Environment

A series of activities were held on September 21 in Hanoi to mark World Rhino Day, which falls on September 22.

Medical waste and wastewater which are improperly treated are adding to health concerns and environmental pollution in Vietnam.

The owner of two hydropower projects in Dong Nai Province claimed that these plants would cause less harm to the environment than public concerns suggest.

Experts have confirmed that two wild animals attacking the village poultry in Lam Dong Province were leopards.

Nicotex Thanh Thai Joint Stock Company, which was recently found dumping untreated hazardous chemicals in the central province of Thanh Hoa's Cam Van Commune, received a fine of over VND421 million (US$20,000).

Local people in a village Lam Dong Province are concerned about the night-time loss of cattle and poultry to two wild animals.

The construction of the first waste-to-energy plant in Vietnam will begin on September 19, in Hanoi.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a workshop in Hanoi on September 17 to discuss ways of minimising the impact of climate change in the Mekong Delta region.

Vietnamese and French scientists have discovered a new species of scorpion in the northern mountainous province of Bac Kan, according to the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources.

Clean technology from Sweden is expected to help Vietnam reduce environment pollution, save energy and cut down on business expenses, the deputy director of HCM City Department of Natural Resources and Environment said.

Farmers in Dak Lak are losing their crops as wild elephants from local forests continue to feed on their crops.

Groundwater is receding by 0.5-1 metre a year in HCM City, Nguyen Van Nga, head of the city's Natural Resources and Water Division, has warned.

Vietnam is estimated to lose around 1.5% of GDP due to property damage caused by natural disasters, one official said.

Vietnam must accept climate change as the biggest challenge facing the country and mankind as a whole.

China vowed Thursday to reduce levels of atmospheric pollutants in Beijing and other major cities by as much as 25 percent to try to improve their dire air quality.

Managers of Yok Don National Park in the Central Highlands have voiced their opposition to a hydropower plant project right inside the national park.

Southern Dong Nai Province will eliminate temporary rubbish dumps once all its planned waste treatment zones with plants and dumps begin operation, according to the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Only two out of 16 HCM City-based industrial hubs have set up centralised waste water-treatment ­­­­­systems, according to the city Natural Resources and Environment Department Director, Dao Anh Kiet.

A pesticide manufacturer in the central province of Thanh Hoa's Cam Van Commune has been closed for allegedly dumping untreated harmful chemicals.