Environment

Prolonged drought has caused severe damage worth tens of billions of Vietnamese dong to farms in the southernmost province of Ca Mau, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Two black Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus) are safe on the mainland after a remote island rescue on May 5 from captivity on Ba Mun Island, in Bai Tu Long Bay in Quang Ninh province.

Individuals and organisations that import waste materials for production purposes must pay security deposits up to 20 per cent of the imported goods' value from the middle of next month.

Vietnam has the fourth highest number of clean development mechanism (CDM) projects in the world and it has received the ninth highest number of certified emissions reduction (CER) units.

The Son Tra Nature Reserve in central Danang city, known for its rich biodiversity, is home to 200 Red-Shanked Doucs - a kind of langur that was declared endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 2013.

Animals Asia has announced that it will rescue two moon bears from a remote island on the outskirts of Bai Tu Long Bay, just north of the country’s most iconic tourist destination, Halong Bay.

The agricultural and rural development departments in three south-central provinces said they were not planting the summer-autumn rice and several crops due to prolonged drought.

Fourteen provinces and a city located in the central region, the most vulnerable area to this year’s El Nino - the warm phase of a seasonal cycle of fluctuating temperatures and rainfall – have launched intensive programmes on forest

Senior Government officials have acknowledged that a skewed vision of development has severely degraded the natural environment and called for urgent remedial measures to stem the rot.

As severe drought continues to affect the central region, the Vietnam Red Cross will provide urgent aid for 900 poor and near-poor households.

The price of Golden coin turtle (Cuora trifasciata or Chinese three-striped box turtle) in Vietnam is around VND300 million (nearly $15,000) per kilo. In China and Hong Kong, the price is nearly VND1 billion ($50,000) per kilo.

The death of a young elephant in the Central Highlands on March 24 became the latest blow to the shrinking elephant population in Vietnam, which has been pushed to the verge of extinction recently.

The central city has created a pilot programme to build stronger houses in disaster-affected areas in co-operation with domestic and foreign insurance companies.

The Pu Mat National Park in the central province of Nghe An has released a number of wild animals back into their natural surroundings, a forest management official said.

The US Agency for International Development (USAID) has launched the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge to reward innovative science and technology solutions that help combat wildlife trafficking in Vietnam.

The central city has created a pilot programme to build stronger houses in disaster-affected areas in co-operation with domestic and foreign insurance companies.

Central Highlands provinces need to accelerate measures to protect and develop regional forests which are currently suffering from significant deforestation.

Deputy Primer Minister Hoang Trung Hai has called for severe self-criticism from the managers of the Vinh Tan Thermal Plant No 2 and ordered them to ensure there is no more environmental pollution or adverse effects on local residents.

While other governments worldwide have set up national standards for indoor air, Vietnam, which faces serious air pollution, still does not have a set of standards.