Environment and natural resources
Climate change
Facing donors, Vietnam urged to rethink coal-fueled growth
Vietnam seeks financial support for its ‘black to green’ transition, but international partners say what’s needed is better policy. International development partners and donors have called on Vietnam to commit to bigger greenhouse gas emission reductions, warning that fueling growth with coal will hurt the ...
Vanishing Mekong? shifting tropical storms threaten a great river delta
Recent changes in the patterns of tropical storms are threatening the future of the Mekong River delta in Vietnam. This is one of the world’s great deltas. It is home to more than 20m people and the rice that is grown on its fertile land ...
ADB supports sustainable biodiversity management
The Asian Development Bank has approved US$12.8 million in additional financing for the ongoing Biodiversity Conservation Corridors Project in Laos. The grant assistance is sourced from ADB’s Strategic Climate Fund, Forest Investment Programme. The grant agreement was signed in Vientiane on October 18, inked by Deputy Minister ...
Mother Nature and a hydropower onslaught aren’t the Mekong Delta’s only problems
Early this year, many Mekong Delta farmers fought a losing battle against an epic drought, the worst since 1926. Was the drought a harbinger of climate change? Perhaps it was, but more certainly it was an artifact of El Niño. The same ocean-warming phenomenon that ...
30 provinces and cities formulate and implement green growth plan
Viet Nam has honoured its commitment to the Paris climate agreement through diverse activities under the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions framework which aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Deputy Minister of MoPI, Nguyen The Phuong, has said at the high-level seminar “Viet Nam Green Growth Strategy: ...
Authorities told to tackle water pollution to prevent deaths of aquatic animals
Dr Nantarika Chansue, head of the Veterinary Medical Aquatic Animal Research Centre at Chulalongkorn University, said on October 12 it was too late to do anything about the recent deaths of giant freshwater stingrays but authorities could work to restore the water quality in the ...
Stakeholders hope capacity building continues once programme ends
Officials, experts and beneficiaries of a Norwegian assistance programme hope target communities continue the capacity development founded by the project once the support ends. They expressed this desire at the closure of support provided by Norwegian Church Aid, which has been implemented in 11 provinces of ...
PM welcomes new WB Country Director in Vietnam
Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc congratulated Ousmane Dione on his appointment as new Country Director for the World Bank in Vietnam at a reception at the Government’s headquarters in Hanoi on October 4. He said the WB is important to Vietnam and bilateral relations are being ...
Thermal power plants increasing on Hau River
Why are coal-run thermopower plants located on the Hau River? Why do the plants all use Chinese technology? Will there be another Formosa on the Hau River? These are questions raised by environmental experts about the appearance of many coal power plants believed to threaten the ...
Thousands killed by air pollution yearly: study
A new study by the World Health Organization has found 3 million deaths a year are linked to exposure to outdoor air pollution, with nearly 90 percent of those deaths occurring in low- and middle-income countries like Cambodia. The WHO said Southeast Asia bears one of ...