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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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VnExpress provides latest Vietnam news, regional, business, financial, industries, travel news and views to policy makers, professionals, tourists, expats and sports in Vietnam.

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Breaking stories, latest news headlines on current affairs, business and entertainment from Vietnam.

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#Envision2030 Goal 2: Zero Hunger | United Nations Enable

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture Policy Briefs and Infographics Ending poverty and hunger for all persons with disabilities (Goals 1 and 2) | Infographic Targets By 2030, end hunger and ensure access by all people, in particular the poor and people in vulnerable situations, including infants, to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round.

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#Envision2030 Goal 3: Good Health and Well-being | United Nations Enable

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Support the research and development of vaccines and medicines for the communicable and noncommunicable diseases that primarily affect developing countries, provide access to affordable essential medicines and vaccines, in accordance with the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, which affirms the right of developing countries to use to the full the provisions in the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights regarding flexibilities to protect public health, and, in particular, provide access to medicines for all

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Northern Vietnam records hazardous air pollution

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Northern Vietnam records hazardous air pollution

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Phan Anh &nbspNovember 6, 2020 | 06:31 pm GMT+7

Northern Vietnam saw elevated levels of air pollution Friday morning, high enough to seriously affect human health, according to numerous air tracking stations in the area.

At around 7:30 a.m., data retrieved by Vietnam Environment Administration under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment revealed Air Quality Index (AQI) at different stations in Bac Ninh Province to be between 221 and 243.

AQI levels above 100 are considered unhealthy. Children, seniors and individuals with respiratory and heart diseases are recommended to avoid sustained and high-intensity outdoor exercise when AQI levels reach 150 or above.

Other independent air quality analysis systems like PAMAir and AirVisual on Friday morning also recorded low air quality in several areas of northern Vietnam, some low enough to prove harmful to human health.

AirVisual for example revealed that all Hanoi areas where its air quality tracking stations were located suffered high air pollution levels, with localities like Ngoc Thuy Ward and To Ngoc Van Street having AQI levels up to 214, deemed to be very harmful to human health.

PAMAir recorded AQI levels as high as 289 in most of Hanoi and other northern locations like Thai Nguyen, Bac Ninh, Bac Giang, Hai Duong, Hung Yen, Ha Nam, Ninh Binh and Hai Phong.

As northern Vietnam enters winter, nocturnal and early morning fog and smog could prevent pollutants from being dissipated in higher altitudes, forcing them to remain at lower attitudes. That should explain the high AQI records in the morning, according to Vietnam Environment Administration, Vietnam News Agency reported.

Environment experts have advised people to refrain from outdoor activities, close windows and use masks while going out amid periods of low air quality.

By around 2:30 p.m., AQI levels in Hanoi and surrounding areas had dropped, being recorded between 33-140 on average, according to Vietnam Environment Administration data.

Air pollution issues are hardly new in Vietnam, especially in urban areas. Authorities have blamed low air quality on large-scale construction, the high rate of personal vehicles and heavy industry, including steelworks, cement factories and coal-fired plants.

Hazardous air quality in Vietnam amounted to losses between $10.82-13.63 billion a year, or 4-5 percent of Vietnam's GDP, said Associate Professor Dinh Duc Truong, head of the National Economics University's Department of Environment, Climate Change, and Urban Studies, at a January conference.

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northern vietnam records hazardous air pollution - vnexpress international

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Northern Vietnam records hazardous air pollution - VnExpress International

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By Phan Anh &nbspNovember 6, 2020 | 06:31 pm GMT+7 Northern Vietnam saw elevated levels of air pollution Friday morning, high enough to seriously affect human health, according to numerous air tracking stations in the area.

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities

Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all

Targets

By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all

By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations

By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping and minimizing release of hazardous chemicals and materials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally

By 2030, substantially increase water-use efficiency across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity

By 2030, implement integrated water resources management at all levels, including through transboundary cooperation as appropriate

By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers and lakes

By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies

Support and strengthen the participation of local communities in improving water and sanitation management
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Forward your comments, suggestions, references and/or new information of the SDGs and persons with disabilities to enable@un.org or follow @UNEnable on Facebook and Twitter anduse hashtag#Envision2030 to join the global conversation and help create a world that is fully inclusive of persons with disabilities by 2030.
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The Economic and Social Benefits and the Barriers of Providing People with Disabilities Accessible Clean Water and Sanitation, UNICEF Commentary, 2012

Water and sanitation issues for persons with disabilities in low- and middle-income countries: a literature review and discussion of implications for global health and international development, N. Groce, N. Bailey, R. Lang, J. F. Trani and M. Kett, 2011

Undoing inequity: inclusive water, sanitation and hygiene programmes that deliver for all: Uganda and Zambia, Leonard Cheshire Disability

Creating user-friendly water and sanitation services for the disabled, WaterAid Discussion Paper, 2008

Water and sanitation for disabled people and other vulnerable groups: Designing services to improve accessibility, Hazel Jones & Bob Reed, 2005

Water, sanitation and disabilities, the work of the IRC

Water, Sanitation and Disability in Rural West Africa, Messiah College, 2008

Envision2030 Homepage

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#Envision2030 Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation | United Nations Enable

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities Goal 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all Targets By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and

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Hanoi’s air pollution reaches worst level since year-start

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Hanoi’s air pollution reaches worst level since year-start

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Air pollution in Hanoi soared to the most hazardous level since the beginning of 2019 on Tuesday morning, according to the Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA).
The Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at one VEA-run monitoring station on Nguyen Van Cu Street in Long Bien District hit 341 as of 6:00 am.

At other locations in the Vietnamese capital city, AQI hovered above 200.

An AQI of 201-300 is considered dangerous to health, according to the VEA website.

Records from other independent air quality analysis systems, such as PAMAir, showed similar AQI levels, which are also the highest in 2019 to date.

The general public "should greatly reduce outdoor exertion" while sensitive groups "should avoid all outdoor activity," the VEA advised.

Hanoi has experienced four air pollution spells since the beginning of 2019, but AQI records never climbed to such alarming levels as they did on Tuesday morning.

"This is the first time I've seen such hazardous air quality in Hanoi," Dr. Hoang Duong Tung, chairman of the Vietnam Clean Air Partnership, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

"With such levels, I think Hanoi should immediately issue warnings to its citizens so that they can protect themselves," Tung said.

The Air Quality Index in multiple areas of Hanoi hovers above 200 on the morning of November 12, 2019. Photo: PAMAir

The VEA said on its website that temperature inversion is the main cause of the ongoing air pollution.

According to the VEA, the large difference between day and night temperatures in the Vietnamese capital city in recent days caused warmer air to be held above cooler air, a phenomenon known as inversion.

The inversion led air pollutants, especially PM2.5 particles or fine dust, to be stuck at lower altitudes, gradually worsening the air quality, the administration said.

However, Dr. Tung said he does not accept the VEA's explanation.

"It is possible that a strong pollutant source in Hanoi or its vicinity is causing this," the online news site VnExpress quoted Tung as saying.

The VEA forecast that the AQI in Hanoi will remain at "bad levels" for the next few days, especially at night and in the early morning, when temperature inversion will likely repeat.

Residents are encouraged to refrain from leaving windows open and wear facemasks when going outdoors, the VEA said.
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‘this is the first time i’ve seen such hazardous air quality in hanoi’

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Hanoi's air pollution reaches worst level since year-start - Tuoi Tre News

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Air pollution in Hanoi soared to the most hazardous level since the beginning of 2019 on Tuesday morning, according to the Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA). The Air Quality Index (AQI) recorded at one VEA-run monitoring station on Nguyen Van Cu Street in Long Bien District hit 341 as of 6:00 am.

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities

Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all

Targets

By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services

By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix

By 2030, double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency

By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology

By 2030, expand infrastructure and upgrade technology for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries, in particular least developed countries, small island developing States, and land-locked developing countries, in accordance with their respective programmes of support
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#Envision2030 Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy | United Nations Enable

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities Goal 7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all Targets By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services By 2030, increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy

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Gia Lai to develop first wind power plant

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Gia Lai to develop first wind power plant

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Update: December, 02/2019 - 23:36

HÀ NỘI - Việt Nam-based HBRE Wind Power and Thailand's Super Energy Corporation recently kicked off a wind power project worth VNĐ1.8 trillion (US$ 77.7 million) in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

Hồ Tá Tín, chairman of HBRE Group, said phase 1 of the HBRE Chư Prông Wind Power Farm Project would have a capacity of 50MW within 12 months and would contribute 110KV to the Diên Hồng- Chư Sê power grid.

Phase 2 of the project with a capacity of a further 50MW is expected to be completed before November 2021.

Chairman of Gia Lai's People's Committee Võ Ngọc Thành said: "Gia Lai has the potential to develop the largest wind farms in Việt Nam."

Thành explained it was the country's second largest province and a mountainous area with average altitude ranging from 700-800m above sea level and average wind speeds ranging from 5-8m per second.

Thành said the capacity of wind power in the east, southeast and west of the province and the area near Pleiku City could reach more than 12,000 MW.

According to the Global Wind Atlas produced by TrueWind Solutions in 2001, Việt Nam had the biggest potential for wind power among Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. The Central Highlands and the central coast were found to have considerably good wind speeds for such projects.

Since its establishment in 2012, HBRE Group has implemented and put into operation wind power projects in Đắk Lắk (28.8MW), Phú Yên (Phase 1-200MW), Hà Tĩnh (120MW) and Vũng Tàu (Phase 1-500MW).- VNS

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Gia Lai to develop first wind power plant

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Update: December, 02/2019 - 23:36 HÀ NỘI - Việt Nam-based HBRE Wind Power and Thailand's Super Energy Corporation recently kicked off a wind power project worth VNĐ1.8 trillion (US$ 77.7 million) in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai.

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Clean energy remains a distant dream in Vietnam

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Clean energy remains a distant dream in Vietnam

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Investors who once rushed to invest in Vietnam's fledging clean energy industry are now backing off due to unprofitability, further hindering the country's dream of getting greener.
The low price of electricity produced by wind and solar farms, as well as the lack of any government subsidy or favorable loan package are the reasons cited by foreign investors for their withdrawal.

As of August 2017, up to 19 gigawatts of solar energy is potentially available in Vietnam via small-scale projects, according to Sonia Lioret, principal technical advisor and project lead of a joint energy support program run by Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade in cooperation with the German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ).

Additionally, over 100 large-scale projects are planned in the provinces of Dak Lak, Binh Thuan, Tay Ninh, Ninh Thuan, and Khanh Hoa, but only a handful have been officially approved for development.

The reason, Lioret explained, is that investors, relevant authorities of Vietnam, and local grid operators are all unfamiliar with how to implement such projects.

A floating wind farm in Bac Lieu Province, located in southern Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

There are now multiple power generators in Vietnam, but all of them have been forced to sell electricity to one buyer, the Vietnam Electricity Corporation (EVN), which distributes power to consumers via five regional units in the north, central, and southern regions, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

A recent government-approved decision to raise EVN's buying price for solar power to 9.35 cents per kWh had been expected to attract more investors.

However, technical barriers have been cited among the reasons turning investors off Vietnam's clean energy industry.

Most of Vietnam's solar and wind farm projects are concentrated along the south-central coast and in the Central Highlands, where winds blow strong and sunshine is plenty, making it possible to produce clean energy on a large scale.

In fact, this poses a risk of overload on the local power grid, as the immediate demand for energy in these provinces is not as high.

Another reason, experts have pointed out, is that the deadline for solar investors to enjoy the favorable price of 9.35 cents per kWh is June 30, 2019, deemed to be too short a period of time for them to yield much profit.

Investors have also been challenged with getting access to loans, as independent funds are deemed too risky a venture, while local banks are unfamiliar with approving loans for clean energy projects, GIZ claimed.

Solar panels are installed on the rooftop of a building in Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Wind energy yet to deliver fresh air
As solar energy grapples with these difficulties, wind power has even more challenges.

According to an official for renewable energy at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, as of August 2017 there had been around 50 registered wind power projects in Vietnam with a combined generation capacity of 3,000 megawatts.

However, only five have gone into operation, with total installed capacity at 190 MW.

Bui Van Thinh, director of the Thuan Binh Company that has invested US$24 million in a 24 MW wind farm in Binh Thuan Province, said the low buying price of wind power has discouraged investors.

"At the price of only 7.8 cents per kWh, we have merely managed to pay our debts, loan interest and overheads after one year of operation," Thinh said.

"Banks consider this rate too low, and an ineffective return on investment, making it difficult for us to take out loans," he explained.

By the year 2020, Vietnam aims to have 850 MW of installed solar power capacity, a number that is set to rise to 12,000 MW by 2030, according to official government planning.

For wind energy, the goals for 2020 and 2030 are 800 MW and 6,000 MW, respectively.

A family harvests watermelon near a wind farm in Binh Thuan Province in south-central Vietnam. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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investors’ withdrawal from clean energy projects in vietnam is hampering the country

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​Clean energy remains a distant dream in Vietnam - Tuoi Tre News

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Investors who once rushed to invest in Vietnam's fledging clean energy industry are now backing off due to unprofitability, further hindering the country's dream of getting greener. The low price of electricity produced by wind and solar farms, as well as the lack of any government subsidy or favorable loan package are the reasons cited by foreign investors for their withdrawal.

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#Envision2030 Goal 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure | United Nations Enable

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities Goal 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation Targets Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human well-being, with a focus on affordable and

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities

Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable

Targets

By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums

By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, improving road safety, notably by expanding public transport, with special attention to the needs of those in vulnerable situations, women, children, persons with disabilities and older persons

By 2030, enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated and sustainable human settlement planning and management in all countries

Strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world's cultural and natural heritage

By 2030, significantly reduce the number of deaths and the number of people affected and substantially decrease the direct economic losses relative to global gross domestic product caused by disasters, including water-related disasters, with a focus on protecting the poor and people in vulnerable situations

By 2030, reduce the adverse per capita environmental impact of cities, including by paying special attention to air quality and municipal and other waste management

By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive and accessible, green and public spaces, in particular for women and children, older persons and persons with disabilities

Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri-urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning

By 2020, substantially increase the number of cities and human settlements adopting and implementing integrated policies and plans towards inclusion, resource efficiency, mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience to disasters, and develop and implement, in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, holistic disaster risk management at all levels

Support least developed countries, including through financial and technical assistance, in building sustainable and resilient buildings utilizing local materials
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#Envision2030 Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities | United Nations Enable

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities Goal 11: Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable Targets By 2030, ensure access for all to adequate, safe and affordable housing and basic services and upgrade slums By 2030, provide access to safe, affordable, accessible

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities

Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns

Targets

Implement the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing countries

By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources

By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses

By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment

By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling and reuse

Encourage companies, especially large and transnational companies, to adopt sustainable practices and to integrate sustainability information into their reporting cycle

Promote public procurement practices that are sustainable, in accordance with national policies and priorities

By 2030, ensure that people everywhere have the relevant information and awareness for sustainable development and lifestyles in harmony with nature

Support developing countries to strengthen their scientific and technological capacity to move towards more sustainable patterns of consumption and production

Develop and implement tools to monitor sustainable development impacts for sustainable tourism that creates jobs and promotes local culture and products

Rationalize inefficient fossil-fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption by removing market distortions, in accordance with national circumstances, including by restructuring taxation and phasing out those harmful subsidies, where they exist, to reflect their environmental impacts, taking fully into account the specific needs and conditions of developing countries and minimizing the possible adverse impacts on their development in a manner that protects the poor and the affected communities
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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities Goal 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns Targets Implement the 10-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, all countries taking action, with developed countries taking the lead, taking into account the development and capabilities of developing

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities

Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Targets

Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries

Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning

Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning

Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible

Promote mechanisms for raising capacity for effective climate change-related planning and management in least developed countries and small island developing States, including focusing on women, youth and local and marginalized communities

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#Envision2030 Goal 13: Climate Action | United Nations Enable

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities Goal 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts Targets Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies and planning Improve education,

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities

Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development

Targets

By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution

By 2020, sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans

Minimize and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels

By 2020, effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics

By 2020, conserve at least 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information

By 2020, prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognizing that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organization fisheries subsidies negotiation

By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island developing States and least developed countries from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism

Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular small island developing States and least developed countries

Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets

Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in UNCLOS, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of The Future We Want
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#Envision2030 Goal 14: Life Below Water | United Nations Enable

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development Targets By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution By

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities

Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Targets

By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements

By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally

By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world

By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development

Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species

Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as internationally agreed

Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products

By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species

By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts

Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems

Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation

Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities
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#Envision2030 Goal 15: Life On Land | United Nations Enable

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Imagine the world in 2030, fully inclusive of persons with disabilities Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss Targets By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and

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Tourism projects gnaw on forests in central Vietnam

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Tourism projects gnaw on forests in central Vietnam

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A forest considered the 'lungs' of the central city of Da Nang has significantly reduced in size due to the aggressive expansion of tourism projects in the area.

