Profitable Land Clearing Behind a Rapid Disappearance of Pine Forests
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In Đa Nhim commune, Lạc Dương district (Lâm Đồng province), thriving pine forests are being systematically destroyed so the land can be sold as coffee plantations. For only around 20 million VND per sào (≈360 m²), buyers can acquire land once covered by healthy pines—after locals secretly kill the trees.
How the Pines Are Killed
Locals describe a simple but deadly process:
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“Ken cây” girdling: Using an axe or hatchet, villagers cut around the base of each pine so the resin flows out, starving the tree until it dies—typically within three months.
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Burning the cut: To speed up death, they burn the girdled area a few days later.
Once the pines die standing, they are felled and the ground quickly planted with coffee seedlings, creating illegal coffee farms.
“Work at 2 or 3 a.m.—the rangers and the commune won’t know to catch you,” one villager admitted.
Illegal Land Deals and Rapid Conversion
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A father and son were caught girdling and burning pines to make land “legal” for sale.
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They revealed that a six-sào plot (≈2,160 m²) already planted with coffee recently sold for 130 million VND.
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Buyers are told to wait “a few months” until the pines die and can be cut without immediate detection.
Local Authorities Acknowledge the Problem
Initially denying the issue, Mr. Kơ Đưng Ha Vương, Vice Chairman of the Đa Nhim Commune People’s Committee, later admitted:
“Illegal forest clearing to plant coffee is unavoidable. Our inspection force is too small to monitor everything. If people are found clearing forest or illegally selling land, we will quickly investigate and take strong measures.”
Despite the acknowledgment, forest destruction continues, fueled by the high profits of coffee cultivation.
Environmental and Legal Concerns
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Rapid deforestation threatens the local ecosystem and biodiversity.
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Illegal coffee planting undermines forest protection laws and land-use regulations.
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Without stronger enforcement and concrete action, Đa Nhim’s pine forests may soon vanish, replaced entirely by coffee plantations.
The pine forests of Đa Nhim are being deliberately killed for profit, exposing serious weaknesses in forest management and law enforcement. Immediate government intervention and tougher penalties are critical to halt this destructive cycle.