The 'prisoners' of trees

Hai Duong has just launched the Spring Tree Planting Festival. This year, the Tree Planting Festival launching ceremony is even more meaningful as it is held on the occasion of Hai Duong celebrating the 60th anniversary of Uncle Ho's visit to Con Son (February 15, 1965 - February 15, 2025).

Not only this year, every year the movement of planting and protecting trees is also practically responded to by localities in the province, especially when building a green Hai Duong was included in the Resolution of the 17th Provincial Party Congress.

Hai Duong has been implementing Uncle Ho's advice when he visited Con Son 60 years ago: "Cadres and people must protect historical relics well, plant many trees so that Con Son becomes a beautiful pine forest", as well as Uncle Ho's words when launching the first Tree Planting Festival in 1960: "Spring is the Tree Planting Festival/Make the country more and more springy".

The tree planting movement has truly created a green, beautiful and impressive Hai Duong in the hearts of locals as well as tourists from all over the world. That is the pine forest, the Con Son root area (Chi Linh), the lychee gardens associated with the eco-tourism area in Thanh Ha garden…

We strive every day to plant and protect trees. Whenever trees are damaged, like after storm number 3, people try their best to save as many trees as possible. People feel sad and regretful when they see rows of trees being knocked down because it takes decades, even decades, to grow, care for, and protect such trees.

However, besides these efforts, more and more trees are being turned into “prisoners” when they are tied around their trunks with decorative lights. Then many trees are “abused” by having nails hammered into their trunks to hang advertising signs, stretch tarpaulins, and hang clotheslines. Some trees are “locked” in the eaves of houses. Many trees in the city are suffocating when their roots are covered by thick concrete slabs. Many tree roots are turned into garbage dumps…

The more business activities on the roads, the more trees are being "suffocated" by the above-mentioned acts of violence. Many people naturally consider the trees planted in front of their houses as their own property and treat them in the above-mentioned ways. These acts cause a lot of damage to trees: nailing the tree trunk will limit the food path to the tree. Then the tree can get a disease, the disease will arise from the nail and spread to other locations. Or dumping garbage under the tree will cause many pathogens, the tree can have root rot. The surface soil around the tree has the effect of absorbing, draining and aerating to help the tree grow and develop. Filling the cement around the tree makes the soil impermeable, the tree lacks nutrients, leading to weakening, and can die gradually over time. There are even sidewalks that are concreted by sewers, asphalt...

According to Article 54 of Decree 16/2022/ND-CP dated January 28, 2022, violations of regulations on the protection of trees, parks and flower gardens will be punished. Specifically, a warning will be issued for one of the following acts: drilling, nailing into trees, cutting tree branches, peeling tree bark, defecating around the base of trees. A fine of 20,000,000 - 30,000,000 VND will be imposed for one of the following acts: pouring toxic substances or construction materials into the base of trees; cooking, burning the base, building platforms or pedestals around the base of trees...

The law has clear regulations, but in reality, it can be seen that acts of "killing" trees still take place openly.

Besides responding to the Tree Planting Festival, we need to speak up to free trees from being "suffocated" every day, and to untie the green "prisoners".