Seven kilometers from Da Nang on the central Vietnamese coast, Son Tra Peninsula has become increasingly known as an alluring tourist retreat.

The forest, dubbed the city's lungs, is indispensable in terms of being a shield from typhoons, eco-tourism growth and national defense.

The boom in tourism services, however, has taken a severe toll on the forest.

The road leading to the special-use Son Tra Forest receives approximately one thousand visitors on average per day.

Forestland offering the perfect retreat from the daily hustle and bustle of the city is only a few minutes by bike from the city's downtown areas, currently fetching high property prices.

A large number of trees have been felled to make room for a mushrooming number of construction projects in the vicinity.

An increasing number of local households are running farms and offering eco-tourism services without the permission of authorities, instead of growing trees on their assigned land.

As observed by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, the special-use Son Tra Forest is riddled with unfinished tourism projects which lie 'dormant for years, leaving the wooded area looking unsightly.

The peninsula's eastern coast, which should be dotted with luxuriant coconut and Casuarina trees, now looks unkempt.

Forest patches that are bare of trees expose rocks like a shaved head.

At the foot of Son Tra Mountain is the unfinished construction site of Bai But Bay Resort, which occupies up to 30 hectares of wooded land.

In 2005 Hai Duy JSC and Invesco, two companies based in Ho Chi Minh City, were licensed to break ground on their Bai But Bay Resort in Son Tra.

The mammoth project, with registered capital of US$30 million, was expected to grow into a paradise getaway for tourists. However the best the developers could do is the current block of houses and an artificial lake behind a dull brick wall.

Many locals do not fulfill their forestation tasks and open pubs or eco-tourism sites within Son Tra Forest instead. Photo: Tuoi Tre

Da Nang authorities have issued many 'ultimatums,' threatening to revoke the investment license for the project, but the developers have made no progress in their building work.

Other resort projects, including Sontra Travel and Son Tra Resort, also look forlorn with dismal-looking fences and incomplete blocks, all stark reminders of the previously lush forest.

The Tuoi Tre reporters also noticed that the forested strips along Hoang Sa Beach and right beneath Tien Sa Port had been converted into dozens of farms, restaurants and eco-tourism complexes.

Along the mountain slope on Le Duc Tho Street, lots assigned to locals have turned into spacious cafés and pubs.

Most café shops and eateries are built sturdily to facilitate business.

Around one kilometer from the local forest ranger station, residents have chopped down eucalyptus trees in the wooded area, and built a 300m-long road on which trucks can travel back and forth to transport timber.

Nguyen Thi Hoa, a resident in Tho Quang Ward who worked for a forest land owner for several years, recalled that she and others had always steered clear of the area, which was held in great reverence, around 10 years ago.

Later these patches of forest changed, leaving no one responsible.

Land lots of Son Tra Forest are currently available for sale for VND300 million ($13,260) per hectare.

Advantageous spots which can offer eco-tourism services fetch considerably higher prices.

In late February 2016, members of an animal rights group published a series of posts on Facebook revealing patches of forest illegally felled without rangers' knowledge on Son Tra Peninsula.

The revelations caught local authorities' attention and prompted them into action to keep similar incidents from happening again.

The municipal authorities also removed the head and deputy head of Son Tra- Ngu Hanh Son Forest Ranging Office from their posts, and disciplined three officers for their wrongdoings.

Previously, visitors would catch a good glimpse of 'Vooc ngu sac,' or red-shanked douc, monkeying around amidst the luxuriant foliage of Son Tra Mountain.

Considered the 'queen' of the primate world, the endangered douc boasts a distinctive coat of five different colors.

Though these primates are relatively shy of humans, they live in large numbers throughout the peninsula, making sightings relatively common.

Such sightings are becoming rarer, even when one ventures deep into the forest.

According to reports by the Da Nang Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Son Tra Forest spans 3,600 hectares, and includes 2,500 hectares of strictly-protected special-use forest.

A family of doucs, a primate indigenous to Son Tra Forest. Photo: Tuoi Tre

The remaining 1,072 hectares at elevations of less than 200m is assigned to around 200 local households.

Le Van Nhi, deputy head of the municipal agriculture department, warned against purchasing forest land, which will earn land owners a mere VND20 million ($883) and saplings in compensation once the government takes the land over.

Vo Dinh Cong, chair of Tho Quang Ward People's Committee, said Son Tra Forest is currently home to17 tourism projects.

Most of the forested land that locals have purchased is part of the zoned lots, he added.

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the shrinking forest on son tra peninsula has been forcing its indigenous doucs to find new habitats

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leaving them highly vulnerable to poaching

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Tourism projects gnaw on forests in central Vietnam - Tuoi Tre News

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A forest considered the 'lungs' of the central city of Da Nang has significantly reduced in size due to the aggressive expansion of tourism projects in the area. Seven kilometers from Da Nang on the central Vietnamese coast, Son Tra Peninsula has become increasingly known as an alluring tourist retreat.

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$1.9bn proposed to help Vietnam’s Mekong Delta cope with climate change

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$1.9bn proposed to help Vietnam’s Mekong Delta cope with climate change

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Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment is expected to propose pouring an additional investment worth VND45 trillion (US$1.9 billion) into ongoing efforts to boost development in the Mekong Delta and to help the region cope with climate change.
The financial assistance will be spent over the next five years, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung said during a conference in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

Chaired by Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the conference was aimed at reviewing the two-year implementation of the government's Resolution No.120 on climate-resilient and sustainable development of the Mekong Delta region.

According to Minster Dung, half of the proposed additional investment of VND45 trillion will be funded by the national budget, with the other half by other sources.

"Special policies will be implemented so that the money will be promptly spent on infrastructure projects that are crucial to the region's development and ability to cope with climate change," the official elaborated.

The Mekong Delta, which consists of 12 southern provinces and Can Tho City, makes up 19 percent of Vietnam's population and contributes up to 50 percent of the national rice output.

The region, however, is facing a number of challenges posed by climate change, especially rising sea level.

The conference in Ho Chi Minh City on June 18, 2019. Photo: Quang Dinh / Tuoi Tre

Speaking at the conference, PM Phuc noted that the goal is "not to fight against climate change but to conquer and adapt to it," turning challenges into opportunities and striving to achieve sustainable production.

He requested that relevant ministries and sectors work with Mekong Delta localities to come up with a suitable plan to boost cultivation and aquaculture, build a production ecosystem, and cut costs for businesses.

The lack of capital in the Mekong Delta is the bottleneck in the implementation of infrastructure and climate change adaptation projects, the premier continued.

He ordered the State Bank of Vietnam to establish a mechanism to mobilize capital from various sources to settle the issue.

According to Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha, the Mekong Delta's GDP growth rate recorded a four-year high of 7.8 percent in 2018, thanks to changes brought about by Resolution No.120.

To intensify the effectiveness of the resolution, focus must be directed on key tasks including the development of major projects and multi-purpose infrastructure, Ha continued.

The region also needs to boost farm produce quality and devise mechanisms to attract investments, improve vocational training, and develop high-quality human resources, he added.
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the capital is expected to fund major projects over the next five years

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$1.9bn proposed to help Vietnam's Mekong Delta cope with climate change - Tuoi Tre News

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Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment is expected to propose pouring an additional investment worth VND45 trillion (US$1.9 billion) into ongoing efforts to boost development in the Mekong Delta and to help the region cope with climate change.

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Update: June, 15/2015 - 08:09

HCM CITY (VNS) - Intensive shrimp aquaculture and destructive fishing practices have contributed to coastal erosion and reduced biodiversity in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ben Tre, according to a community-based project carried out in the region.

The project's community eco-tourism model was implemented in Thanh Phong Commune in Thanh Phu District, 70 kilometres from Ben Tre City.

Erosion in many places in the Mekong Delta, especially Ben Tre and Tra Vinh provinces, has become a serious issue, with 500 hectares of land now eroded along the coast.

The Centre for Transfer of Technology-Services and Community Development for Vietnamese Agriculture-Fishery carried out the pilot project from 2013 to this year, which is funded by Mangroves for the Future (MFF).

MFF, led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP), is a partnership-based initiative promoting investments in coastal ecosystems that support sustainable development.

The commune's Thanh Loc and Thanh Loi villages are under pressure because of reduced forest biodiversity, pollution from intensive farming on sand dunes, failure of clam crops, and destructive fishing practices.

Under the project, the two coastal villages were selected as pilot sites for co-management of natural resources. About 750 households participated in the project.

The coastal belt in this area is about 700 metres wide, classified as protection forests, managed by the Ben Tre Forest Management Board.

The local residents developed their own co-management agreement, with help from a Co-management Facilitation Group.

A co-management board and patrol group composed of local residents were formed to implement the activities, which included raising community awareness about protecting and conserving the coastal ecosystem.

Other objectives included increasing the income and welfare of poor households and women's income through a sustainable community-based eco-tourism model.

Six community training events were organised on sustainable natural resource management, biodiversity and eco-tourism.

Five career groups, consisting of a total of 59 residents, were trained in ecotourism operations, and distributed eco-tour materials, signboards and flyers.

Forty of the residents organised trial tours, earning money from eco-tourism.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, sea water intrudes about 30-40 metres into coastal land in the region, and erosion occurs in 20 places along 200 km of coastline.

Experts forecast that 39 per cent of the Delta area will be 30 metres under sea water by 2100 due to global warming. - VNS

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Update: June, 15/2015 - 08:09 HCM CITY (VNS) - Intensive shrimp aquaculture and destructive fishing practices have contributed to coastal erosion and reduced biodiversity in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ben Tre, according to a community-based project carried out in the region.

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Post any other websites and resources found about local issues and the connections it has to one of the outlined goals

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Obesity rates soar due to dramatic global diet shift, says UN food agency

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Obesity rates soar due to dramatic global diet shift, says UN food agency

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The shift away from seasonal, mainly plant-based and fibre-rich food has occurred in recent decades, as a result of globalization, urbanization and growth in income, says FAO, as busy consumers in urban areas find less time to cook at home, and rely increasingly on fast-food outlets, street food vendors and take-away meals.

This has led to a situation whereby almost 800 million people are considered obese, and over 40 million children under-five are overweight. The health costs of unhealthy eating habits - blamed as the leading cause of diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers - are estimated at around $2 trillion per year.

At the same time, some 821 million people are still suffering from hunger across the world, with numbers increasing over the past three years, and around one in three children are malnourished and not developing properly: in some parts of Africa, hunger has risen by almost 20 per cent.

Everyone can play their part in promoting healthy diets and achieving the UN's goal of zero hunger by 2030, FAO urges. Farmers, and others who work in agriculture, can spread their knowledge, and traditional, sustainable practices. By promoting healthy living to their citizens, governments can make savings, by cutting food-related health problems; and the private sector can make a difference by reducing the amount of harmful ingredients in their products.

In a video statement released on Wednesday, UN chief António Guterres underlined the crucial need to transform food systems in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

As well as impacting health, the way that food is currently consumed and produced is having a significant effect on climate change. Mr. Guterres announced that he hopes to convene a major Food Systems Summit in 2021, as part of the Decade of Action to deliver the SDGs.

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Obesity rates soar due to dramatic global diet shift, says UN food agency

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Eating food high in starch, sugar, fats and salt; combined with a sedentary lifestyle, is a recipe for soaring global obesity rates, even in countries where many still suffer from hunger. On World Food Day, which falls on Wednesday, the UN's food agency, FAO, is calling for action to make healthy, sustainable diets affordable and accessible for all.

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Changing behaviour towards nature to keep biodiversity

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Changing behaviour towards nature to keep biodiversity

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Professor Trương Quang Học from Việt Nam National University's Centre for Natural Resources and Environment Studies spoke with Nhân Dân Cuối Tuần (the People Weekend Edition) newspaper about the impacts that Việt Nam will possibly have in case of biodiversity decline and the importance of changing behaviour towards nature.
How do you assess the global decline in biodiversity?
As far as I've remember, former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon emphasised the importance of giving priority to considering biodiversity issues when making decisions in all sectors. Biodiversity must be the basis for establishing other goals, not an idea that comes up after other goals have been set up.

I think we need a new vision of biodiversity conservation to maintain a healthy planet and a sustainable future for humanity.

In 1993, the United Nations chose May 22 as an international day for biodiversity to raise public awareness on this issue. Biodiversity since then has been considered an essential source of providing ecological services and a source of human life.

In recent decades, the concept of non-traditional security has emerged, including the issue of biodiversity decline - a depleted ecological environment. If the ecosystem is like a car, then every animal and plant species act as a part of that car. Lack of any species can threaten the safety when the vehicle operates.

So, the relationship between humans and other plant species must be a symbiotic relationship in order to sustain life and maintain the sustainable development. For a long time, people have underestimated the role of biodiversity. It's high time the world has to look back and put this issue in parallel with the importance of climate change.
Việt Nam is considered one of the Southeast Asian countries rich in biodiversity and ranked 16th with the greatest biodiversity in the world. Could you tell us about the biodiversity fluctuations in recent years?
Ecosystems and biological resources play an important role in the country's economy and culture. Biotechnology contributes greatly to the national economy, which ensures food security, maintaining genetic resources of animals and plants, providing construction materials and sources of fuel and pharmaceuticals.

Population growth and consumption pressures have resulted in overexploitation of biological resources. The rapid socio-economic development has changed the natural landscape. Changes of land use practices and construction of many infrastructures have reduced the area of ​​natural habitats, fragmented ecosystems, and reduced the habitat of many wildlife species. The construction of many dams has blocked the migration routes of many fish species.

The rapid increase in forestation is a good sign, but it should be noted that half of the increase in forest area is planted and restored forests, so the value of biodiversity is not high. Meanwhile, the natural forest continues to be destroyed.

Forest fires, deforestation, and forest land use conversion are three elements that reduced the biodiversity. Natural forests are increasingly being destroyed. The data shows 156 forest fires have occurred in the first six months of this year, and nearly 38,300 hectares of forest has been converted for use in the period of 2012-17.

Noticeably, 89 per cent of natural forest area was damaged during the forest land use conversion process and 11 per cent was illegally chopped down. All of the areas of the national parks and conservation parks in the country occupied only 7.5 per cent of total mainland.
Do you think that the sense of excessive material enjoyment is among the causes of the biodiversity decline?
I want to talk about Bhutan. It is a small country and it is not a developed one, but people are still happy and enjoy life because they know how to live with nature. They have the awareness that people should be part of the nature.
Could you share the scenario of biodiversity loss in the future?
At a recent international conference on non-traditional security issues, I mentioned the scenario of biodiversity loss. Over the past 300 years, the forest on earth has decreased by 40 per cent.

Rainforests account for only 7 per cent of the area but own 70 per cent of the global biodiversity value. However, the forests have lost 80 per cent of their total area and continue to lose 0.7 per cent annually.
People have used up to three quaters of the earth's resources. When the life-support system is degraded and depleted, how can people survive?
It will be extremely difficult to recover what we have lost. Many scientists have warned that humans will only survive until the end of this century. It might sound awful, but it would be true if people don't change their behaviour and attitudes towards the nature. - VNS

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Changing behaviour towards nature to keep biodiversity

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Professor Trương Quang Học from Việt Nam National University's Centre for Natural Resources and Environment Studies spoke with Nhân Dân Cuối Tuần (the People Weekend Edition) newspaper about the impacts that Việt Nam will possibly have in case of biodiversity decline and the importance of changing behaviour towards nature.

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With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expecting Vietnam's economy to grow by 6.5 percent in 2019 and 2020, it is only natural that one of the region's fastest growing countries is turning towards renewable energy to secure its energy needs.

