Artificial Lung for Ho Chi Minh City
The 50 hectares of planted forest of Mr. Tran Minh in Cu Chi could be regarded as an artificial lung for Ho Chi Minh City. The greenery and clean air created by millions of cajeput trees have added vitality to the area and population.
The War on alum
The headache in the area is the alum saturated land, which have hampered the dreams of developing orchards in the area. After just six years visitors will notice a green forest of 5-metre high trees planted by Mr. Minh. Initially, Mr. Minh had to struggle with a 5-tonne crane in the mud to dig up some 700 cubic metres of earth to remove alum in order to develop a pineapple plantation. However, 60 per cent of the pineapple trees died and he soon became a laughingstock. He did not give up though, explaining that pineapple tree roots help strengthen the soil, and he continued to plant trees. He has also built 11 ponds measuring 12 x 200 metres each and 4 metres deep. The water flows in from the Dau Tieng reservoir and drains out into the Dong canal. As the water level can be regulated, Mr. Minh can also combine the raising of fish and pigs with the planting of trees. Mr. Minh is especially proud with the forest, saying that it has greatly improved his health and he wishes to share the benefits with others.
Eco-tourism
He confided that without his love for forests he would not have survived as at the time he was down to 50 kilograms in weight and suffered from various illnesses. Although his main activities involved the production of plastic products (the chairman of the management board of Quan Quan Co., Ltd.), he is very attached to the forest and is particularly concerned that the development plans of Ho Chi Minh City may result in the cutting down of his forest. Although compensation for the cajeput forest is quite high (nearly US$1 million) he still prefers to keep the forest for eco-tourism and environmental benefits.
Vietnamese
