Farmers suffer damage while cultivating rice near a factory in Tram Chim

At midday, Mr. Nguyen Van Tai, Phu Hiep commune, Tam Nong district, visited a 3,000 m2 rice field in bloom, located near the brick factory of Ha Thanh Concrete Joint Stock Company. This is the third time in the day he went to the field when he saw that the sticky rice field was unusually sick. The most damaged rice crop near the plant, the leaves burned, the seeds were black, showing flat grain.

After many days of observation, Mr. Tai suspected that the sticky rice field was affected by the dust of the factory. “Everywhere the smoke swirls down there, it gets sick,” said the nearly 50-year-old farmer. Before the situation of damaged rice fields, Mr. Tai sent an application to the local government, asking for arbitration. “In the last season, half of the rice is damaged, and after three months of hard work, there is no grain of rice, why not feel sorry.”

Mr. Tai’s neighbor, Mr. Nguyen Minh Em, also said that since the day the factory went into production, a lot of smoke and dust caused the fruit trees around the house to be exhausted and not produce flowers. In addition, the factory abandoned many purchased fields, waiting for clay to make bricks, causing rats to multiply and destroy crops.

“They bought more than 60 hectares of farmland, anyone who has adjacent land who doesn’t want to have to sell it because they can’t farm,” said Mr. Em. Nearby, Mr. Tu Phan’s family also complained because the most noise was the container truck carrying bricks and the dump truck operating all day. “People still want to say crazy about storks in the national park,” said Mr. Phan.

Mr. Phung Van Ut Ngoan, Secretary and Head of Hamlet K12, Phu Hiep Commune, said that in the previous crop, the factory had to compensate a farmer for damaging the rice field. This season he continues to receive applications from people, pending settlement. The head of the hamlet said that a few months ago, a dump truck carrying clay to the factory was scattered, causing a lot of mud and dust on the road. The people reacted strongly, the factory had to stop.

According to Mr. Tran Thanh Nam, Chairman of Tam Nong District People’s Committee, people have repeatedly complained about the muddy roads caused by trucks carrying soil from the brick factory. As for the factory buying rice land from farmers to exploit minerals, Mr. Nam informed that the project was licensed by the province, “compliance with bidding regulations, environmental impact assessment”.

The brick factory of Ha Thanh Concrete Joint Stock Company, with a total investment of nearly 1,000 billion VND, completed in October 2020, was licensed by the Provincial People’s Committee to exploit minerals and make bricks with an area of ​​​​25 hectares. Business owner then offer upgrade the factory project to an industrial cluster of 60 hectares. The location of the industrial cluster is in the buffer zone, 300-700 m from the boundary of Tram Chim National Park.

This proposal was opposed by some experts and scientists because of concerns about noise, gas and wastewater from the industrial cluster affecting the ecosystem of Tram Chim – Ramar National Park (the 2,000th wetland reserve) of the country. world. Dr. Le Phat Quoi, Center for Environmental Science and Ecology, said that the proposed factory and industrial cluster are located next to area A5 of the garden – where red-crowned cranes often live.

After more than 30 attachments with the number of thousands of birds, the management board of Tram Chim National Park covers an area of ​​more than 7,500 hectares, recorded this year and before 2020, the red-crowned crane population. do not return garden for food and shelter as usual every year.

According to Dr. Quoi, emissions from industrial production, although treated to reduce pollution, still contain toxic elements. “Seeing the factory chimneys, any crane that dares to return, not to mention their food sources such as needles, snails and fish are also affected,” he said.

In addition, according to experts studying conservation activities in Tram Chim, the mineral industry specifically exploits clay at a depth of 5-9 m, creating wide and deep pits. While this area is far from the Tien River, the annual alluvial deposition is very little, and resources once exploited are difficult to regenerate.

The development of an industrial cluster in the Ramar Tram Chim buffer zone, if realized, would violate the provisions of the Law on Biodiversity. Because in nature conservation, the buffer zone is very important, helping to increase the ability to protect biodiversity inside the nature reserve.

Decision No. 08/2001 of the Government also states: “All activities in the buffer zone must be aimed at supporting the conservation, management and protection of special-use forests; restricting migration from outside into the area. buffer”.

The buffer zone of Tram Chim National Park with an area of ​​more than 16,800 ha, is located around the core zone, including 13 hamlets in 5 communes (Phu Tho, Phu Thanh B, Phu Hiep, Phu Duc, Tan Cong Sinh) and two clusters. in Tram Chim town.

On the afternoon of May 30, the People’s Committee of Dong Thap province held an emergency meeting with departments and localities after the proposal to build an industrial cluster adjacent to the national park was reflected by the press. At the end of the meeting, Mr. Pham Thien Nghia, Chairman of the Provincial People’s Committee, informed that Dong Thap has not had a policy to establish Phu Hiep industrial cluster.

The head of Dong Thap government said that he had assigned Tram Chim National Park to hire a consultant to assess the comprehensive impact on the park. When full results are available, the province will issue specific policies to exploit the advantages and local potentials, economic and social development, without affecting the ecological environment of the national park.

Brick factory near Tram Chim National Park seen from above

Ngoc Tai