's documents on land and forest allocation policies to the people. He advised boldly advocating within the unit, seizing the opinions of each section head.
After months of contemplation, research, and reviewing all legal documents related to forest protection, including government decrees on land allocation to organizations, households, and individuals for long-term forestry purposes, it became apparent that applying these regulations to the historical forest area within the prohibited national forest zone in Ba Vi required strict protection and could not be handed over to individuals. I, along with the logistics agency, consulted with experts from the Vietnam Academy of Forest Science, including Prof, Dr. Le Dinh Kha - Director; Engineer Nguyen Van Thao - Deputy Director; Engineer Do Van Nhan - Head of the Planning Department of the Forest Tree Genetics Center; Engineer Nguyen Dinh Hai - Experimental Team Leader. These colleagues had invested a lot in tree breeding and planting for the unit, but without success, they were very enthusiastic. They suggested that the logistics department promptly report to the Military Command for the new mechanism.
Summarizing the opinions of the unit, local authorities, and the Vietnam Academy of Forest Science, I met with Colonel Do Van Khoan - Party Secretary of the Unit 969, Deputy Political Commissar assigned by the High Command to oversee logistics work (1992 - 1997). I reported and proposed that the unit commander provide guidance. Comrade Khoan was also concerned, pointing out that this was a new issue, and the logistics department needed to seek the opinions of the Military Command to discuss in the Standing Committee. On December 16, 1995, I submitted a request to the High Command to attend the solidarity conference of the people and the military on December 22, 1995, organized annually by the High Command. I also reported the proposal from the logistics department, suggesting that the High Command approve handing over the planted forest to the Veterans Association of Minh Quang commune for care and protection, which would have many advantages. Commander Nguyen Quang Tan pondered for a moment, then smiled and asked me: 'Explain on what basis do you dare to propose handing over the forest to the local area? Will there be any loss of land? What's in it for us, and what does the local area gain?”. Indeed, these opinions had been brewing for a long time. I boldly reported to the Commander: The government had issued Decree No. 02/ND-CP dated January 15, 1994, which stipulated the allocation of land and forests to organizations, households, and individuals for long-term forestry purposes. The logistics agency had worked with the local authorities of Minh Quang commune, the People's Committee of Ba Vi district, and Secretary Nguyen Danh Chu, Chairman Tran Duc Kien, and Standing Deputy Chairman Nguyen Manh Phong strongly supported the proposal. The Forest Tree Genetics Center of the Vietnam Academy of Forest Science also expressed its desire, and the neighboring households within the Veterans Association of Lien Bu village, Minh Quang commune, were hopeful. If the High Command approved this new proposal, the unit would benefit significantly.
The direct benefit for the people is that we invest in seedlings, fertilizers, and organize the initial planting, then hand it over to the Veterans Association to take over, care for, and protect. They do not lose capital but receive public care and protection. They are allowed to cultivate under the forest canopy, on fertile land, and agricultural products generate income to address hunger and poverty reduction in the mountainous region. They have the responsibility to take good care of the planted forest, prevent destruction, and they will fence off the forest land themselves, ensuring that cattle do not cause damage. The long-term benefit is that the 'people's fence' is strong, allowing us to implement policies to eradicate hunger and reduce poverty in the Ba Vi mountainous area, while the forest land in Zone D - K9 is preserved, cared for, and protected in the long run. We adhere to the Party's, State's, and Government's policies. After hearing my presentation, the commander did not conclude but reminded us to further study relevant legal documents. This new direction and new mechanism will open up many other opportunities in the K9 area and Hanoi. The commander said that this matter would be discussed and decided within the High Command. I bid farewell to the Chief, feeling relieved that I could share my thoughts on a new topic, a new mission, and anticipating the result.
The solidarity conference of the people and the military on December 22, 1995, was solemnly held at Zone A - K9. The participants included representatives from the Provincial People's Mobilization Committee of Ha Tay, the Secretary, and Chairman of the district authorities of Ba Vi; the Secretary and Chairman of four communes (Minh Quang, Thuan My, Ba Trai in Ba Vi district, and Dong Luan commune in Thanh Thuy district, Phu Tho); the Forest Tree Genetics Center of the Vietnam Academy of Forest Science; Ba Vi Farm... Co-chaired by Major General, Commander Nguyen Quang Tan, and the Secretary of Ba Vi district - Nguyen Danh Chu, the conference heard the report from the Logistics Department, evaluated one year of work, and listened to the opinions of village leaders and the authorities of the communes expressing the wishes of the people. The unit directly managing K9 is Unit 285 under the Logistics Department. I paid special attention to the opinion of Secretary Nguyen Danh Chu of Ba Vi district, who supported the proposal of the Logistics Department and suggested that the High Command not allocate land but assign the planted forest to the local area through the Veterans Association of the communes around K9 for care and protection to assist the unit.