What is not normal, though, is the pace in which it has taken up solar photovoltaic (PV) installations - a market it now leads in Southeast Asia.

From only 134 megawatts (MW) in 2018, Vietnam's cumulative installed solar PV capacity will hit 5.5 gigawatts (GW) this year - or 44 percent of Southeast Asia's total capacity - according to global energy consultants Wood Mackenzie in research released last week.

Vietnam added 4.45 GW of new solar PV capacity from June 2018 to June 2019, and Norwegian consultancy Rystad Energy calculated that the average time for construction and commissioning a solar PV project in Vietnam was "an astonishing 275 days."
Exceeding expectations
As Vietnamese media reported in September, this 4.45 GW easily exceeds the 1 GW target set for solar PV electricity generation by 2020.

Vietnamese state-owned utility company, Vietnam Electricity (EVN) stated that as many as 82 plants with a combined capacity of 4.45 GW were connected to the national grid as of 30 June, allowing them to qualify for the feed-in tariff (FIT) programme.

FITs are payments made to renewable energy producers - be it companies or households - for each unit of energy they produce for the electricity grid.

Central to the growth of the solar PV industry in Vietnam was the announcement in 2017 that projects commissioned before the end of June 2019 would qualify for a 20-year FIT contract of US$0.0935/kilowatt hour (kWh), leading to a rush to get projects off the ground.

"The commissioned capacity in Vietnam has exceeded our high case," said David Dixon, senior analyst on Rystad Energy's renewables team.

While there were bankability concerns surrounding the new projects, Rishab Shrestha, Wood Mackenzie's power and renewables analyst, pointed out that project economics were attractive - delivering equity returns in the mid-teens.

"Regional and local IPPs (Independent Power Producers) and developers felt comfortable taking on the risk, and the projects received financing from regional and local banks," said Shrestha.

"FITs have proven to be an effective policy tool to induce rapid growth in renewables, and Vietnam's build is another example of that."
Grid overload
However, as Rystad notes, grid overload is Vietnam's main concern moving forward.

With only four solar plants with a cumulative capacity of 150 MW connected to the grid by mid-April, 34 more facilities with a cumulative capacity of 2.2 GW were added by the end of May - and EVN expects the number to rise to 95 by the end of 2019.

Wood Mackenzie, meanwhile, has also warned that EVN - the country's only utility company - will need to find more free space in the grid or their plants will not be producing to their designed capacity.

In Vietnam's key provinces, the installed capacity has already exceeded the grid capacity by 18 percent and the approved capacity for the Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan provinces stand at 5 GW, more than double the grid usable capacity.

That is not stopping the country from rolling out more projects though. Vietnam last month announced it would be developing the largest floating solar PV installation in Southeast Asia.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a US$37 million loan to finance the 47.5 MW facility at the 175 MW Da Mi hydropower plant, and not only will it be the country's first large-scale floating solar power plant, it will also be the first on a hydropower reservoir.

As Christopher Thieme, ADB's Private Sector Operations Department Deputy Director General pointed out, the pairing of these two clean energy technologies - hydropower and solar - is a simple but highly innovative achievement which can be replicated elsewhere in Vietnam and across Asia and the Pacific.

Apart from helping to boost the share of renewable energy in Vietnam's overall energy mix, the project will also decrease Vietnam's dependence on fossil fuels such as coal - which will be key to the country's push for sustainable growth.

Related articles:
Bankability of solar in Southeast Asia The potential of floating solar power
Vietnam's growing demand for energy

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With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) expecting Vietnam's economy to grow by 6.5 percent in 2019 and 2020, it is only natural that one of the region's fastest growing countries is turning towards renewable energy to secure its energy needs.

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It sounds like a miracle, but no great technological leaps were required. In a commercial lab on the outskirts of Helsinki, I watched scientists turn water into food. Through a porthole in a metal tank, I could see a yellow froth churning. It's a primordial soup of bacteria, taken from the soil and multiplied in the laboratory, using hydrogen extracted from water as its energy source. When the froth was siphoned through a tangle of pipes and squirted on to heated rollers, it turned into a rich yellow flour.
'This is the farming of the future': the rise of hydroponic food labs
This flour is not yet licensed for sale. But the scientists, working for a company called Solar Foods, were allowed to give me some while filming our documentary Apocalypse Cow. I asked them to make me a pancake: I would be the first person on Earth, beyond the lab staff, to eat such a thing. They set up a frying pan in the lab, mixed the flour with oat milk, and I took my small step for man. It tasted ... just like a pancake.

But pancakes are not the intended product. Such flours are likely soon to become the feedstock for almost everything. In their raw state, they can replace the fillers now used in thousands of food products. When the bacteria are modified they will create the specific proteins needed for lab-grown meat, milk and eggs. Other tweaks will produce lauric acid - goodbye palm oil - and long-chain omega-3 fatty acids - hello lab-grown fish. The carbohydrates that remain when proteins and fats have been extracted could replace everything from pasta flour to potato crisps. The first commercial factory built by Solar Foods should be running next year.

The hydrogen pathway used by Solar Foodsis about 10 times as efficient as photosynthesis. But because only part of a plant can be eaten, while the bacterial flour is mangetout, you can multiply that efficiency several times. And because it will be brewed in giant vats the land efficiency, the company estimates, is roughly 20,000 times greater. Everyone on Earth could be handsomely fed, and using a tiny fraction of its surface. If, as the company intends, the water used in the process (which is much less than required by farming) is electrolysed with solar power, the best places to build these plants will be deserts.

We are on the cusp of the biggest economic transformation, of any kind, for 200 years. While arguments rage about plant- versus meat-based diets, new technologies will soon make them irrelevant. Before long, most of our food will come neither from animals nor plants, but from unicellular life. After 12,000 years of feeding humankind, all farming except fruit and veg production is likely to be replaced by ferming: brewing microbes through precision fermentation. This means multiplying particular micro-organisms, to produce particular products, in factories.I know some people will be horrified by this prospect. I can see some drawbacks. But I believe it comes in the nick of time.

Several impending disasters are converging on our food supply, any of which could be catastrophic. Climate breakdown threatens to cause what scientists call " multiple breadbasket failures", through synchronous heatwaves and other impacts. The UN forecasts that by 2050 feeding the world will require a 20% expansion in agriculture's global water use. But water use is already maxed out in many places: aquifers are vanishing, rivers are failing to reach the sea. The glaciers that supply half the population of Asia are rapidly retreating. Inevitable global heating - due to greenhouse gases already released - is likely to reduce dry season rainfall in critical areas, turning fertile plains into dustbowls.

A global soil crisis threatens the very basis of our subsistence, as great tracts of arable land lose their fertility through erosion, compaction and contamination. Phosphate supplies, crucial for agriculture, are dwindling fast. Insectageddon threatens catastrophic pollination failures. It is hard to see how farming can feed us all even until 2050, let alone to the end of the century and beyond.

Food production is ripping the living world apart. Fishing and farming are, by a long way, the greatest cause of extinction and loss of the diversity and abundance of wildlife. Farming is a major cause of climate breakdown, the biggest cause of river pollution and a hefty source of air pollution. Across vast tracts of the world's surface, it has replaced complex wild ecosystems with simplified human food chains. Industrial fishing is driving cascading ecological collapse in seas around the world. Eating is now a moral minefield, as almost everything we put in our mouths - from beef to avocados, cheese to chocolate, almonds to tortilla chips, salmon to peanut butter - has an insupportable environmental cost.

But just as hope appeared to be evaporating, the new technologies I call farmfree food create astonishing possibilities to save both people and planet. Farmfree food will allow us to hand back vast areas of land and sea to nature, permitting rewilding and carbon drawdown on a massive scale. It means an end to the exploitation of animals, an end to most deforestation, a massive reduction in the use of pesticides and fertiliser, the end of trawlers and longliners. It's our best hope of stopping what some have called the "sixth great extinction", but I prefer to call the great extermination. And, if it's done right, it means cheap and abundant food for everyone.

Research by the thinktank RethinkX suggests that proteins from precision fermentation will be around 10 times cheaper than animal protein by 2035. The result, it says, will be the near-complete collapse of the livestock industry. The new food economy will "replace an extravagantly inefficient system that requires enormous quantities of inputs and produces huge amounts of waste with one that is precise, targeted, and tractable". Using tiny areas of land, with a massively reduced requirement for water and nutrients, it "presents the greatest opportunity for environmental restoration in human history".

Not only will food be cheaper, it will also be healthier. Because farmfree foods will be built up from simple ingredients, rather than broken down from complex ones, allergens, hard fats and other unhealthy components can be screened out. Meat will still be meat, though it will be grown in factories on collagen scaffolds, rather than in the bodies of animals. Starch will still be starch, fats will still be fats. But food is likely to be better, cheaper and much less damaging to the living planet.

It might seem odd for someone who has spent his life calling for political change to enthuse about a technological shift. But nowhere on Earth can I see sensible farm policies developing. Governments provide an astonishing £560bn a year in farm subsidies, and almost all of them are perverse and destructive, driving deforestation, pollution and the killing of wildlife. Research by the Food and Land Use Coalition found that only 1% of the money is used to protect the living world. It failed to find "any examples of governments using their fiscal instruments to directly support the expansion of supply of healthier and more nutritious food."

Nor is the mainstream debate about farming taking us anywhere, except towards further catastrophe. There's a widespread belief that the problem is intensive farming, and the answer is extensification (producing less food per hectare). It's true that intensive farming is highly damaging, but extensive farming is even worse. Many people are rightly concerned about urban sprawl. But agricultural sprawl - which covers a much wider area - is a far greater threat to the natural world. Every hectare of land used by farming is a hectare not used for wildlife and complex living systems.

A paper in Nature suggests that, per kilo of food produced, extensive farming causes greater greenhouse gas emissions, soil loss, water use and nitrogen and phosphate pollution than intensive farming. If everyone ate pasture-fed meat, we would need several new planets on which to produce it.

Farmfree production promises a far more stable and reliable food supply that can be grown anywhere, even in countries without farmland. It could be crucial to ending world hunger. But there is a hitch: a clash between consumer and producer interests. Many millions of people, working in farming and food processing, will eventually lose their jobs. Because the new processes are so efficient, the employment they create won't match the employment they destroy.

RethinkX envisages an extremely rapid " death spiral " in the livestock industry. Only a few components, such as the milk proteins casein and whey, need to be produced through fermentation for profit margins across an entire sector to collapse. Dairy farming in the United States, it claims, will be "all but bankrupt by 2030". It believes that the American beef industry's revenues will fall by 90% by 2035.

While I doubt the collapse will be quite that fast, in one respect the thinktank underestimates the scale of the transformation. It fails to mention the extraordinary shift taking place in feedstock production to produce alternatives to plant products, of the kind pioneered in Helsinki. This is likely to hit arable farming as hard as cultured milk and meat production will hit livestock farming. Solar Foods thinks its productscould reach cost parity with the world's cheapest form of protein (soya from South America) within five years. Instead of pumping ever more subsidies into a dying industry, governments should be investing in helping farmers into other forms of employment, while providing relief funds for those who will suddenly lose their livelihoods.

Another hazard is the potential concentration of the farmfree food industry. We should strongly oppose the patenting of key technologies, to ensure the widest possible distribution of ownership. If governments regulate this properly, they could break the hegemony of the massive companies that now control global food commodities. If they don't, they could reinforce it. In this sector, as in all others, we need strong anti-trust laws. We must also ensure that the new foods always have lower carbon footprints than the old ones: farmfree producers should power their operations entirely from low-carbon sources. This is a time of momentous choices, and we should make them together.

We can't afford to wait passively for technology to save us. Over the next few years we could lose almost everything, as magnificent habitats such as the rainforests of Madagascar, West Papua and Brazil are felled to produce cattle, soya or palm oil. By temporarily shifting towards a plant-based diet with the lowest possible impacts (no avocados or out-of-season asparagus), we can help buy the necessary time to save magnificent species and places while these new technologies mature. But farmfree food offers hope where hope was missing. We will soon be able to feed the world without devouring it.

* George Monbiot is a Guardian columnist. His film Apocalypse Cow is on Channel 4 at 10pm on Wednesday
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Lab-grown food is about to destroy farming - and save the planet | George Monbiot

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It sounds like a miracle, but no great technological leaps were required. In a commercial lab on the outskirts of Helsinki, I watched scientists turn water into food. Through a porthole in a metal tank, I could see a yellow froth churning.

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Salinity intrusion threatens quarter of Mekong Delta orchards

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Salinity intrusion threatens quarter of Mekong Delta orchards

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Dang Khoa &nbspSeptember 17, 2020 | 03:48 pm GMT+7

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has warned that nearly a quarter of Mekong Delta orchard area could suffer from saltwater intrusion.

The ministry stated Thursday at a conference around 80,550 ha or 23.2 percent of Mekong Delta orchards for the 2020-2021 harvest season would be impacted.

The Mekong Delta is the biggest fruit-producing region in the country. Its orchard area spans 362,000 hectares, accounting for 34 percent of Vietnam's total orchards and for 58 percent of the southern region's. However, it was the region impacted the most by salinity intrusion over recent years.

During the 2019-2020 harvest season, salinity affected roughly 25,120 ha of orchards, impacting durian, coconut, pomelo, lime, and rambutan farmers, officials said at the conference hosted in the delta's Tien Giang Province.

This year, saltwater intruded 50-110 km into major rivers across the delta, even deeper than in 2016.

The lack of freshwater lasted more than six months, leaving 80,000 families high and dry, and damaged 43,000 ha of paddy.

Experts have blamed El Nino and Chinese dams on the Mekong for parching the delta.

Six provinces, Ben Tre, Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Long An, Soc Trang, and Tien Giang have declared a saline emergency this season.

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salinity intrusion threatens quarter of mekong delta orchards - vnexpress international

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Salinity intrusion threatens quarter of Mekong Delta orchards - VnExpress International

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By Dang Khoa &nbspSeptember 17, 2020 | 03:48 pm GMT+7 The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has warned that nearly a quarter of Mekong Delta orchard area could suffer from saltwater intrusion. The ministry stated Thursday at a conference around 80,550 ha or 23.2 percent of Mekong Delta orchards for the 2020-2021 harvest season would be impacted.

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Province to build largest reservoir in Mekong Delta to cope with droughts, salinity

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Province to build largest reservoir in Mekong Delta to cope with droughts, salinity

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Hoang Nam &nbspSeptember 11, 2020 | 02:43 pm GMT+7

Authorities in Ben Tre Province have approved a plan to build the Mekong Delta's largest freshwater reservoir to help tackle drought and salinity during the dry season.

Construction of the Lac Dia Lake, which will have a capacity of 1.3 million cubic meters, is expected to begin in 2021 and take five years, according to Nguyen Huu Lap, the province's vice chairman.

The 57-hectare four-meter-deep lake will actually be part of a 121-hectare residential and cultural complex that will cost over VND352 billion ($15 million).

The lake will have enough water for five months for 59,500 households in Ba Tri District and 150,000 head of cattle, 340 commercial establishments and 255 health centers and schools.

"Since the Mekong Delta suffered the worst drought in a century in 2016 it became necessary to build the freshwater reservoir, and Ben Tre is proposing to build more reservoirs in three coastal districts," Lap said.

Kenh Lap with a capacity of nearly one million cubic meters, also in Ben Tre, is now the Mekong Delta's largest manmade freshwater body. It was built at a cost of VND85 billion, but is now virtually dry, leaving 11,000 families without water.

The Mekong Delta suffered severe drought and salt intrusion this summer, with conditions worse than the historic drought in 2016. That year 600,000 people did not have access to freshwater and 160,000 hectares of paddy were damaged with farmers losing 800,000 tons of rice and suffering losses of VND5.5 trillion.

The delta is home to 17.5 million people, or a fifth of the country's population, and identified as one of the most vulnerable in the world to climate change.

This year saltwater intruded 50-110 kilometers into major rivers in the delta, even deeper than in 2016.

The lack of freshwater lasted more than six months, leaving 80,000 families high and dry, and damaged 43,000 hectares of paddy. The government provided VND350 billion worth of assistance to the region.

Six provinces, Ben Tre, Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Long An, Soc Trang and Tien Giang, declared an emergency over the salinity.

Experts have blamed El Nino and Chinese dams on the Mekong for the parching of the delta.

