Illegal Loggers Train as Forest Tour Guides in Vietnam
2022-04-27
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1Ngoc Anh of Vietnam knows the value of trees.
2For years, he worked as a logger.
3He cut trees down illegally to sell as timber.
4He often worked with others to carry 100-kilogram logs out of a quickly thinning forest.
5But very high rainfall and floods increasingly damaged his community in the central province of Quang Binh.
6The 36-year-old Ngoc started reading about the climate and nature crises.
7He changed his work and became involved in tourism and environmental conservation.
8Now, Ngoc Anh is one of 250 former loggers to receive training from a tourism company.
9He works as a travel guide. He mostly leads foreign tourists through forests and into some of the world's largest caves in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
10"Before, whenever I saw a large tree, my head calculated how tall the tree was and how to cut it into logs of different sizes."
11Ngoc Anh said, "But now that I'm in the tourism business, when I see such a tree, I tell the tour group how valuable this tree is because there aren't many left."
12Global Forest Watch estimates that Vietnam lost about 3 million hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2020.
13That is a 20 percent decrease in 20 years. The losses were mostly driven by logging.
14In 2007, the government started taking more measures to prevent illegal logging, which has helped slow the rate of deforestation.
15Vietnam has also joined an international promise to end deforestation by 2030.
16Joined by a park official, Ngoc Anh and other tour guides help guard the trails to keep poachers away.
17They remove animal traps and clean up any waste.
18Ngoc works for less than half the money of what he earned as a logger.
19But he hopes to earn more as tourism and travel return to Vietnam.
20I'm Jill Robbins.
1Ngoc Anh of Vietnam knows the value of trees. 2For years, he worked as a logger. He cut trees down illegally to sell as timber. He often worked with others to carry 100-kilogram logs out of a quickly thinning forest. 3But very high rainfall and floods increasingly damaged his community in the central province of Quang Binh. The 36-year-old Ngoc started reading about the climate and nature crises. He changed his work and became involved in tourism and environmental conservation. 4Now, Ngoc Anh is one of 250 former loggers to receive training from a tourism company. He works as a travel guide. He mostly leads foreign tourists through forests and into some of the world's largest caves in the Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park. 5"Before, whenever I saw a large tree, my head calculated how tall the tree was and how to cut it into logs of different sizes." Ngoc Anh said, "But now that I'm in the tourism business, when I see such a tree, I tell the tour group how valuable this tree is because there aren't many left." 6Global Forest Watch estimates that Vietnam lost about 3 million hectares of tree cover between 2001 and 2020. That is a 20 percent decrease in 20 years. The losses were mostly driven by logging. 7In 2007, the government started taking more measures to prevent illegal logging, which has helped slow the rate of deforestation. Vietnam has also joined an international promise to end deforestation by 2030. 8Joined by a park official, Ngoc Anh and other tour guides help guard the trails to keep poachers away. They remove animal traps and clean up any waste. 9Ngoc works for less than half the money of what he earned as a logger. But he hopes to earn more as tourism and travel return to Vietnam. 10I'm Jill Robbins. 11Dan Novak adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by Reuters. 12________________________________________________________________________ 13Words in This Story 14logger - n. someone whose job is to cut down trees for wood 15timber - n. trees that are grown in order to produce wood 16conservation - n. the protection of animals, plants, and natural resources 17calculate - v. to find (a number, answer, etc.) by using mathematical processes 18poacher - v. to hunt or fish illegally