Environment and natural resources
Núi Cốc Lake dam leaks a danger
With some 175 million cubic metres of water stored in an elevated position, Núi Cốc Lake’s major dam in the northern province of Thái Nguyên could devastate downstream areas if it broke, experts have said.Thái Nguyên City, Sông Công City, Phổ Yên Township, Phú Bình ...
New facility worries activists
Activists say a new sand-processing facility is under construction in Koh Kong’s Tatai Wildlife Sanctuary, in the vicinity of the area where two companies were granted permission to conduct environmental impact assessments (EIAs) for sand-dredging projects, documents show, despite a standing government ban on sand ...
Wood veneer exports approaching limit
Wooden veneer, partially-processed timber products have been exported in accordance with the government’s special permission, according to the latest official report. The latest report from the Ministry of Industry and Commerce showed that as of May 19, as many as 12,182 cubic metres of veneer ...
Natural calamities in Asia, Pacific threat to infra: ADB
Asia and Pacific countries, including India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, need to thwart challenges posed by natural calamities that have been taking toll on their infrastructure, ADB has said.They will have to find solution in greener infrastructure to restrict global mean temperature rise, it said.Shattered ...
Quang Ninh’s APEC dialogue focuses on sustainable tourism
Việt Nam looks forward to discussions with ministers, heads of delegations and delegates from Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (APEC) on the challenges to sustainable tourism development to share information and experience with economies and set forth co-operation orientations for APEC’s sustainable tourism development in the ...
Vietnam’s social media shaping new environmentalism
“I am frequently on several environmental online forums and campaigns led by Vietnamese, who have addressed Hanoi’s logging of 6,700 trees, the Thai Binh deforestation for economic development, and the construction in Cat Ba,” says Tran Thi Thuy Binh, a member of the Vietnam Forum ...
Wildlife bust nets over 600kgs
A 44-year-old driver was arrested in Prey Veng on Tuesday during a failed attempt to smuggle more than 600 kilograms of live wild animals across the border to Vietnam, but was released after promising to pay a fine at the provincial court the following day.The ...
Order calls halt to hunting listed rare aquatic birds, wildlife
Authorities have warned local poachers to stop hunting aquatic animals and wildlife listed as conservation after learning a number of endangered animals are being hunted despite a poaching ban. Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr Lien Thikeo issued a Ministerial Order recently to reinforce the ...
The most neglected threat to public health in China is toxic soil
Tang Donghua, a wiry 47-year-old farmer wearing a Greenpeace T-shirt, smokes a cigarette and gesticulates towards his paddy fields in the hills of southern Hunan province. The leaves of his rice plants poke about a foot above water. Mr Tang says he expects to harvest ...
Environmentalists say Da Nang’s Son Tra must remain pristine
Without the original Son Tra, Da Nang will be just like other sea cities in Vietnam, according to environmentalists who are opposed to tourism development at the site. Biodiversity Conservancy International’s Chair Dang Trung Phuoc has sent letters to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc and ministries, ...