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province to build largest reservoir in mekong delta to cope with droughts

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Province to build largest reservoir in Mekong Delta to cope with droughts, salinity - VnExpress International

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By Hoang Nam &nbspSeptember 11, 2020 | 02:43 pm GMT+7 Authorities in Ben Tre Province have approved a plan to build the Mekong Delta's largest freshwater reservoir to help tackle drought and salinity during the dry season.

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Vietnam’s main coconut growing area stressed by salinity

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Vietnam’s main coconut growing area stressed by salinity

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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Historic levels of saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta have caused coconuts in Ben Tre Province to shrink by half in size and farmers' incomes by even more.

One afternoon in early August, Tran Trung Tac, owner of a dwarf coconut grove, opens 100 coconuts one by one for their water for making caramel sauce used to braise fish and meat.

The 70-year-old from Giong Tom District in Ben Tre, the country's biggest producer of coconuts, has been forced to make caramel sauce because the coconuts now are far too small to sell to traders.

From being the size of a stretched human palm, they have now become just half that.

"Each dwarf coconut should have at least 250 millimeters of water but now there is just half or even one-fourth of that, and more than 200 coconuts make just one liter of caramel sauce these days," Tac said.

He said the elevated saltwater levels in rivers used for irrigation are the reason the fruits are no longer as they used to be.

In his 5,000-square-meter orchard, most trees are over 20 years old.

In previous years he could sell his coconuts for VND130,000-180,000 ($6-8) a dozen, and earn some VND3.5 million ($150) a month.

The monthly income has now dropped to just VND180,000-350,000 since it is difficult to sell the smaller fruits.

Tac and other farmers are in a dilemma over their future course.

He used to grow sugarcane and rice before switching to dwarf coconuts. In the initial years he intercropped pomelo and lime in his grove, but the coconuts trees proved that only they could endure the salinity, which sometimes has risen to 5,000 milligrams per liter.

"The only solution I can think of now is to fertilize the coconut trees to help them recover. If I switch from coconut and the salinity gets worse next year, I will not know what to do."

Hoang Nuoi is a coconut trader in that neighborhood who buys from farmers. For the past decade he has been buying 1,000-2,000 nuts every day.

"This year coconuts are the worst ever. Their cost has therefore dropped dramatically. Dried coconuts now fetch VND90,000 for a bunch of 40 instead of just 12 fruits."

Ben Tre is the coconut capital of Vietnam. It has the largest total coconut-growing area in the country -- 74,000 hectares (182,800 acres) -- mostly in the two districts of Giong Tom and Mo Cay Nam.

Ben Tre and four other Mekong Delta provinces, Long An, Kien Giang, Soc Trang, and Ca Mau, declared an emergency earlier this year.

During the last dry season, from late November to May, the delta, home to 12 provinces and Can Tho City, was hit by the worst drought ever and this caused historic levels of salinity in its rivers as water flowed inland from the sea.

The rainy season arrived late last year and was shorter than usual, resulting in 8 percent less rainfall than normal at 1,240 mm, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

A series of upstream dams in China is seen as preventing the natural flow of water, while the sea level rise and gradual subsidence of southern Vietnam are also blamed for the salt intrusion in the delta.

By mid-March seawater had intruded 50-110 kilometers into major rivers, all branches of the Mekong, two to eight kilometers more than in 2016 when the region had suffered the worst drought in a century.

This year's lack of freshwater damaged 41,900 hectares of rice and 6,650 hectares of fruit orchards, while 96,000 families struggled to get water for their daily needs.

It has now become common in Ben Tre to see coconut trees with withered flowers or coconut fruits dying young due to salt intrusion.

The province agriculture department said around 20 percent or 14,000 hectares of coconut areas have been hit by salinity and drought.

Under a government decree on relief for people affected by natural disasters, coconut farmers will get a subsidy of VND4 million per hectare if more than 70 percent of their crop is damaged and VND2 million for those with 30-70 percent damage.

"The department sent its personnel to show farmers how to lead water into irrigation canals to wash the soil and use organic fertilizers," Huynh Quang Duc, the agriculture department's deputy director, said.

To prepare itself should drought and salinity return next dry season, Ben Tre has started dredging the Kenh Lap reservoir in Ba Tri District to store water during the ongoing rainy season.

With a capacity of more than one million cubic meters, Kenh Lap is the delta's largest reservoir. It ran dry in April.

Some 5,000 cubic meters of mud would be removed from its bed to ensure a consistent 2-meter depth for the reservoir, a manmade one that is nearly five kilometers long and 40-100 meters wide.

The dredging is scheduled to be finished by the end of this month, and authorities will then let water in from the Kenh Lon River.

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vietnam’s main coconut growing area stressed by salinity - vnexpress international

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Vietnam's main coconut growing area stressed by salinity - VnExpress International

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Historic levels of saltwater intrusion in the Mekong Delta have caused coconuts in Ben Tre Province to shrink by half in size and farmers' incomes by even more. One afternoon in early August, Tran Trung Tac, owner of a dwarf coconut grove, opens 100 coconuts one by one for their water for making caramel sauce used to braise fish and meat.

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Mekong Delta farmers lose durian farms to historic drought and salinity

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Mekong Delta farmers lose durian farms to historic drought and salinity

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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Farmers in the Mekong Delta are chopping down hundreds of hectares of durian trees that were lost to drought and saltwater intrusion.

For years Le Van Thoi has earned VND600-800 million ($25,800-34,400) a year from his durian farm in Cai Lay Town in Tien Giang Province.

Thanks to the 0.65-hectare farm, the 62-year-old's family has a financially stable life.

This time last year the durian trees in his garden had started blossoming, in time for harvesting in January.

But this year has been a completely different story for the king for fruit. His orchard looks like it was abandoned a long time ago, around the roots of each tree are pieces of water pipes removed and scattered on the ground, which is dry and cracked. Most of the trees are dead and have turned blackish while their leaves have withered.

This was caused by the unprecedented drought and salinity that lasted almost six months in the Mekong Delta.

During the last dry season, from late November to May, the delta, home to 12 provinces and Can Tho City, was hit by the worst drought ever and this caused historic levels of salinity in its rivers.

The rainy season arrived late last year and was shorter than usual, resulting in 8 percent less rainfall than normal at 1,240 mm, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

A series of upstream dams in China have been blamed for preventing the natural flow of water, while the sea level rise and gradual subsidence of southern Vietnam are among other reasons for the salt intrusion in the delta.

Tien Giang and four other provinces, Ben Tre, Long An, Kien Giang, and Ca Mau declared an emergency in early March, followed later by Soc Trang.

By mid-March seawater had intruded 50-110 kilometers into major rivers, all branches of the Mekong, two to eight kilometers more than in 2016, when the region suffered the worst drought in a century.

This year's lack of freshwater damaged 41,900 hectares of rice and 6,650 hectares of fruit orchards, and 96,000 families struggled to get water for their daily needs.

Thoi had to buy freshwater at VND70,000 ($3) per cubic meter.

"Though I did not dare water them much and did so very sparingly, I spent as much as VND200 million just to buy water for the orchard. Yet I could not save any of it."

At least Thoi has kept his farm while many other farmers did not have such patience.

Along the 20-kilometer road from his Long Tien Commune to Phu Phong, durian wood has piled up from dead trees chopped down by farmers.

They hope to sell them or simply give them away to factories or workshops.

Two kilometers from Thoi's farm is a 0.5-hectare durian farm with 100 trees belonging to Nguyen Van Phuoc.

Phuoc, 50, has been much luckier: half his trees survived the drought. Last year the orchard generated his family an income of more than VND200 million.

But even the trees that survived are not healthy and are recovering very slowly. Phuoc has sawed them off at the trunk and applied lime to speed up flowering.

Durian is the staple of Long Tien Commune, which has more than 1,100 hectares of orchards. Farmers there have received more than VND4.8 billion ($206,450) worth of aid from the province after the prolonged drought destroyed more than 530 ha of orchards.

Vo Van Men, head of the local Department of Agriculture and Rural Development's plant protection agency, said across the province more than 3,500 ha out of 14,000 ha of durian have been wiped out.

As set out in a 2017 government decree on supporting farmers hit by calamities, farmers losing more than 70 percent of their crop will get aid of VND4 million ($173) per hectare, and VND2 million if the loss is less.

However, despite the enormous loss of durian trees and an expected worsening of the salinity next year, most farmers want to continue growing the fruit next year because it is a traditional crop that yields high profits, the agency found.

"We are helping farmers clean the land and save all the trees that can still be saved. In the long term the province will invest in a system to prevent salinity and store freshwater," Men said.

"The province will also tell farmers to store water from the beginning of a crop to respond quickly should more drought and salinity arrive for the next crop."

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mekong delta farmers lose durian farms to historic drought and salinity - vnexpress international

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Mekong Delta farmers lose durian farms to historic drought and salinity - VnExpress International

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Farmers in the Mekong Delta are chopping down hundreds of hectares of durian trees that were lost to drought and saltwater intrusion. For years Le Van Thoi has earned VND600-800 million ($25,800-34,400) a year from his durian farm in Cai Lay Town in Tien Giang Province.

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Vietnam’s solid waste up 46 pct in decade: report

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Vietnam’s solid waste up 46 pct in decade: report

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Phan Anh &nbspNovember 19, 2020 | 07:57 am GMT+7

The amount of domestic solid waste in Vietnam has increased by 46 percent from 2010 to 2019, according to a recent national report on solid waste management.

The report, issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, noted the amount of domestic solid waste produced nationally in 2019 was around 64,658 tons a day, an increase of 46 percent from the 44,400 tons a day in 2010.

The majority of such waste was produced in urban areas, which release about 35,624 tons a day, while rural areas only release about 28,394 tons a day, the report noted.

Domestic solid waste production is significantly higher in localities with high urbanization and industrialization rates, like Hanoi at 6,500 tons a day and HCMC at 9,400 tons a day, which tops all cities and provinces. When it comes to the amount of domestic solid waste released per capita, Hanoi records 0.81 kg a day, while HCMC records a daily 1.05 kg.

Hanoi and HCMC alone produced around 12,000 tons of domestic solid waste a day in 2019, accounting for around 33.6 percent of all domestic solid waste in urban areas, the report revealed.

Meanwhile, the domestic solid waste collection rate was recorded at around 92 percent nationally in 2019, meaning around 8 percent of all domestic solid waste produced was not collected and thus released into the environment. Major cities like Hanoi, HCMC and Da Nang have the highest collection rate, some up to 100 percent, according to the report.

Around 71 percent of collected domestic solid waste is buried, 16 percent is turned into compost, while 13 percent is burned. While burial remains the dominant method of waste processing, there has been a shift to incineration in recent years, the report declared.

Among 1,322 domestic solid waste processing facilities distributed nationally, around 904 are burial sites. But only around 20 percent of these are considered hygienic, it was added.

Several challenges remain in the management of domestic solid waste, including a lack of waste sorting facilities and insufficient focus on daily waste reduction. Waste recycling efforts are still limited, while the dominant method of waste burial takes up space and may hurt the surrounding environment.

Suggestions for improvements include the amendment and supplementation of waste management policies, increased surveillance in waste management and research and development into new technologies for waste processing, the report concluded.

As solid waste production increases over time, major landfills in cities like HCMC, Da Nang and Hanoi have become overloaded and affect people's lives.

Hanoi and HCMC spend VND1.2-1.5 trillion ($52-65 million) a year each, or around 3.5 percent of their budget, on collecting and treating garbage.

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vietnam’s solid waste up 46 pct in decade: report - vnexpress international

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Vietnam's solid waste up 46 pct in decade: report - VnExpress International

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By Phan Anh &nbspNovember 19, 2020 | 07:57 am GMT+7 The amount of domestic solid waste in Vietnam has increased by 46 percent from 2010 to 2019, according to a recent national report on solid waste management.

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Vietnam to apply pay-as-you-throw model by 2025

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Vietnam to apply pay-as-you-throw model by 2025

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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Vietnam will start charging households according to the amount of garbage they discard no later than 2025, as approved by the parliament.

The legislative National Assembly passed the amendment to the Law on Environment Protection on Tuesday to have all households sort their trash into three groups: recyclable waste, food waste, and the rest.

Trash must be gathered into eco-friendly bags in accordance with their classification, with collection units reserving the right to refuse their removal should any family or business fail to meet the requirement.

The law states the cost of collecting, transferring and treating the waste would be calculated based on the volume of trash one household discards, which means the more they throw away, the higher the fee.

Though the amended law has been passed and will take effect from January 1, 2022, specific regulations and guidance on sorting trash and applying the fee are yet to be determined by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Yet as decided by the NA, those regulations and guidance must be issued and approved by the government no later than December 31, 2024 so they could all take effect in 2025.

The People's Committee, the highest executive unit, in each city and province, would be in charge of garbage classification.

Effective since 2010, the environment law stipulates people have to sort trash at source, but after a decade, this has yet to be done, with all types of garbage ending up at landfills across Vietnam.

In March this year, Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA), the consulting arm of the environment ministry, suggested applying the pay-as-you-throw model to the amended law.

The administration said it would draw on the experience of several other countries in charging a trash collection fee in accordance with the amount of bags needed by one household. Eventually, households that discard more trash would have to buy more bags.

"Fees collected from selling eco-friendly garbage bags will be spent on collecting, transporting and treating trash," said Nguyen Thuong Hien, deputy head of the VEA.

Families in urban areas now pay garbage collection fees of VND25,000-30,000 ($1.08-1.29) per month.

Commenting on the amended law, Minister Tran Hong Ha said, "The new pricing mechanism will push people to sort trash at source and help reduce the amount of trash dumped into the environment."

Vietnam produces 25.5 million tons of solid waste a year, of which 75 percent is buried.

Major landfills in big cities like HCMC, Da Nang and Hanoi have become overloaded and are affecting people's lives.

Hanoi and HCMC spend VND1.2-1.5 trillion ($52-65 million) a year each, or around 3.5 percent of their budget, on collecting and treating garbage.

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vietnam to apply pay-as-you-throw model by 2025 - vnexpress international

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Vietnam to apply pay-as-you-throw model by 2025 - VnExpress International

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Vietnam will start charging households according to the amount of garbage they discard no later than 2025, as approved by the parliament. The legislative National Assembly passed the amendment to the Law on Environment Protection on Tuesday to have all households sort their trash into three groups: recyclable waste, food waste, and the rest.

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Vietnam susceptible to afforestation: expert

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Vietnam susceptible to afforestation: expert

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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Around 700,000 ha of land in Vietnam are still available for afforestation purposes, an expert said while discussing the role of forests in flood prevention.

Vietnam has set the target of growing around 200,000 ha of forest each year while in reality, the country still has 600,000-700,000 ha (1.48-1.73 million acres) of land that could be afforested, said Vuong Van Quynh, former head of the Institute for Forest Ecology and Environment at the Vietnam National University of Forestry.

Forests could additionally be cultivated alongside roads, around residential areas, within industrial parks and even besides field barriers, he told VnExpress in an interview.

Forests with low density plantation normally have 1,600 trees per hectare.

As for production forests, areas designated primarily for the production of wood, fiber, bio-energy and/or non-wood forest products, the ratio could rise to 2,500-3,000 trees per hectare. With a mangrove forest, the density could reach 3,000-4,000 trees per hectare.

Quynh said he believes the target of planting one billion trees in the next five years is "doable."

At a meeting of the legislative National Assembly last week, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc suggested Vietnam target planting one billion trees in the next five years since the nation has been suffering from more extreme weather conditions, resulting in deadly floods and landslides.

The country currently has 14.6 million hectares of forest, of which 4.3 million are grown forest and the rest natural.

The nation's forest coverage makes up more than 41 percent of its total area compared to 58 percent in Cambodia, 68 percent in Laos, and around 21 percent in China and India.

Worldwide, it is now understood the ideal percentage of forest cover is 33 percent.

As for the PM's plan, Quynh said: "In the immediate future, we need to identify areas at high risk of landslides and flash floods to prioritize afforestation. The government should plan such efforts according to the structure of existing natural forests, ensure a variety of tree species and layers, and keep the vegetation zone untouched."

Regarding the ability to help ease the impacts of flash floods and landslides, he said it is the land where the plants stand that help hold back the water and not the trees, and that 1,000 ha of forest land could work as a reservoir with a capacity of several million cubic meters of water.

