Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam is home to nearly 14.5 million ha of forestnationwide, announced the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)on March 29.

Ofthe figure, natural forests span more than 10.25 million ha and planted forests,the rest.

Thecountry’s forest coverage currently stands at 41.65 percent.

TheMARD has ordered the Vietnam Administration of Forestry to establish a databaseon national forest resources to monitor forest exploitation in each locality.

Currently, the nation has 168 special-useforests, including 33 national parks, 59 natural reserve areas, 13 speciesconservation sites and 54 natural scenic protection sites. 

Vietnam also has 16 marine conservation sites,with 45 inland water areas and wetlands included in protection planning.

Authoritieshave worked to reduce the number of violations of forestprotection and development regulations, as well as shrink the areas of forestlost to deforestation.

Afterthree years of implementing the Prime Minister’s directions, an average of16,980 violation cases have been detected annually across the nation, down 35percent compared with that of 2011-2015. The area of forests damaged bydeforestation is 1,873 ha per year, down 29 percent from the previous period.

Notably,12,945 cases were uncovered and 936 ha of forests damaged in 2018, year-on-yeardecreases of 22 percent and 35 percent, respectively.-VNA