The spontaneous migration of ethic groups indigenous to the mountainous area in the northern part of Vietnam down to the Central Highlands was on the upward trend and induced a number of social issues.How to control their movements and address the ramifications were among the topics discussed at an online conference held by the Government Web Portal and Vietnam Television in the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum yesterday.The population of the Central Highlands is 5.3 million people from 47 ethic groups, a remarkable development from the 1976 census that recorded 1.2 million people from 14 ethic groups.Since 1996, 50,000 families from the north have moved to the Central Highlands, which head of the Policy Department under the State Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs Trinh Cong Khanh noted "was a very high figure".He said the main ethic migrants were Mong, Dao, Tay and Thai, and the main reason behind their decision to move was to flee the unbearable conditions of poverty including the lack of land for cultivation and travel difficulties.According to Pham Khanh Ly, deputy director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Department of Economic Co-operation and Rural Development, the Central Highlands was a favourite destination because of the low population density, only 92 people per square kilometre, while in the north-western and southern regions the figure hit were 620 and 2,000. Conditions were also favourable for timber plantations.Colonel Ta Nhan, deputy head of the Command of Military Zone 5's Politics Department, said the migration wave from the north to the Central Highlands started after the liberation triggered by economic development. The burgeoning migrants created a new set of problems such as land trade, illegal logging, illegal trade of forestry products and poaching.Ly said over the last few years, they had issued policies to support migrants, but because the spontaneous movement resulted in social disrupt, the Government did not encourage it but still provided aid for those who migrated.One such policy was Decision No1342 in which the Prime Minister requested local authorities to allocate areas for migrants to live together. Migrants were provided with land to build houses and food for one or two years. After they settled, they were treated the same as local people.When the decision was issued five years ago, the capital said to be needed was VND2.3 trillion ($110.3 million). However, we were only able to raise VND1.2 trillion ($570 million), said Khanh.He said while the Party and State had implemented a number of programmes to lift ethic groups out of poverty, funds were still limited. In addition, there was more than one agency involved: the State Committee for Ethnic Minority Affairs was responsible for compiling the policies, the Ministry of Planning and Investment for allocating capital from the investment and development fund, and the Ministry of Finance for allocating money from the State budget, but co-ordination among the stakeholders was not efficient.Kon Tum is a popular destination for those who wish to migrate. Since 2005, 5,000 families have moved there from the north.Deputy chairman of the provincial People's Committee Nguyen Huu Hai said: "We have asked local authorities to monitor the situation on the ground slowly. Once we detect new migrants, the first thing we do is to encourage them to go home."If they insist on staying, we will help them to settle down because they often move into far-flung areas which are near the border, so if they are not able to settle down it may jeopardize the security and order there," he said.Hai said apart from that he would work with enterprises to provide them with employment opportunities so they would not have to resort to slash and burn practices.As a local with hands-on experience dealing with migration, Hai suggested that any policy to support migrants should be built from a long-term perspective."Under the current policy, migrants will receive support for one year but I do not think it is enough. It should be three years at least for them to start a new life in a sustainable way," he said.He also said the level of financial aid should be increased to meet today's conditions. (Vietnam News Nov 12)
