Environment

Vietnam is forecast to continue being battered by extreme weather this year after a range of unusual weather phenomena appeared recently.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has approved a list of 151 areas where mineral mining rights will not be auctioned.

A man in Thanh Hoa Province was threatened several times after bringing a case to light in which he claimed that a pesticide manufacturer dumped tonnes of untreated hazardous chemicals on local land.

Professor Vu Quy, who has been named among 35 Heroes of the Environment by Time Magazine, has donated tens of billions of VND from his awards to charity.

Completion of a draft law on sea and island resources and environment will be the main priority of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment's General Department of Sea and Islands this year.

Many localities nationwide on February 7 launched the New Year tree planting festival – an annual activity initiated by late President Ho Chi Minh.

State President Truong Tan Sang has called on Vietnamese people to plant and protect forests for a sustainable ecological environment.

Last year tied for the sixth-hottest on record, confirming that Earth's climate system is in the grip of warming that will affect generations to come, the UN's weather agency said Wednesday.

A survey recently conducted in the northern province of Ha Giang has found the largest group of the endangered Tonkin snub-nosed monkeys to date.

The establishment of Con Co Island Marine Reserve is a basis for Quang Tri Province to manage its marine resources and environment in a collective, unified and effective way.

Scientists have discovered a new plant species in the buffer zone of the Phong Nha - Ke Bang National Park in central Quang Binh Province.

The capital city of Hanoi will employ drastic measures to inspect and prevent environmental pollution in its river basins, industrial parks and trade villages in 2014.

Local authorities must communicate better about forest fire prevention and fighting regulations to minimise practices that could cause forest fires during the dry season.

The People's Committee of southern central province of Phu Yen has declared a state of emergency over the sea erosion in the coastal city of Tuy Hoa's Ro neighbourhood.

Illegal sand miners in northern Hung Yen Province have been on the run for a month since local authorities launched a major crackdown on their activities.

Over 100 volunteers have come to river banks in Hanoi to prevent people from throwing plastic bags into river while releasing carp on the day of the Kitchen Gods.

A World Bank report released on January 21 argues Vietnam will need to address sanitation service shortcomings in order to sustain economic growth, improve public health, and minimise adverse environmental impacts.

Vietnam needs approximately US$8.3 billion to provide adequate drainage services for estimated 36 million people in urban areas by 2025, said Le Duy Hung, senior urban management expert.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has asked the Government to issue an order to stop the exploitation of natural forests in the Central Highlands region between now and 2020.