Environment

Scientists have discovered 36 new species in Vietnam, the Worldwide Fund for Nature has announced in its report.

The Asian Development Bank will provide US$212 million to continue a project improving water service delivery to more than three million Vietnamese people.

The nation's water resources are in danger of depletion and rising pollution levels, a problem with a potential for significant detrimental effects on socio-economic development.

Environmental conservation towards sustainable tourism in Halong Bay and its vicinity is being improved thanks to a project funded by JICA.

An international workshop took place in Phu Quoc island district in Kien Giang province to seek measures to conserve and promote the values of Kien Giang Biosphere Reserve.

The Yok Don National Park in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak is under threat from the Drang Phok hydro-electric power plant to be built on the Serepok River.

Several localities in the central and southern regions may face serious water shortages this year, an expert has warned.

Vietnam should take coordinated measures to actively cope with climate change between now and 2020.

About 60 hectares of forests in the core area of the Yok Don National Park in Dak Lak province would be eliminated when the Drang Phok hydropower plant is built.

From tigers to dolphins, animal populations in many of China's ecosystems have plummeted under decades of development and urbanisation, a World Wildlife Fund study said.

Costa Rica is set to become the first Latin American state to ban hunting for sport, a move aimed at preserving the Central American country's rich biodiversity.

The ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management has officially launched a Disaster Emergency Logistic System for ASEAN.

Vietnam is changing its legal framework to help the environmental services industry grow, according to Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Bui Cach Tuyen.

Hanoi has approved spending over $5.1 billion on collecting, classifying and properly treating solid waste to reduce environmental pollution.

Twenty one lakes in Hanoi and 150 hectares of water surface have disappeared over the last 20 years, since 1990.

Dozens of temporary garbage dumps have formed in residential areas of Dong Nai Province due to a shortage of landfill sites, causing serious pollution that affects local people's health.

The chances of hitting the UN's global warming target are diminishing, but the goal can still be met if greenhouse-gas emissions fall by 15 percent by 2020, scientists said.

Ice loss in Antarctica and Greenland has contributed nearly half an inch to the rise in sea levels in the past 20 years, according to an assessment of polar ice sheet melting.

Vietnam will start blending bio-fuels with petrol to power road vehicles from 2014, as the government seeks to push ahead with its commitment to establish green credentials.