On that day, Commander Nguyen Quang Tan concluded: According to the proposal of the Logistics Department and the opinions of the local authorities, the High Command agreed to implement the new direction, assigning the forest area planted around the K9 zone to the local area through the Veterans Association for care and protection. The Logistics Department is tasked with negotiating and signing contracts with the local authorities to thoroughly prepare for the tree-planting ceremony in early spring 1996 and hand over the care and protection responsibilities to the local area. That day, I and my comrades in Unit 285 Command were very happy; indeed, the strategic planning and proposal from the department received strong support from the local authorities and the High Command.
It can be said that this is a profound memory of the advisory work proposing logistics solutions for the High Command to decide on a completely new direction, a mechanism that is suitable for the entire management and increase in production and services of the High Command, yielding much greater effectiveness in the future.
To turn the new direction into reality, the Logistics Department actively directed Unit 285 to coordinate closely with the Forest Tree Genetics Center of the Vietnam Academy of Forest Science to prepare seeds, materials, provide basic tree planting training, sign contracts with Unit 275 Training Team to prepare the ground, dig tree holes, apply fertilizer, and spread lime powder into each hole. A contract was also signed with the leadership of Minh Quang commune to prepare personnel, especially the commune leaders, to ensure the full participation of the traditional cultural gong team of the Muong ethnic group from the commune, which had just participated in the national cultural competition in Thanh Hoa and won second prize. They were going to participate in the grand opening ceremony in early 1996.
I remember very clearly that on the morning of April 04, 1996, at an altitude of 40.5 meters near Lien Bu village, Minh Quang commune, a large banner with the theme "Tree-planting ceremony in gratitude to Uncle Ho, Spring 1996" was hung, along with flags and slogans. The opening ceremony was attended by the leaders of Ba Vi district, the Mausoleum High Command, the Vietnam Academy of Forest Science, the leaders of Minh Quang commune, Lien Bu village, and the training unit of Unit 275; officers and soldiers of Unit 285 under the Logistics Department. Harmonizing in the cool atmosphere under the foot of Tan Mountain - Ba Vi, bordering the Da River, from the ferry, the 12 sets of gongs echoed as the village elders in the Muong cultural gong team of Minh Quang commune led the way along with representatives of the Veterans Association, Women's Union, Youth Union, and the children of primary and secondary schools in Minh Quang enthusiastically entered the ceremony area.
After the statement of reasons, Major General, Commander Nguyen Quang Tan initiated the tree-planting ceremony. Amidst the echoing sound of gongs and the pleasant weather, at Zone D, under the technical guidance of officials and employees of the Forest Tree Genetics Center of the Vietnam Academy of Forest Science, the leaders of Ba Vi district, the Mausoleum High Command, representatives of various agencies and units, along with people from Muong, Dao, Tay, Kinh ethnic groups, and the leadership of Minh Quang commune, joined hands in planting trees. In nearly 3 hours that morning, 2,600 precious trees such as ironwood, meranti, teak, and mahogany were planted, covering 6.5 hectares of the previously empty hill adjacent to Zone D. The trees were planted, and proper moisture was applied following the forestry technical process.
On April 12, 1996, a contract was signed to hand over the planted forest area of 6.5 hectares and 2,600 seedlings in Zone D to the Veterans Association of Minh Quang commune for care and protection. The contract was signed by three parties: the Logistics Department of the Mausoleum High Command, the Forest Tree Genetics Center of the Vietnam Academy of Forest Science, and the People's Committee of Minh Quang commune. The contract duration followed the basic tree growth cycle, set for 5 years (from April 1996 to April 2001).
Thanks to the correct strategy, the Zone D forest belt remains beautiful to this day. The Veterans Association of Minh Quang commune assigned its members from Lien Bu village, bordering the unit's belt, to care for and protect the forest. Under the tree canopy in the not-yet-closed canopy cycle, various agricultural products such as vegetables, beans, peas, ginger, and potatoes were successfully harvested through intercropping. The income source increased, improving the people's livelihoods, and the Veterans Association had operational funds. The forest belt was well-maintained and protected.
Drawing from the experience in Minh Quang commune, the next area was a 5-hectare rocky hill near the Hai Co temple in Zone A, entrusted to the Veterans Association of Hamlet 1 (Doi village), Thuan My commune, for care and protection from 1997 to 2002. Until now, the valuable timber forest near Doi village has flourished.
From here, a new mechanism significantly increased production and services in Zone K9 and Hanoi in a new direction (outsourcing, joint ventures, partnerships, etc.). A series of production and service enhancement models were established, progressively stabilizing and unleashing the strong potential of the unit. They followed the regulations and guidelines of the State, the Ministry of National Defense, and have been allowed. The revenue of the High Command and its units increased, and the material and spiritual lives, as well as policy work, were taken care of and improved. The K9 historical site became more beautifully preserved, valuable tree species were planted according to the plan, providing shade along roads and near lakes. The ecological environment was better preserved and protected, and the infrastructure and living conditions of agencies and units throughout the High Command were consolidated and strengthened. The logistics work contributed significantly to the entire High Command's continuous efforts to excellently fulfill the assigned political tasks.
