Resettlement project to save ethnic minorities remains stagnant Even though a resettlement project to save an ethnic minority group in the central province of Nghe An was launched eight years ago, it has remains almost at a standstill.   A resettlement area for Dan Lai people left unused. The project got the prime minister’s approval and was aimed at moving hundreds of ethnic minority households living at Bung and Khe Con villages in Con Cuong District to resettlement areas in Thach Ngan commune between 2007 and 2009. However, only 42 households have been taken to the new resettlement area by now, while the rest, more than 150 households, continue living in the forest. Construction on resettlement area No. 2 in Thach Ngan was started in January, 2011, and was meant to accommodate 35 households. But, there is still nobody living there, leaving more than 30 houses on stilts abandoned. The area’s infrastructure, including a culture house, school, clean water supply system, power generation station are being overtaken by plant life. Tran Anh Tuan, head of Resettlement Project Management of Con Cuong District, said the sluggish pace of construction is due to a number of reasons, such as the lack of capital and substandard planning. For many years, resettlement area No. 3 in Thach Ngan District has remained an unused plot of land. According to a report from Con Cuong District People’s Committee, as of August 2014, a total of VND72 billion (USD2.4 million) has been disbursed for the resettlement projects in the locality. But after the eight-year project, only resettlement area No. 1 has been put into use. The Dan Lai ethnic minority group is very isolated from the modern world and has suffered from poverty for many years. One of the more serious problems facing the community is intermarriage. To aid this group the prime minister approved a decision with a total capital of VND93.24 billion in 2006. However, it has yet to make much progress. “When the Dan Lai people gather in Pu Mat National Park they hunt animals and destroy forestland for living space. This will ultimately have a bad impact on attempts at preservation of the national park,” Tran Xuan Cuong, deputy director of Pu Mat National Park said. The Dai Lai people also have the custom of sleeping sitting up. According to some sources, there are around 3,000 Dai Lai people.  NLD