Vietnam’s central Thanh Hoa province and Laos’s Houaphan province have reviewed a joint program to protect forests and prevent and fight fires in shared border areas.

Planting acacia trees in border areas. Photo for illustration: vov.vn

Forest warden forces and authorities of the two provinces exchanged information and together trained local people on forest protection, fire prevention and sustainable forestry development.

The two sides have also conducted more than 100 joint patrols along smuggling-prone border areas, seizing over 95,000 cubic meters of illegally harvested woods and 71 kilograms of wild animals.

The provinces will continue their joint operation between 2016 and 2020 with the focus on preventing illegal forest activities, controlling forest fires, developing their local forestry industry, ensuring border security and promoting solidarity and cooperation between their residents, said Le The Long, Deputy Director of the Thanh Hoa Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Thanh Hoa and Houaphan share 192 kilometers of border that is surrounded by nearly 150,000 hectares of forests and lands for forest farming.

Source: VNA