However, he noted the ability to hold water among planted forests would not be as good as that of natural equivalents.

To put it into perspective, if natural forests could hold 100 percent of water, planted forests can only keep 60-80 percent at most, he noted.

For planted forests, root systems have not grown big enough to retain soil while on the other hand, timber trees would be harvested for different purposes to replant new trees, which could boost the process of erosion and leaching, reducing the soil's ability to hold water, Quynh explained.

In October, central Vietnam was hit by floods thrice along with a series of landslides that claimed 159 lives and left 71 missing, with questions raised over the excessive construction of hydropower plants in areas of natural forest.

Trinh Xuan Hoa, deputy head of the Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, said earlier this month deforestation and construction, among other factors, were to blame for triggering landslides in the central region.

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vietnam susceptible to afforestation: expert - vnexpress international

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Vietnam susceptible to afforestation: expert - VnExpress International

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Around 700,000 ha of land in Vietnam are still available for afforestation purposes, an expert said while discussing the role of forests in flood prevention.

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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Paid recycling drive to help HCMC turn the tide on trash - VnExpress International

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By Ha An &nbspNovember 17, 2020 | 04:00 pm GMT+7 Garbage including plastic, paper, metal and glass will soon be collected for recycling via a new network taking shape in HCMC. State-owned Ho Chi Minh City Urban Environment Co., Ltd (Citenco) would fund public service enterprises and private units to collect recyclable trash from residential areas, schools, state agencies, or scrap yards, it announced on Monday.

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Central Vietnam floods cause bacterial infection outbreak

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Central Vietnam floods cause bacterial infection outbreak

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Minh Nga &nbspNovember 17, 2020 | 01:42 pm GMT+7

The number of patients with melioidosis, also called Whitmore's disease, has increased sharply at a major hospital in the central region following the prolonged flooding.

Since early October Hue Central Hospital in Thua Thien-Hue Province has admitted 28 people with the disease caused by the bacterium Burkholderia Pseudomallei, which infects both humans and animals.

Around half the patients are from Thua Thien-Hue and the rest are from other central provinces like Thanh Hoa, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri, the province's news website reported.

The hospital is one of three biggest and most advanced general hospitals in Vietnam along with others in Hanoi and HCMC.

It said many of the patients came for treatment only after the disease had become serious, causing sepsis and multi-organ failure and threatening their life.

On November 14 a Quang Binh Province official died of the disease at the hospital.

Phan Thanh Mien, people's committee chairman of Bac Trach Commune in Bo Trach District, had spent days in floodwaters in October managing relief efforts. He had reportedly suffered from a slight injury to his knee, but carried on evacuating people and wading in floodwaters to distribute essential items in inundated areas.

The hospital had treated 83 people with the disease between 2014 and 2019 and 11 in the first nine months of this year.

It said the rise in the number of infections since early October is closely related to the floods that ravaged the central region throughout October and in November.

Various studies around the world have found that melioidosis occurs only in Southeast Asia and northern Australia, with outbreaks occurring after floods and typhoons.

In October central Vietnam was hit by floods thrice.

Melioidosis patients have symptoms like fever, pneumonia and abscesses in and inflammation of the brain and joints. Its mortality rate is around 40 percent.

The disease was first diagnosed in Vietnam in 1925, but there is not sufficient knowledge about it yet in the country.

There are around 10,000 cases worldwide every year, mostly during the rainy season, around half of which prove fatal. There is no vaccine.

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central vietnam floods cause bacterial infection outbreak - vnexpress international

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Central Vietnam floods cause bacterial infection outbreak - VnExpress International

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By Minh Nga &nbspNovember 17, 2020 | 01:42 pm GMT+7 The number of patients with melioidosis, also called Whitmore's disease, has increased sharply at a major hospital in the central region following the prolonged flooding. Since early October Hue Central Hospital in Thua Thien-Hue Province has admitted 28 people with the disease caused by the bacterium Burkholderia Pseudomallei, which infects both humans and animals.

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Primary forest coverage shrinks to 0.25 percent in Vietnam

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Primary forest coverage shrinks to 0.25 percent in Vietnam

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Dang Khoa &nbspNovember 16, 2020 | 08:01 am GMT+7

Vietnam's primary forest area accounts for 0.25 percent of 14.6 million ha of forested land with an estimated coverage of nearly 42 percent.

The figures was presented by Oemar Idoe of the German development agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) at a national conference on the management of systems of special-use forest zones and forest protection and development through 2020 in Lam Dong Province last week.

He said sustainable forest management and conservation of biodiversity assets and ecosystems need additional efforts and strong attention from government agencies as quoted in Kinh Te Moi Truong, an environmental economics publication under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Vietnam Administration of Forestry stated there are about 4.64 million ha of protection forest across the whole country, including 3.95 million ha of natural forest and 0.69 million of planted forest.

The total area of natural forest decreased from 4.3 million ha in 2010 to 3.95 million ha in 2019, while the area of planted forest increased slightly from 0.61 million ha in 2010 to 0.69 million ha in 2019.

Current figures on protection forests are very limited, relying on the ministry's forest inventory census of 2016.

This data shows that the natural forest with medium and higher levels of biodiversity in the protection forest area stood at over one million ha and accounted for 29.8 percent.

According to the General Department of Forests (GDF), Vietnam had set the goal of reaching 2.4 million ha in coverage of special-use forest by 2020.

Until now, it has only reached over 2.3 million ha with 167 special-use forests, including 33 national parks, 57 nature reserves, 14 species/habitat conservation areas, 54 landscape protection zones and nine zones for scientific experiment.

The problem with increasing population is a threat affecting the sustainable development of special-use forests. Specifically, the demand for residential land, agricultural land, and demand for timber and forest products is increasing, resulting in increasing pressure to convert forest land to other land types, over-exploitation or illegal deforestation.

Meanwhile, the exploitation and hunting of rare and precious fauna and flora still occurs in special-use forests and surrounding areas.

In addition, the increasing construction of infrastructure like traffic routes, urban areas, dams and hydroelectric projects shrank the natural habitats of forest fauna and flora in special-use forests.

Climate change developments that resulted from forest fires, landslides and flooding are also reasons behind the drop in forest coverage.

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primary forest coverage shrinks to 0.25 percent in vietnam - vnexpress international

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Primary forest coverage shrinks to 0.25 percent in Vietnam - VnExpress International

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By Dang Khoa &nbspNovember 16, 2020 | 08:01 am GMT+7 Vietnam's primary forest area accounts for 0.25 percent of 14.6 million ha of forested land with an estimated coverage of nearly 42 percent.

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HCMC to conclude canal cleanup within November

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HCMC to conclude canal cleanup within November

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Gia Minh &nbspNovember 13, 2020 | 07:57 am GMT+7

The cleanup of Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal, which commenced February with a budget of over VND36 billion ($1.5 million), is expected to complete this month.

The cleanup project aimed at removing around 122,000 cubic meters of sludge and other waste. The project was split into three separate phases, each lasting around 75 days. The first two, occurring along sections from Ut Tich Street in Tan Binh District to Le Van Sy Bridge, spanning three kilometers, have already been completed, helping clear the waterway and reduce pollution.

The final segment of the canal, spanning six kilometers from Le Van Sy Bridge in District 3 to the Saigon River, would have its sludge removed using barges and effective microorganisms (EMs) within November, Pham Ngoc Dung, director of the Management Center of Waterway System under the HCMC Department of Transport, said Wednesday.

EMs would be used to decompose organic waste and remove associated odor, limiting the impact on surrounding neighborhoods, he added.

"All sludge in the canal is expected to be removed within November, which exceeds the previous expectation of mid-December," Dung said, adding the removed sludge would be transferred to Da Phuoc Waste Treatment Complex for processing.

The canal, which spans nearly nine kilometers through Districts 1, 3, Phu Nhuan, Tan Binh and Binh Thanh before joining the Saigon River, was a lush river during the 19th century before it turned black in the 1960s following southward migration in the wake of the Vietnam War.

Several cleanup efforts were carried out in the past, before a grand resurrection project worth more than $200 million in World Bank support proceeded between 2003 and 2012.

But regular dumping still threatens the canal even now. Over 14 tons of waste, mostly plastic, animal carcasses and plants like water hyacinth, are released into the canal every day. Incidents of mass fish death have been reported in recent years.

Saigon authorities have tried several methods to reduce pollution in the canal, including unblocking water flow, oxygenating water and monitoring water quality.

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hcmc to conclude canal cleanup within november - vnexpress international

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HCMC to conclude canal cleanup within November - VnExpress International

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By Gia Minh &nbspNovember 13, 2020 | 07:57 am GMT+7 The cleanup of Nhieu Loc-Thi Nghe Canal, which commenced February with a budget of over VND36 billion ($1.5 million), is expected to complete this month. The cleanup project aimed at removing around 122,000 cubic meters of sludge and other waste.

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No respite for central Vietnam from landslides, flooding

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No respite for central Vietnam from landslides, flooding

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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no respite for central vietnam from landslides

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No respite for central Vietnam from landslides, flooding - VnExpress International

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Heavy rains brought by Storm Etau over the past three days have caused landslides and severe flooding in central provinces, disrupting traffic and badly affecting people's lives. - VnExpress International

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Update: June, 15/2015 - 08:09

HCM CITY (VNS) - Intensive shrimp aquaculture and destructive fishing practices have contributed to coastal erosion and reduced biodiversity in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ben Tre, according to a community-based project carried out in the region.

The project's community eco-tourism model was implemented in Thanh Phong Commune in Thanh Phu District, 70 kilometres from Ben Tre City.

Erosion in many places in the Mekong Delta, especially Ben Tre and Tra Vinh provinces, has become a serious issue, with 500 hectares of land now eroded along the coast.

The Centre for Transfer of Technology-Services and Community Development for Vietnamese Agriculture-Fishery carried out the pilot project from 2013 to this year, which is funded by Mangroves for the Future (MFF).

MFF, led by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP), is a partnership-based initiative promoting investments in coastal ecosystems that support sustainable development.

The commune's Thanh Loc and Thanh Loi villages are under pressure because of reduced forest biodiversity, pollution from intensive farming on sand dunes, failure of clam crops, and destructive fishing practices.

Under the project, the two coastal villages were selected as pilot sites for co-management of natural resources. About 750 households participated in the project.

The coastal belt in this area is about 700 metres wide, classified as protection forests, managed by the Ben Tre Forest Management Board.

The local residents developed their own co-management agreement, with help from a Co-management Facilitation Group.

A co-management board and patrol group composed of local residents were formed to implement the activities, which included raising community awareness about protecting and conserving the coastal ecosystem.

Other objectives included increasing the income and welfare of poor households and women's income through a sustainable community-based eco-tourism model.

Six community training events were organised on sustainable natural resource management, biodiversity and eco-tourism.

Five career groups, consisting of a total of 59 residents, were trained in ecotourism operations, and distributed eco-tour materials, signboards and flyers.

Forty of the residents organised trial tours, earning money from eco-tourism.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, sea water intrudes about 30-40 metres into coastal land in the region, and erosion occurs in 20 places along 200 km of coastline.

Experts forecast that 39 per cent of the Delta area will be 30 metres under sea water by 2100 due to global warming. - VNS

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Update: June, 15/2015 - 08:09 HCM CITY (VNS) - Intensive shrimp aquaculture and destructive fishing practices have contributed to coastal erosion and reduced biodiversity in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Ben Tre, according to a community-based project carried out in the region.

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HCMC seeks another $102 mln to improve drainage, mitigate flooding

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HCMC seeks another $102 mln to improve drainage, mitigate flooding

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Huu Cong &nbspNovember 10, 2020 | 08:04 pm GMT+7

HCMC has registered to borrow an additional 10.8 billion yen ($102 million) from the government's foreign loan capital for its ongoing water environment improvement project.

The funds is to be used for the second phase of the project. This will involve completing the rainwater drainage system, preventing flooding and addressing environmental sanitation in low-lying areas of the city and surrounding areas in the basin of the Doi-Te, Tau Hu and Ben Nghe canals. The second phase seeks to improve environmental sanitation through better wastewater collection and treatment systems.

The funds will be borrowed for 30-year period. The city budget and other sources will be used to repay the debt.

The entire project was approved by the prime minister in 2005. Work was expected to start in 2010 and be completed in four years. The project has suffered many delays since and its due date has been rescheduled to 2022.

The project consists of six main construction and installation packages with a total investment of more than VND11.28 trillion ($485 million), including nearly 46.5 billion yen ($442.4 million) in official development assistance (ODA) from Japan, and more than VND1.45 trillion in counterpart capital from the city.

The 35.7 billion yen (nearly $340 million) ODA agreement for the project, implemented in several phases, was negotiated and signed three different times.

Its first phase has been completed.

Speaking at a meeting Monday, the city's vice chairman Vo Van Hoan said that after eight years, the project has used up three loan packages from the Japanese ODA pact.

He said the time taken to access each loan package had contributed to the delay in implementing the project. The delay, lasting years, has adversely affected the lives of those living along the canals, he added.

The Tau Hu-Ben Nghe Canal flows 22 km through districts 1, 4, 5, 6, and 8, the Te Canal flows 4.5 km through districts 4 and 7, and the 10 km Doi Canal flows through District 8.

For many years now, HCMC residents have suffered severe flooding during high tides and heavy rains. In the first nine months of this year, the city counted an additional 18 routes getting inundated during heavy rains.

The total of 35 routes that got flooded between January and September was more than double the 17 recorded during the same period last year, according to a report by the municipal Department of Construction.

However, the report also noted that the number of streets submerged by seasonal tides dropped from 14 to just four: Le Van Luong in District 7, Dao Su Tich in Nha Be District, Nguyen Van Huong in District 2, and Binh Quoi in Binh Thanh District.

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hcmc seeks another $102 mln to improve drainage

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mitigate flooding - vnexpress international

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HCMC seeks another $102 mln to improve drainage, mitigate flooding - VnExpress International

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By Huu Cong &nbspNovember 10, 2020 | 08:04 pm GMT+7 HCMC has registered to borrow an additional 10.8 billion yen ($102 million) from the government's foreign loan capital for its ongoing water environment improvement project. The funds is to be used for the second phase of the project.

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HCMC public offices to install solar panels

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HCMC public offices to install solar panels

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Huu Cong &nbspNovember 8, 2020 | 08:30 am GMT+7

Administrative headquarters and public non-business units in HCMC would have solar panels installed on their roofs from next year, the municipal People's Committee said.

The decision was recently approved by Duong Anh Duc, deputy chairman of HCMC People's Committee, as per a suggestion from the Department of Industry and Trade, which falls in line with the government's initiative of developing clean energy to ensure energy security and protect the environment. The project would be funded by the national budget.

For the project's widespread deployment, details such as how the system would be installed, how much it would cost and its effectiveness would be considered by the Department of Industry and Trade, the Department of Science and Technology, and HCMC Power Corporation, city authorities stated.

Bui Trung Kien, deputy head of HCMC Power Corporation, said administrative headquarters need to sign up for solar panel installment within this year for the city to prepare its budget and begin construction starting 2021.

The investment cost for installing solar panels varies over time, now forecast at around VND15 million ($647) per kWp on average, he added.

"When the project is deployed, one needs to consider what direction the roofs face so they could receive sunlight for the longest amount of time. If sun exposure is good, the project would take around 5-7 years to make return on investment," said Kien.

HCMC had over 9,200 structures with solar panels installed by late August, with a capacity of around 127,604 MWp. The government's buying price for such systems is rated at around 8.38 cent/kWh.

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hcmc public offices to install solar panels - vnexpress international

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HCMC public offices to install solar panels - VnExpress International

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By Huu Cong &nbspNovember 8, 2020 | 08:30 am GMT+7 Administrative headquarters and public non-business units in HCMC would have solar panels installed on their roofs from next year, the municipal People's Committee said.

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Scientists to study climate change impact on extreme central Vietnam weather

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Scientists to study climate change impact on extreme central Vietnam weather

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Phan Anh &nbspNovember 5, 2020 | 06:30 pm GMT+7

International climate scientists plan to conduct a study on central Vietnam's storm-triggered rainfall last month to determine the role of climate change in the region's extreme weather events.

The scientists from the World Weather Attribution group have agreed to conduct the detailed study, which would involve the precise setting of the parameters in space and time of the rainfall episode being studied, along with the data associated with it, the Climate Center, a specialist center of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said on Monday.

