Environment

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.

Some hospitals in Hanoi are facing water shortages due to a sharp rise in demand in the capital, with Hanoi Obstetric and Gynecology Hospital and the National Paediatrics Hospital among those affected.

Air pollution levels in some of China's smoggiest cities fell by nearly a third in the first quarter of this year, environmental campaign group Greenpeace said on Tuesday.

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.

Old equipment and weak infrastructure are creating a serious pollution problem at many traditional craft villages, with untreated waste being dumped into the local environment.

Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai on April 18 inspected river systems in the south and west of Hanoi with a view to initiating measures that will restore water flows and reduce pollution.

All bears being raised in captivity in Quang Ninh Province have to be transferred to the Tam Dao Bear Rescue Centre in the Vinh Phuc Province by the end of next month, the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry (MARD)

The Nghe An Province's environmental crimes division said this morning that it has detained a man for allegedly trafficking monkeys following a tip-off.

Vietnam will take drastic measures to protect the white-crest pheasant, an unique type of bird indigenous to Vietnam facing imminent extinction, with the intent to fully recover the species by 2030.