U Minh Ha Forestry Co., Ltd: Preserving and Protecting Ca Mau Province’s "Green Lung"

Recognizing that afforestation, management, protection, care, development, and utilization of forests are key tasks for advancing forest resources, the leadership and staff of U Minh Ha Forestry Co., Ltd have always pursued these objectives. Their efforts have contributed to preserving Ca Mau's "green lung," safeguarding the ecological environment, and maintaining local political stability.

Visitors to the Trem River Eco-Tourism Area in U Minh District adore their excursions, immersing themselves in the natural beauty and unique biodiversity 

Currently, U Minh Ha Forestry Co., Ltd manages a substantial area of forest and forest land totaling 24,133.33 hectares across three districts: U Minh (22,197.27 ha), Tran Van Thoi (1,925.55 ha), and Thoi Binh (10.51 ha). Due to the size of this area, the company faces many difficulties in forest and land protection, as well as in forest restoration and development. To address these challenges, the company has prioritized forest management, protection, care, development, and utilization. It conducts regular patrols and actively manages and protects the forests and land. The company's forest rangers possess strong professional expertise and a thorough understanding of the areas under their jurisdiction, including those prone to encroachment and fires. This knowledge enables them to implement timely and effective interventions. The company engages in ongoing outreach efforts to educate and mobilize local communities about the importance of forest management, protection, and fire prevention. As a result, local residents have increasingly recognized the significance of forests and have shown greater support for the company's initiatives in forest management and development.

 To strengthen business performance, the company actively develops sustainable forest management plans and 5-year and annual business plans and submits them to competent authorities for approval. Once approved, U Minh Ha Forestry Co., Ltd implements these plans to advance its primary business activities, which encompass forestry, fishery, and agriculture. This includes forest planting, forest production, eco-tourism, food services, forest excavation and embankment, cargo handling services, hybrid acacia farming, and other related operations. The company pays attention to building and strengthening the brand name of its products and services; regularly maintains reasonable policies with potential customers and constantly seeks new customers, especially those using forest products and services like timber, crawler excavator services, tourism services, hybrid acacia seedlings and forest product stevedoring.

Staff from U Minh Ha Forestry Co., Ltd are engaged in planting new forests

With the continuous efforts of the leadership and the staff, U Minh Ha Forestry Co., Ltd have made much progress and successfully completed its assigned tasks. Forest management, protection, and fire prevention efforts have been effectively implemented, yielding positive results. The area of exploited commercial forests has been well safeguarded, with minimal violations reported. The company basically controls deforestation, promptly unveils, prevents and handles violations, which have been on the decline year after year and left no damage to forest resources. As a result, the company has excellently completed its assigned annual forest development targets. Forest restoration and development has been well carried out. Initially, centralized commercial production areas have been formed to bring raw materials to processors and consumer markets. This approach plays a key role in forming and developing the intensive forest planting model that links production between the company and households and other economic sectors.

Overcoming all difficulties and challenges, U Minh Ha Forestry Co., Ltd has actively supported local communities in U Minh, Tran Van Thoi, and Thoi Binh districts of Ca Mau province in safeguarding forests against illegal encroachment. The area of planted forests is strictly managed, and the quality of planted forests is increasingly improved, thus helping maintain the balance of the ecological environment of the region. Every year, U Minh Ha Forestry Co., Ltd has positively improved its forestry and significantly raised incomes for its employees and local people. More importantly, the company's activities are always strictly controlled, complying with legal regulations and contributing to environmental protection. In 2023 alone, the company's output of planted forests was 280,801 cubic meters, equal to 124% of the plan (225,600 cubic meters). Hence, the company made revenue of VND157.97 billion, equal to 113.6% of the target (VND139 billion) and paid VND5.52 billion to the State Budget, equal to 114.1% of the plan (VND4.84 billion). In 2024, the company strived to harvest 333,000 cubic meters of planted forests, VND158 billion of revenue and VND6.47 billion of tax paid to the State Budget.

Tourists check in and take photos at Lotus Lake and Coconut Garden in the Trem River Trem Eco-Tourism Area

Besides strong business performance, U Minh Ha Forestry Co., Ltd plays a leading role in community and social activities, supporting local residents and working closely with local authorities on economic development and maintaining political stability. Beyond its annual initiatives such as providing gifts to underprivileged families and children during public holidays and Tet, and offering seedlings, fertilizers, and technical support to disadvantaged households, the company also participates in collaborative programs with local authorities. These programs include advancing new rural construction projects and establishing agreements with neighboring units, police agencies, forest rangers, and border guards for forest protection and fire prevention. These efforts harness collective strength, mobilize community support, and contribute to preservating of forests, ensuring social security, and fostering local economic development.

By Nguyen Mai, Vietnam Business Forum