The study is expected to help scientists figure out the extent to which human-induced climate change has played a role in extreme weather events that recently hit Vietnam. Results are expected in about a month, the Climate Center said.

Over the past month, central Vietnam has been bombarded by numerous storms and tropical depressions, triggering heavy rainfall, flooding and landslides in the region. At least 235 people either died or went missing in the region, while economic losses were estimated at around VND17 trillion ($734.67 million). The lives of around 1.5 million people have been affected by the string of natural disasters, the government held.

Storm Molave, said to be among the strongest storms to ever hit Vietnam, caused particularly devastating consequences as it made landfall over central Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces on October 28. At least 40 people have been killed while 41 others went missing, with over 720 houses having collapsed and 176,790 others seriously damaged, according to the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disasters Prevention and Control.

As part of its flood relief efforts for central Vietnam, the IFRC has also launched an emergency appeal for nearly 4 million Swiss francs ($4.39 million) in relief and recovery for 160,000 Vietnamese, on top of a Disaster Relief Emergency Fund grant of 500,000 Swiss francs to support local emergency efforts.

Natural disasters, predominantly flooding and landslides triggered by storms, killed 132 people and injured 207 others in Vietnam last year.

The South China Sea, which it calls the East Sea, could see 11-13 storms and tropical depressions this year, with half forecast to affect Vietnam, meteorologists warn.

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scientists to study climate change impact on extreme central vietnam weather - vnexpress international

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Scientists to study climate change impact on extreme central Vietnam weather - VnExpress International

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By Phan Anh &nbspNovember 5, 2020 | 06:30 pm GMT+7 International climate scientists plan to conduct a study on central Vietnam's storm-triggered rainfall last month to determine the role of climate change in the region's extreme weather events.

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Truck-size sinkhole appears on Saigon street

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Truck-size sinkhole appears on Saigon street

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Dinh Van &nbspNovember 3, 2020 | 05:30 pm GMT+7

A broken pipeline has resulted in a sinkhole the size of a truck opening at an intersection in Ho Chi Minh City's Go Vap District.

The hole of three meters wide, five meters long and eight meters deep appeared on Monday night at the Phan Van Tri and Le Thi Hong street corner, exposing a system of pipes and telecommunication cables.

"Two days ago, the street surface had cracked and subsided. I placed markers around the area to prevent vehicles from falling in," said Phan Van Binh, a local gas station attendant.

On Tuesday morning, around a dozen workers and two cranes were dispatched to the site.

According to HCMC Technical Infrastructure Management Center under the city's Department of Construction, a drainage pipeline that had been in service for 45 years had burst, with water eroding soil and rocks above, causing subsidence and eventually, the sinkhole.

It is reported the broken pipeline would be replaced within Tuesday and that the center is seeking for funds to replace the entire system of 150 m along Phan Van Tri Street.

Three months ago, a sinkhole as big as a seven-seater vehicle appeared at another street corner along Phan Van Tri following the biggest rain spell of the year in HCMC.

Back then, HCMC Urban Drainage Co. Ltd confirmed a degraded drainage pipe, damaged during the downpour, had caused pressure to build up, and the street section to collapse.

HCMC has been threatened by sinkholes for more than a decade and has yet to draw up a viable solution to the issue.

To date, no fatalities have been recorded though injuries occurred after several vehicles tumbled into gaping holes in the road.

In most cases, downgraded drainage pipelines, low quality road construction, and the overexploitation of underground water have been listed as reasons behind the dilemma.

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truck-size sinkhole appears on saigon street - vnexpress international

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Truck-size sinkhole appears on Saigon street - VnExpress International

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By Dinh Van &nbspNovember 3, 2020 | 05:30 pm GMT+7 A broken pipeline has resulted in a sinkhole the size of a truck opening at an intersection in Ho Chi Minh City's Go Vap District.

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Deforestation, construction to blame for central Vietnam landslides

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Deforestation, construction to blame for central Vietnam landslides

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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Deforestation, construction and other man-made changes to the natural terrain were responsible for multiple landslides in central Vietnam last month, according to an environment official.

Following heavy rains in central Vietnam due to the impacts of storms and tropical depressions over the past month, the region has seen multiple landslides with fatal consequences. Most notably, Quang Tri, Quang Nam and Thua Thien-Hue provinces have recorded several landslides that made national headlines, killing at least 62 and leaving dozens missing.

Trinh Xuan Hoa, deputy head of the Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources under the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment, said deforestation and construction, among other factors, were to blame for triggering landslides in central Vietnam.

"Human activities including deforestation and road construction, etc. have hastened geological changes in the area. Leveling mountains and destroying taluses for construction destabilize the terrain, create steeper slopes and sacrifice local vegetation. This fuels the risk of erosion and landslides," he said, adding erosion occurred mainly on mountain slopes, in residential areas or along roads and other man-made structures.

"However, rain is the first factor to trigger landslides. Research shows just 100 mm of rainfall or even less could saturate the soil," he said, adding rainfall of up to 2,000 mm over several days last month had caused flooding and eventually landslides in central Vietnam.

Central Vietnam's steep elevation toward the sea, dotted by sparse plantations, along with complex geological features like thick weathering layers, heighten the risk of erosion and landslides. Man-made forests mostly comprising the Acacia genus and routinely replanted after several fellings, make for weakened soil cohesion and underdeveloped root systems, thus impeding efficient water retention, Hoa noted.
Erosion-prone areas
Hoa cited a landslide in Quang Nam's Nam Tra My District, which struck Tra Van Commune along terrain about 600-900 m above sea level, and with a natural slope of 20-30 percent. The erosion-prone area is 65-70 percent covered by man-made forests, with short and steep creek and stream systems heightening the risk of natural catastrophe.

Quang Tri, Quang Nam and Thua Thien-Hue are all classified provinces at high risk of landslides or with landslides concentrated in one area, according to an environment ministry survey on erosion and landslide warning capabilities across mountainous areas in Vietnam, said Hoa. Quang Tri, surveyed in 2018, has 241 erosion points, 147 of which are located in Huong Hoa District, accounting for 61 percent of all erosion sites in the region.

Thua Thien-Hue, surveyed in 2019, has 205 erosion and 151 potential erosion points, situated mostly along main traffic routes and residential areas like Ho Chi Minh Road and national highways 74, 71 and 49. A Luoi District in particular has 122 erosion points.

Quang Nam, also surveyed in 2019, has 1,286 erosion points and 723 potential sites. Several of its districts, including Bac Tra My, Nam Tra My, Tien Phuoc and Phuoc Son, are at high risk of erosion, data revealed.

Ha Tinh and Quang Binh provinces too may be at great risk of erosion, the survey found.

Natural disaster monitoring tools are ideal for boosting erosion warning capabilities since they could provide very accurate predictions, according to Hoa, who lamented their current insufficient supply in the country.

"For now, we can learn from Thailand by equipping villages with a rain gauge. Once rain levels reach a certain point, people could be evacuated. Such a method is cheap and easy to implement," Hoa said.

Local authorities should also create safe zones for evacuation purposes during natural disasters, while prioritizing forest protection, especially in upstream regions and erosion-prone areas, he stressed.

Floods and landslides in central Vietnam have killed at least 159 and left 71 missing last month, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc told a meeting last Friday. Casualties included military officers and officials.

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construction to blame for central vietnam landslides - vnexpress international

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Deforestation, construction to blame for central Vietnam landslides - VnExpress International

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Deforestation, construction and other man-made changes to the natural terrain were responsible for multiple landslides in central Vietnam last month, according to an environment official. Following heavy rains in central Vietnam due to the impacts of storms and tropical depressions over the past month, the region has seen multiple landslides with fatal consequences.

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Heavy rains, dam discharge could trigger fresh flooding in central Vietnam

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Heavy rains, dam discharge could trigger fresh flooding in central Vietnam

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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Torrential downpours and discharge of water from hydropower dams have caused rivers in Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces to swell and threaten severe flooding.

Storm Molave, said to be the strongest to hit Vietnam in the last two decades, made landfall over Quang Nam and Quang Ngai Wednesday morning before weakening into a tropical depression by 4 p.m.

The provinces have been hit by rains of up to 500 mm between Tuesday night and Wednesday night. Rainfall of 180 mm a day is considered heavy.

In Quang Ngai, the Tra Bong River was flowing above flood warning danger level 2 at Chau O station while the Tra Khuc, Ve and Tra Cau rivers had crossed the highest danger level of 3 by 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to the province's Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting.

They are forecast to continue rising quickly on Thursday, possibly triggering severe flooding in large parts of Quang Ngai Town, the capital, and several districts.

The release of water by local hydropower dams is worsening the situation.

Dak Drinh hydropower plant discharged up to 1,680 cubic meters of water a second on Wednesday and Nuoc Trong, the largest irrigation and hydroelectricity project in the central region, discharged 1,100 cubic meters.

Authorities hurriedly evacuated people living in low-lying areas and made emergency announcements about the water discharge via loudspeakers to warn local residents.

In Quang Nam Province, home to ancient town Hoi An, the water level in the Vu Gia River reached 9.41 meters by early morning Thursday, 0.41 meters above danger level 3, according to the National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, which warned rivers in the province would rise quickly in the next few hours.

Dak Mi 4 hydropower plant plans to discharge up to 11,400 cubic meters a second and the Vu Gia River is expected to rise to 11.2 meters, surpassing the historic flood level in 2009.

Nguyen Huu Vu, a local official, said authorities have evacuated over 4,000 families living along the river.

If the hydropower plant discharges over 5,000 cubic meters per second, 120,000 houses would be submerged under 0.5-1.5 meters of water, Vu said.

The National Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting Center said on Wednesday that Quang Nam could face severe flooding in the next one or two days.

Deputy Prime Minister Trinh Dinh Dung instructed provincial authorities to evacuate people from areas threatened by landslides and ensure the safety of reservoirs and hydropower plants.

The central region, including Quang Nam, was hit by prolonged heavy rains, historic flooding and deadly landslides for three weeks from October 6 that caused at least 130 deaths.

The flooding left 290,000 houses submerged and large swathes of agricultural land inundated, killed livestock and caused damage the government said was "the worst in the last five years."

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dam discharge could trigger fresh flooding in central vietnam - vnexpress international

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Heavy rains, dam discharge could trigger fresh flooding in central Vietnam - VnExpress International

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Torrential downpours and discharge of water from hydropower dams have caused rivers in Quang Nam and Quang Ngai provinces to swell and threaten severe flooding. Storm Molave, said to be the strongest to hit Vietnam in the last two decades, made landfall over Quang Nam and Quang Ngai Wednesday morning before weakening into a tropical depression by 4 p.m.

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Hanoi streets stink with piled up garbage

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Hanoi streets stink with piled up garbage

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Giang Huy &nbspOctober 26, 2020 | 10:00 pm GMT+7

Three days after irate locals blockaded Hanoi's biggest landfill, the stench of rotting garbage piles is forcing commuters to pinch their noses tight.

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hanoi streets stink with piled up garbage - vnexpress international

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Hanoi streets stink with piled up garbage - VnExpress International

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By Giang Huy &nbspOctober 26, 2020 | 10:00 pm GMT+7 Three days after irate locals blockaded Hanoi's biggest landfill, the stench of rotting garbage piles is forcing commuters to pinch their noses tight.

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Saigon vulnerability to flooding worsens

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Saigon vulnerability to flooding worsens

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Ha An &nbspOctober 24, 2020 | 11:00 am GMT+7

HCMC's flooding problem was exacerbated in the first nine months this year, with an additional 18 routes getting inundated during heavy rains.

The total of 35 routes that got flooded between January and September was more than double the 17 recorded during the same period last year, according to a report submitted by the municipal Department of Construction to the city's legislative body - the National Assembly council.

Most of the newly flooded routes were in districts 7, 12, Binh Chanh, Go Vap, Nha Be, Thu Duc and Binh Thanh.

The number of rainy days in the nine-month period was 110, compared to last year's 128, but the total amount of rainfall recorded was 33 percent higher at 1,184 mm.

The report noted that the number of streets submerged by seasonal tide dropped from 14 to only four: Le Van Luong in District 7, Dao Su Tich in Nha Be District, Nguyen Van Huong in District 2, and Binh Quoi in Binh Thanh District.

The flooding problem has worsened despite the city approving more than VND7 trillion ($304 million) for the 2016-2020 period to fight urban flooding.

A VND10-trillion much anticipated anti-flooding project that covers 100 hectares (250 acres) in districts 1, 4, 7, 8, Binh Chanh and Nha Be is still under construction. The long-delayed project, which started in 2016, was expected to be completed this month, but there is no sign of it happening.

In August, the construction department had proposed an additional surcharge for each cubic meter of clean water to ease the financial strain and improve fund for drainage system management. The city's drainage system is expected to expand to nearly 2,100 square kilometers, three times bigger than originally planned to address the flooding issue.

Vo Kim Cuong, HCMC's former deputy chief architect, said last month that the city's flood control planning has been implemented in very tardy fashion. As a result, even places in high terrain areas like Thu Duc District have suffered much worse flooding in recent years, he said.

While the existing drainage system is outdated and is yet to receive proper investment for upgrading, more concrete buildings have come up across the city, reducing its drainage capacity, Cuong explained.

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saigon vulnerability to flooding worsens - vnexpress international

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Saigon vulnerability to flooding worsens - VnExpress International

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By Ha An &nbspOctober 24, 2020 | 11:00 am GMT+7 HCMC's flooding problem was exacerbated in the first nine months this year, with an additional 18 routes getting inundated during heavy rains.

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Vietnam to receive $51.5 mln upon meeting carbon emissions target

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Vietnam to receive $51.5 mln upon meeting carbon emissions target

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Phan Anh &nbspOctober 23, 2020 | 04:14 pm GMT+7

Vietnam could receive up to $51.5 million if it reduces 10.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from six north-central provinces until 2025, the World Bank said.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday signed an Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) with the World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF), which would unlock up to $51.5 million for Vietnam's efforts to reduce carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation until 2025, a press release stated.

Vietnam is expected to reduce 10.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from six north-central provinces: Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue until 2025 to receive the money.

Vietnam's Emission Reductions Program is designed to address underlying causes of forest loss in north-central regions, and by doing so reduce emissions from deforestation and support forest restoration. The north-central region, covering 5.1 million ha of land, of which 3.1 million are currently forested, was chosen for its biodiversity importance and socio-economic status, the release said.

Ha Cong Tuan, standing agriculture deputy minister, said: "Vietnam's program follows a preparation phase that built our readiness to engage in an emission reduction payment agreement of this kind and is a step towards full implementation of forest carbon services in Vietnam. This agreement highlights the collaboration between Vietnam, FCPF and the World Bank to meet international climate targets laid out in the Paris Agreement.

"Our program will mobilize important additional financing to invest in our forests and reduce forest degradation while generating income for forest owners and improving sustainable development in the north central region."

Vietnam is the first country in Asia-Pacific and fifth globally to reach such an agreement with the FCPF.

Carolyn Turk, World Bank country director for Vietnam, said: "This agreement marks the beginning of a new chapter for Vietnam, where new and significant incentives for forest protection and improved management are now in place to help the country meet its ambitious climate targets."

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc approved an update to Vietnam's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) that seeks to reduce carbon emissions by 9 percent by 2030, 1 percentage point higher than the target set in 2015.

Specifically, Vietnam would seek to reduce carbon emissions by 83.9 million tons instead of the earlier 62.7 million tons through indigenous efforts. This could be further increased to 27 percent, or 250.8 million tons, with international support.

A study by the International Center for Tropical Agriculture last year said Vietnam could cut greenhouse emissions through various mitigation measures like more efficient land use practices and better management of livestock diets. If all suggested measures are taken, 51 percent of Vietnam's projected emissions in 2030 could be eliminated, it said.

Vietnam is ranked third highest in terms of greenhouse gas emissions in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Thailand. It is also one of six economies most affected by climate change between 1999 and 2018, according to the Global Climate Risk Index published last year by German environmental think tank Germanwatch.

The U.N. has warned that if sea levels rise by one meter, Vietnam will face a loss of $17 billion a year, with one fifth of its population or some 18 million becoming homeless and 12.3 percent of farmlands disappearing.

