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Planning key in mountainous areas
In an interview with Dai Doan Ket (Great Solidarity) newspaper, Professor Tran Tri Doi, director of the Mountainous Areas and Ethnic Minority Development and Research Centre, suggested provinces should draft a national master strategy for development
Each mountain province has certain attributes that could enable it to develop its own economy, but many provinces find it difficult to capitalise on any, except in the tourism area. Is this true?
It is true. It is extremely difficult to find the potential for economic development in mountain areas. Some provinces claim to have certain strengths, but they still don't have high economic growth.
Cao Bang Province is an example. It has potential for development in both mining minerals and in tourism, yet the economy stays unchanged.
Investments in mountain projects often produce little profits, even for companies searching for alluvial gold in rivers. Whatever the direction, investors should carefully consider the interests of inhabitants. If they chase profits without any concern for the environment, they will do more harm than good.
Rather than let each mountain province choose its own path to development, it would be better for them to associate with each other and develop under a national strategy.
Regarding tourism, how can Cao Bang develop a convenient traffic network or boost domestic and international tours without the backing of tourism companies? The problem is similar in Dien Bien Province.
Having worked in the mountains for 30 years, I believe it is better for them to combine than to go it alone.
What do you think about border-gate economic development?
Border-gate can be turned to greater economic advantage in some mountain provinces by linking development to neighbouring provinces.
To do this, as I have already mentioned, it would be better to group mountain provinces together. A national master strategy could play a decisive role in this.
The State has supported programmes for ethnic minorities, including finding key cash crops to reduce poverty. The provinces of Lao Cai, Son La and Dien Bien now have rubber trees, but why are the results lower than expected?
There are also other key tree crops in these provinces, such as mulberries, sugar cane, corn and coffee. I am not sure if there has been a survey on the areas planted with rubber trees or how many trees are in the northwest. I am not sure if rubber plantation owners are becoming rich or just how efficient the industry is. Maybe the State has already conducted such a fundamental survey, but I have not heard about it.
What are the difficulties in developing mountain economies?
First and foremost is a shortage of managers – and even workers. Secondly, weak economic infrastructure is a challenge not only to mountainous areas, but to the whole nation. We should address the human resources problem first, then look at infrastucture.
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