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vietnam to receive $51.5 mln upon meeting carbon emissions target - vnexpress international

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Vietnam to receive $51.5 mln upon meeting carbon emissions target - VnExpress International

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By Phan Anh &nbspOctober 23, 2020 | 04:14 pm GMT+7 Vietnam could receive up to $51.5 million if it reduces 10.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions from six north-central provinces until 2025, the World Bank said.

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Vietnam province cuts four hydropower projects out of environmental concerns

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Vietnam province cuts four hydropower projects out of environmental concerns

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Xuan Ngoc &nbspOctober 21, 2020 | 05:45 pm GMT+7

The south central Khanh Hoa Province has removed four hydropower plant projects from its planning due to concerns over forest losses.

The four projects are Song Trang with a capacity of five MW, Khanh Thuong with 18 MW, Song Cai with two MW, and Hoa Son with four MW, said Nguyen Tan Tuan, chairman of Khanh Hoa People's Committee.

The decision to scrap the projects was made following consideration of a proposal by the Department of Industry and Trade to cut small and medium hydropower projects in the area. The removed projects were deemed to provide little economic value while causing great forest loss - around 200 ha per project, said Tuan.

They also have no investors yet, he said.

Khanh Hoa, home to popular beach town Nha Trang, now has three active hydropower plants: Ea Krong Rou with a capacity of 28 MW, Song Giang with 37 MW, and Song Cho 2 with 37 MW. Another plant Song Trang 1 with a capacity of 12 MW is under construction. The active projects have been determined to meet environmental standards, not causing residential flooding or located inside national parks.

Vo Nguyen Phuong Mai, deputy head of the power management division of the province's Department of Industry and Trade, said Khanh Hoa has no more potential for hydropower developments. The economic value of such projects are too small compared to the forest loss.

For every small hydropower plant with a capacity of 1 MW, 7.4 ha of land needs to be reclaimed, Mai said.

Also, hydropower plant projects affect the environment and ecosystem, forcing communities to be evacuated and making connectivity between such projects and the national electric grid difficult. Khanh Hoa rivers are also short and tend to flow through natural forest areas and straight to the sea. If they are interrupted for building hydropower reservoirs they face heightened risks of saltwater intrusion during dry seasons, Mai said.

Khanh Hoa now has around 286,500 ha of forests. But large areas have been destroyed in recent years for production and construction purposes. Deforestation is also an issue, with at least 20 ha of forests being reportedly destroyed in the first nine months of 2020, according to the Forest Protection Department.

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vietnam province cuts four hydropower projects out of environmental concerns - vnexpress international

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Vietnam province cuts four hydropower projects out of environmental concerns - VnExpress International

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By Xuan Ngoc &nbspOctober 21, 2020 | 05:45 pm GMT+7 The south central Khanh Hoa Province has removed four hydropower plant projects from its planning due to concerns over forest losses. The four projects are Song Trang with a capacity of five MW, Khanh Thuong with 18 MW, Song Cai with two MW, and Hoa Son with four MW, said Nguyen Tan Tuan, chairman of Khanh Hoa People's Committee.

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Vietnam endures world’s 'worst weather impacts': experts

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Vietnam endures world’s 'worst weather impacts': experts

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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Experts believe flooding in central Vietnam is a result of complex, future "new normal" weather patterns.

"According to our global assessment of current meteorological conditions, Vietnam is experiencing the worst weather impacts in the world at present," said Grahame Madge, a spokesman for U.K. Met Office that provides critical weather services and world-leading climate science.

Since October 6, the central region of Vietnam has suffered from torrential downpours that triggered severe flooding. Storm Linfa, which hit on October 11, and Storm Nangka, a day later, worsened conditions and caused landslides in different parts of the region.

Storm Linfa grew from a tropical turbulence that, combined with a cold spell, had caused days of heavy rains in the region earlier .

At least 102 people have died, while 26 remain missing in central Vietnam.

Fatalities include many landslide victims - two workers buried at a hydropower plant in Thua Thien-Hue on Monday last week, and 13 others on a rescue team dispatched to find the missing workers and themselves hit by a landslide the next day. Another landslide in Quang Tri buried 22 people Sunday morning. Searches are ongoing for 15 victims of the first catastrophe.

As of Monday evening, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri provinces had 166,780 households submerged in floodwaters, with 28,900 households with 90,900 residents evacuated.

The National Center for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting said heavy downpours are likely to continue until Wednesday.

Madge told VnExpress it is likely to see further exceptional rainfall across central parts of Vietnam in the next two to three days and it is possible that some locations could experience as much as 1200 mm of rainfall in this period. Rainfall of 180 mm per day is considered heavy.

"This is being fueled by an active monsoon trough with the potential for weak tropical cyclone development, further boosting total [rainfall]."

"Longer term, the potential development of a stronger tropical cyclone in the South China Sea [which Vietnam calls East Sea] may push the monsoon trough south of Vietnam, allowing drier conditions to prevail," he predicted.

Speaking of reasons for the floods in central Vietnam, Kei Yoshimura, professor of Environmental Studies, Department of Natural Environmental Studies at the University of Tokyo pointed out Storm Linfa and Storm Nangka.

"The biggest reason is Linfa, which directly hit central Vietnam on October 11 and caused an unusual amount of rain, and the more unusual is that Typhoon Nangka hit Vietnam straight after."

That is rare, he said, but it may have happened by chance since in the past 18 years, 53 typhoons approached Vietnam, at rate of 1-5 per year, he said, citing data from Digital Typhoon, a database of about 200,000 typhoon images dating back to 1979 and typhoon best tracks from 1951 searchable by date, name, location, cloud patterns, and so on.

The amount of rain that fell from October 6 to 13 was two to six times higher than normal.

Ha Tinh Province received 150-400 mm during this period, Quang Binh 400-500 mm, Quang Tri 800-1,500 mm, Thua Thien Hue 1,300-2,000 mm, Da Nang City 1,100 mm, Quang Nam 900-1,200 mm, and Quang Ngai 600-800 mm.

The entire central region suffered from severe flooding for days, with over 135,000 houses submerged under 0.3-4 meters of water, according to the national forecast center.

Brian Eyler, director of Asia Program at U.S.-based Stimson Center, said: "I'm afraid these sudden floods will become the new normal for Vietnam's central coast areas and those living in these impact zones should prepare for such future storms. Stimson Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that aims to enhance international peace and security through a combination of analysis and outreach.

With rising seas, floods penetrate farther inland than ever before when they pass over the East Sea, he said, adding that sea level rise and intense storms would work together to add a multiplier effect to the devastation, and that this phenomenon would continue to dog the coastline, worsening each year.

He suggested Vietnam consider building sea walls and relocating coastal communities, ensuring livelihoods remain unaffected.

However, he went on to admit it would be a hard task for Vietnam, and that the country would "either need a creative response that it can teach to others around the globe or the country will muddle from one annual flood disaster to another."

This is because 30 percent of Vietnam's 96-million population lives in a coastal flood zone, with the majority relying on coastal economic activities like fishing or tourism.

Meanwhile, building sea walls is a costly option and can also be risky if not completed to the very highest standards, he stressed.

Yoshimura said to cope with this situation in the long term, a flood warning system should be implemented in Vietnam.

"Thanks to advancements in satellite observation and numerical prediction, it is now possible to predict flash floods more than 24 hours ahead. It may help evacuate people to safety."

Climate change may have affected typhoon and rainfall characteristics, and therefore previous experiences may not be so useful in coming decades, he maintained.

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vietnam endures world’s 'worst weather impacts': experts - vnexpress international

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Vietnam endures world's 'worst weather impacts': experts - VnExpress International

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Experts believe flooding in central Vietnam is a result of complex, future "new normal" weather patterns. "According to our global assessment of current meteorological conditions, Vietnam is experiencing the worst weather impacts in the world at present," said Grahame Madge, a spokesman for U.K. Met Office that provides critical weather services and world-leading climate science.

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Discarded plastic bottles used to build environment-friendly pagoda

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Discarded plastic bottles used to build environment-friendly pagoda

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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discarded plastic bottles used to build environment-friendly pagoda

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Discarded plastic bottles used to build environment-friendly pagoda

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Monk Thich Hanh Nhan of Quang Ngai Province is building a room in his pagoda using discarded plastic bottles to raise environmental awareness. - VnExpress International

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Vietnam faces growing threat to energy security, environment

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Vietnam faces growing threat to energy security, environment

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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Your family's electricity bills might zoom this year as Vietnam is set to buy 1.5 billion kWh of power from Laos.

It has become necessary since a shortage is forecast for several years starting in 2020.

With the seventh National Power Development Plan (2011-2020) focusing primarily on traditional energy sources like thermal and hydropower, 47 out of 62 power projects, the majority being thermal, are behind schedule due to lack of funding and local resentment against thermal plants.

At the end of the decade, with the government drafting the eighth National Development Plan, it is a good time to have a look back at the power sector.

The electricity shortage is due to three main causes: uncontrolled industrial development, overreliance on thermal power and inefficient energy usage.

To fulfill the dream of making Vietnam an advanced industrialized nation by 2020, the government gave substantial support to the industrial sector in terms of electricity prices. However, despite consuming 54 percent of the electricity, the industrial sector only contributes 28 percent of GDP.

Meanwhile, thermal remains the main source of electricity. In the last 10 years electricity generated from coal has gone up 15-fold as 20 new plants were commissioned.

In the next 10 another 40 thermal energy plants will be built as envisaged in the seventh national power plan, increasing capacity by three times.

They will require much larger volumes of coal than Vietnam can produce, forcing the country to import over 60 percent of its requirements.

In contrast, renewable energy projects are stalling for reasons such as lack of infrastructure and facilities, and have to queue up behind thermal projects.

Industrial use of energy lacks efficiency. In 2010 a new economical energy usage law was passed, but with little practical effect. Thus, the electricity required to increase GDP by $1 is still 250 percent of the global average. Its rate is 1.3 times China and India's, 1.7 times Malaysia's, 2.6 times the Philippines', 3.8 times Japan's, and 4.7 times Singapore's.

One example of the energy usage law's failure can be seen in the cement industry. It required all factories with a capacity of over 2,500 tons of clinker per day to install subsidiary power generators to utilize the heat generated from burning clinker before 2015.

But only 10 out of 74 factories complied.

The international community is turning away from thermal energy because it is highly polluting and not energy efficient. One clear indication of this is global investors' shift toward clean, renewable energy.

As the international community commits to reduce fossil fuel use and combat climate change, Vietnam should be part of the solution, not the problem. So, while ensuring national development, it needs to take action on both sides -- supply and demand -- to sustainably meet energy needs.

First, it needs to change its approach toward electricity usage and economic development. With energy usage as a prominent criterion, the government should focus on industries where energy efficiency is high to prevent excessive use of power by industry, potentially causing an energy crisis in the country.

Second, Vietnam should undertake a large-scale energy saving campaign. Since the cost of generating 1 kWh of electricity is four times that of conserving it, saving energy will be worth the investment.

It is estimated that 10,300 MW of thermal power can be saved before 2030 if factories start to implement energy-saving actions since the nation has the potential to save up to 40 percent of the energy it uses, the World Bank said.

Furthermore, domestic consumption can also be reduced with nationwide demand-side management and installation of a smart grid to minimize the energy loss between the production and consumption stages.

Finally, Vietnam should also add renewable energy to the national power grid to ensure energy security with lowered environmental and social costs.

If the government stops saying things like "Not growing thermal energy would threaten energy security" and "local governments should not discriminate against thermal energy," Vietnam might impress foreign investors that it is moving in the right direction and in lockstep with the international community.

Hopefully, PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc's famous exhortation, "Do not sacrifice the environment for economic development," will serve as a guide to all of Vietnam's future economic activities.

*Nguyen Dang Anh Thi is an expert on energy and environment. The opinions expressed are personal.

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vietnam faces growing threat to energy security

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Vietnam faces growing threat to energy security, environment - VnExpress International

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Your family's electricity bills might zoom this year as Vietnam is set to buy 1.5 billion kWh of power from Laos. It has become necessary since a shortage is forecast for several years starting in 2020.

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Environment minister lists urgent measures to combat pollution

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Environment minister lists urgent measures to combat pollution

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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The Vietnamese environment minister has called for urgent measures to reduce air pollution, from improving monitoring system to changing people's use of coal stoves.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said air quality monitoring systems need to be installed, traffic needs to be distributed around cities rather than have vehicles concentrated in certain areas, construction sites need to be covered in order not to spread dust, and people's daily habits need to be changed.

The air quality in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's two largest cities, has relentlessly deteriorated to dangerous levels and become a critical health concern in recent months.

Ha, speaking at a meeting on Thursday, said authorities in both cities must install air quality monitoring systems.

They should not compromise on this, and should set up a sufficient number of monitoring stations to provide accurate information about air quality twice a day to the public, he said.

When the air quality is at hazardous levels, the government must immediately inform the public together with the protective measures the health ministry recommends, he said.

"On those days people must be warned early enough to arrange their work schedule [and] especially enable students to stay at home if necessary."

Water trucks should be used to wash the dust off streets on days the air is unbreathable and traffic must be diverted from densely populated areas with serious levels of pollution, he said.

"The police need to prevent personal vehicles from moving into areas with high traffic density while trucks entering the inner areas of Hanoi must be covered," he said.

The environment ministry would coordinate with the construction ministry to issue environmental regulations for construction works, he said. Builders would have clear instructions on "where to put materials, how to dispose waste, and how to shield construction works."

Hanoi has over 1,000 construction sites currently as does HCMC. Besides, there are industrial production facilities in both cities that affect air quality.

Hanoi also suffers from seasonal straw burning and 60,000 charcoal stoves are used daily in the area.

The minister's other solution related to people's daily habits. He instructed district authorities in Hanoi to prevent people from burning straw after harvests to reduce air pollution and encourage the public to stop using charcoal stoves especially on polluted days.

"By 2021 Hanoi needs to eliminate coal stoves."

In the long term the ministry would amend the Law on Environmental Protection and regulations to restructure industries that use fossil fuels that cause pollution, he promised.

It would work with authorities in the two cities to speed up adoption of emission standards for vehicles, he said.

"Motorbikes and cars plying in big cities must be held to higher standards than elsewhere."

He wanted Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to take the lead in operating public transport vehicles on clean fuel.

Hanoi has around seven million vehicles for its 7.5 million population, with two million more coming in from other places.

It has been blanketed repeatedly by a thick haze in the last few months.

In October authorities said the pollution was caused by traffic emissions, coal, construction, and animal farms.

In HCMC, home to around 10 million vehicles and 1,000 large factories, the environment department has suggested that the city's air be detected three times per day on a daily basis, instead of every third day as being done at the present.

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environment minister lists urgent measures to combat pollution - vnexpress international

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Environment minister lists urgent measures to combat pollution - VnExpress International

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The Vietnamese environment minister has called for urgent measures to reduce air pollution, from improving monitoring system to changing people's use of coal stoves.

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Pollution-choked Saigon should monitor air quality daily: environment department

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Pollution-choked Saigon should monitor air quality daily: environment department

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Huu Nguyen &nbspDecember 8, 2019 | 12:00 pm GMT+7

Saigon should check its air quality every day instead of every third day, the municipal environment department says.

The quality of HCMC air should be detected three times per day on a daily basis, the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment said Friday in a plan it proposed for next year.

Data on air quality will be collected at 7:30-8:30 in the morning when city people are on their way to work, 3-4 in the afternoon when the traffic flow is at its daily average, and 8-9 at night when trucks are allowed to enter the downtown area and people usually join outdoor entertainment activities, it suggested.

The department also wants to monitor superfine particles PM10, particulate matter 10 micrometers or less in diameter, and PM2.5, particulate matter, 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter, every 24 hours.

Following the samples it collects every day, the department will analyze and then announce the concentrations of pollutants (nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and suspended dust), noise level, the levels of PM 10 and PM 2.5 on its website and mobile app.

HCMC currently has 30 air monitoring stations.

So far, the city has been collecting air quality data and analyzing it manually. It takes three-five days to announce the results.

According to the environment department, its proposal on increasing the monitoring frequency aims to keep both city residents and the administration informed until the city is equipped with a comprehensive environmental monitoring system costing VND495 billion ($21.3 million). The first system of its kind in Vietnam is expected to be go into service by 2022.

HCMC, Vietnam's largest city, has been choked by haze regularly this year.

The air quality index in the city has reached very unhealthy levels on many days since September. Authorities have said exhaust from around 10 million vehicles is one of the three major causes of air pollution in the city, besides smoke from 1,000 large factories and dust from numerous construction sites.

By 2030 the city plans to install 16 more air monitoring stations at major intersections, residential areas and industrial parks.

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pollution-choked saigon should monitor air quality daily: environment department - vnexpress international

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Pollution-choked Saigon should monitor air quality daily: environment department - VnExpress International

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By Huu Nguyen &nbspDecember 8, 2019 | 12:00 pm GMT+7 Saigon should check its air quality every day instead of every third day, the municipal environment department says. The quality of HCMC air should be detected three times per day on a daily basis, the city Department of Natural Resources and Environment said Friday in a plan it proposed for next year.

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Vietnam dumps almost all urban wastewater untreated into the environment

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Vietnam dumps almost all urban wastewater untreated into the environment

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Phan Anh &nbspOctober 7, 2019 | 03:13 pm GMT+7

Vietnam treats just 13 percent of its urban wastewater, says a report carried in a publication by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Sunday.

The country has 43 wastewater treatment plants with a capacity of 926,000 cubic meters of wastewater per day, the report said, quoting Vu Ngoc Anh, head of the Ministry of Transport's Science, Technology and Environment division.

But "challenges in collecting and treating wastewater" keep the treatment rate low, he added.

Hanoi has six operational plants that treat a total of 276,300 cubic meters of wastewater per day, amounting to just 22 percent of its daily discharge. The city says work on new wastewater treatment plants in the city are far from complete, and 12 more are on the anvil. Difficulty in finding private funding for drainage systems is a factor in the tardy progress, the city is cited as saying by the report.

Ho Chi Minh City, meanwhile, has three operational plants and other local facilities that treat a total of 370,624 cubic meters of wastewater per day, about 21.2 percent of its total daily discharge.

The report also quoted Nguyen Viet Anh, director of the Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering (IESE), as saying that most ODA funded projects do not have the component of connecting the drainage system with urban households, posing a "major challenge" to establishing efficient drainage and wastewater treatment systems.

"Saving energy and finding alternative energy sources to collect, treat and reuse wastewater is a major issue that attracts a lot of attention. Mastering energy management in collecting, treating and reusing wastewater is a strategic investment that brings high and sustainable economic efficiency," said Anh.

Only 60 percent of households in Vietnam are connected to public water systems, and only 10 percent of collected wastewater being treated, said a World Bank report on urban wastewater management in Vietnam. The country would need about $8.3 billion to provide drainage services for its 36 million urban citizens in 2025, the report said.

Water pollution is one of top five concerns to Vietnamese public, according to a study by market research firm Indochina Research, after air pollution, food safety, sexual harassment and healthcare.

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vietnam dumps almost all urban wastewater untreated into the environment - vnexpress international

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Vietnam dumps almost all urban wastewater untreated into the environment - VnExpress International

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By Phan Anh &nbspOctober 7, 2019 | 03:13 pm GMT+7 Vietnam treats just 13 percent of its urban wastewater, says a report carried in a publication by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Sunday.

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Polluted Mekong Delta river kills fish, contaminates water sources

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Polluted Mekong Delta river kills fish, contaminates water sources

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Cuu Long &nbspAugust 18, 2020 | 01:33 pm GMT+7

A section of the Cai Lon River in Hau Giang Province has turned black and foul-smelling, killing fish and contaminating local water sources.

For the past several days Ly Minh Lam, a resident of Long My Town in the Mekong Delta province, has been unable to use water from the river for his family's straw mushroom garden.

He has begun to think of installing pipes to carry water from a ditch to the garden instead.

A 10-km section of the river, from the town to Long My District, has recently become dark and stinky. Dead fish could be spotted floating in places while some people in the area said their water has turned yellowish or reddish.

All this is the result of agricultural activities, Nguyen Tien Danh, chairman of the Long My Town People's Committee, said.

Authorities have ruled out the possibility that production businesses were responsible since they stopped their activities "a long time ago," he said.

Farmers have harvested over 10,000 ha of paddy during the recent rains, and the water has been contaminated by decomposing straws, he said.

The committee has instructed localities to close off storm water drains, dams and pumps to prevent more of the leakage from reaching the river, while the Long My water pumping station has switched to groundwater and other sources for local supply, he added.

This is not the first time the Cai Lon has been polluted and affected people's lives. In May last year too it had turned blackish and foul, which killed frogs, fish, shrimps, and other aquatic creatures farmed by many families, costing losses of hundreds of millions of dong (VND100 million = $4,330).

Authorities discovered that several water quality safety standards had been breached, meaning the river was polluted.

Many blamed sewage from several facilities in the area, most notably the Long My Phat sugar factory, for the pollution. The factory has since closed down.

The 60-km-long Cai Lon River originates in Long My and flows northwest through several districts before merging with the Rach Gia Bay in Kien Giang Province. It is the main source of water for Long My Town's 6,000 families.

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contaminates water sources - vnexpress international

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Polluted Mekong Delta river kills fish, contaminates water sources - VnExpress International

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By Cuu Long &nbspAugust 18, 2020 | 01:33 pm GMT+7 A section of the Cai Lon River in Hau Giang Province has turned black and foul-smelling, killing fish and contaminating local water sources. For the past several days Ly Minh Lam, a resident of Long My Town in the Mekong Delta province, has been unable to use water from the river for his family's straw mushroom garden.

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Bottled water firm suspended for sourcing from polluted ditch

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Bottled water firm suspended for sourcing from polluted ditch

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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Using contaminated wastewater from a residential ditch to process bottled water, a facility in Hai Phong has been shut down.

Authorities in the northern city have shut down a facility producing drinking water in Ky Son Commune of Thuy Nguyen District over food safety violations.

Inspectors from Hai Phong's Health Department found the Liem Son facility owned by Nguyen Van Hue, a local resident, has operated without a permit and sourced water from a ditch running through the commune to process into bottled water sold on the market under the brand Vinalis.

The facility will be punished for this administrative violation, expected to cost it a fine of VND100 million ($4,300), said Pham Thu Xanh, director of the department.

Liem Son's derogation was initially detected by local residents.

According to reports, Liem Son advertised its Vinalis bottled water to "come from a source running from mountain formed thousands of years ago. But its water was later found to have been processed from water retrieved from a ditch passing through their community, contaminated by domestic wastewater.

Do Van Khoa, deputy chairman of Ky Son Commune, told the press last week Liem Son has been in the water business since 2008 and that it has been processing water from an irrigation ditch built to initially serve agriculture.

However, in recent years, the canal has become polluted with domestic wastewater.

Yet in this situation, "the commune does not have the authority or function to question Liem Son, inspect its operations, or decide if what it has been doing is right or wrong."

Liem Son covers over 200 square meters along a provincial road, near a residential area.

The facility comprises of a house of around 60 square meters, its door always closed. The irrigation canal containing cloudy water runs in front of and to its right.

This canal stretches two kilometers in total, starting from another commune and running through a paddy field before ending in Ky Son Commune.

Liem Son's owner, Hue, admitted he has run the facility without any permission and drew water from the canal to produce drinking water.

His market is Ky Son and several other nearby communes, where he sold 19-liter bottles at VND10,000 (less than half a dollar) each.

Last week, Phuc Ha Company, also based in Hai Phong, was shut down for the exact same reason after authorities found it had used ditchwater to produce bottled water, branded Vimass.

According to its permit granted in 2008, Phuc Ha is allowed to take underground water from near a mountain in the city to process drinking water yet after this source recently ran out, its owner had switched to taking water from a ditch running nearby.

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bottled water firm suspended for sourcing from polluted ditch - vnexpress international

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Bottled water firm suspended for sourcing from polluted ditch - VnExpress International

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Using contaminated wastewater from a residential ditch to process bottled water, a facility in Hai Phong has been shut down. Authorities in the northern city have shut down a facility producing drinking water in Ky Son Commune of Thuy Nguyen District over food safety violations.

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Under the sea, an ocean of trash: cleanup volunteer

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Under the sea, an ocean of trash: cleanup volunteer

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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Hurt by the sight of plastic waste invading coral reefs, one man has taken on the risky task of clearing it.

Over the past eight years, Dao Dang Cong Trung, 40, has spent most of his spare time collecting trash along roads leading to Son Tra Peninsula in Da Nang.

Trung's zealousness to clean trash has even taken him to the bottom of the sea.

Like many popular tourist destinations in Vietnam, Da Nang, the country's third largest city, has been hurt by waste generation and coral damage due to its tourism boom.

Trung said an ocean of trash including beer cans, milk cans and plastic bottles dumped by tourists are lodged on the sea bed.

Vietnam is the fourth-largest contributor to marine plastic pollution globally, a 2015 study by the University of Georgia showed.

Globally, eight million tons of plastic are dumped into the ocean every year, killing marine life and entering the human food chain, according to the U.N. Environment Program.

Trung, born in the central province of Quang Nam, started offering cruise tours on the Han River and in the waters off the coast of Da Nang in 2010.

Each week, when he carries tourists to visit Hon Chao Island, which can be reached in around 40 minutes via the Han River and the waters around Son Tra Peninsula, he uses the time to dive into the sea and pick up trash.

Many types of bottles and jars are located at depths of three to 10 meters among the coral reefs.

Each time he dives, he collects around 10 kg of trash. "I am not surprised to see the sea bottom littered," he said, adding heavy garbage would sink while light garbage followed the waves, and the wind pushes them ashore.

"Mass tourism is affecting the local ecosystem," Trung said.

He warned that without tighter management, Son Tra Peninsula may become the second Cua Dai beach, a popular destination near the famous Hoi An Town, in the near future, which has been suffering severe erosion and has lost its original beauty.

Trung said collecting trash under the water requires a lot of skills. In addition to good diving skills, it is necessary to be able to hold the breath for a long time and one must be aware of pressure because the ear is always affected below the depth of three meters.

"If you don't know to regulate pressure, you cannot dive into the sea as the pressure will break the eardrums, nostrils and cause bleeding."

He puts the waste collected into baskets floating on the water or placed right under the seabed. At the end of the day, he will take the baskets ashore and put them in garbage bins.

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an ocean of trash: cleanup volunteer - vnexpress international

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Under the sea, an ocean of trash: cleanup volunteer - VnExpress International

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Hurt by the sight of plastic waste invading coral reefs, one man has taken on the risky task of clearing it. Over the past eight years, Dao Dang Cong Trung, 40, has spent most of his spare time collecting trash along roads leading to Son Tra Peninsula in Da Nang.

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An ocean of trash washes up on central Vietnam beaches

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An ocean of trash washes up on central Vietnam beaches

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VnExpress International - Latest news, business, travel and analysis from Vietnam

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By Nguyen Dong &nbspDecember 12, 2018 | 07:21 pm GMT+7

Severe flooding triggered by torrential rains has left Da Nang's seas and beaches filthy with garbage and sewage.

The huge amounts of rain dumped by the northeast monsoon over the last few days on Vietnam's third largest city, Da Nang, has had some unsavory after effects.

The downpours have pushed out a huge amount of waste from domestic sewers into the sea and this has also washed up on Da Nang's beaches.

Several beaches including the ones in Son Tra, Thanh Khe and Lien Chieu districts are littered with garbage, and the dumping continues.

A pile of waste from the sewer on Ton That Dam Street in Thanh Khe District comes ashore, accompanied by black wastewater.

In Da Nang, wastewater and rainwater are collected by the same sewers. When they get flooded by heavy downpours, this is dumped in the ocean.

Nguyen Duc Vu, head of the Son Tra Peninsula and Da Nang Beaches Management Department, said the large scale dumping of garbage has happened on 15 kilometers of Da Nang's coast.

Rotting fish among the garbage made the place stink.

A large part of the dumped garbage was plastic waste.

My Khe Beach, one of the most beautiful beaches in the world, looks like a dumpster now, despite efforts to clean up the trash by municipal employees and residents, as the waves continue to deposit trash. Many foreign tourists took pictures of the beach full of garbage.

An angler returns with his "catch."

"I've never seen such a huge amount of waste dumped into the ocean like this," he said.

Irrigation expert Huynh Van Thang said that it was not just that the sewer system unable to keep pace with the city's urbanization, but that the huge amounts of garbage stuck inside the sewers led to slow drainage, causing floods each time it rained heavily.

"We have collected over 10 tons of garbage on Tho Quang and My Khe beaches in just two days, and this is just only about one-third of what has been dumped," said Vu with the Son Tra Peninsula and Da Nang Beaches Management Department.

Da Nang has prioritized cleaning up My Khe Beach for tourism purposes.

One official from the Da Nang Beaches Management Department said: "There is so much garbage; we hope people in the city can work together to bring the beaches back to their original state as soon as possible."

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an ocean of trash washes up on central vietnam beaches - vnexpress international

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An ocean of trash washes up on central Vietnam beaches - VnExpress International

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By Nguyen Dong &nbspDecember 12, 2018 | 07:21 pm GMT+7 Severe flooding triggered by torrential rains has left Da Nang's seas and beaches filthy with garbage and sewage. The huge amounts of rain dumped by the northeast monsoon over the last few days on Vietnam's third largest city, Da Nang, has had some unsavory after effects.

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UN Sustainable Development Goals - Overview

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UN Sustainable Development Goals - Overview

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UN Sustainable Development Goals - Overview

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By Quang-Trân DAO, Sustainability Project Manager - Innovation studio Schoolab Asia is sharing the voices of its stakeholders on sustainability, partnerships and impact in Vietnam on the Sustainable Vietnam platform. Quang-Tran Dao,Sustainability Project Manager, takes a personal' journey' to his parents' home country Vietnam and opens up on the possibilities to impact sustainably through innovation, focus and being present.

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Sustainable Vietnam - A Focus on Sustainability, Partnerships & Impact

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By Quang-Trân DAO, Sustainability Project Manager - Innovation studio Schoolab Asia is sharing the voices of its stakeholders on sustainability, partnerships and impact in Vietnam on the Sustainable Vietnam platform . Quang-Tran Dao,Sustainability Project Manager, takes a personal' journey' to his parents' home country Vietnam and opens up on the possibilities to impact sustainably through innovation, focus and being present.

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Impact of global collaboration on beaches in Vietnam

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Impact of global collaboration on beaches in Vietnam

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The beach looks extra clean this week with the corona situation - in reply to Vietnam's widespread poster campaign: 'To stay at home is to love your country' - and in reply to massive global reductions in carbon emissions and plastic waste.

No bubble cups or straws, no noodle wrappers or worse from the fishing boats, no rice sacks of stuff from the city have washed up on the beach this week. The floating city of lights, layers deep across the horizon at night, has morphed into a small hamlet.

The change echoes the call of Prime Minister (PM) Nguyen Xuan Phuc from G7 and GEF 6 meetings in June 2018, for the marine plastic issue to top all agendas. The PM is wise enough to listen to the science and scientists. Vietnam is praised by World Health Organisation (WHO), for maximizing limited resources to slow the spread of the coronavirus. With focus on testing, quarantining, isolating, and treating people, as well as awareness campaigns, like the hand washing instruction song, going viral on social media.

Fascinating to read UNESCO's plastic blog, 8 March 2020, which mentions plastic eating micro-organisms can be recognised by their ocean and distance from shore. Wondering if the micro-organisms help clean up plastic at a viral level and how global warming impacts them......also wondering if the sea will ever look extra clean in terms of microplastics.

This paddle-tow (to sample microplastics from behind a paddle board), looks more like a jellyfish-tow than the standard manta-tow! Anyway, here is how to make a microplastic-tow/plankton-tow from materials in isolation - and the plan:

Redirect a 6-liter water container from the fisher-folk gardening initiative.

Use a smoking hot knife to cut the plastic and a smoking hot needle to pierce a hole for the towline.

Sacrifice winter stockings for the material of the microplastic tow.

Attach a long enough towline.

Test drive at sea.

Investigate the samples, with a microscope.

Compare with microplastic results around the world, including the recent 8 March 2020 UNESCO blog and SCRIPPS Institution for Oceanography. We never stop learning/perfecting the techniques!

Lessons learnt: The positive impact of coordinated global collaboration is evident, thanks to Nguyen Xuan Phuc, and his mobilization of Vietnam.

Let's hope coordinated global collaboration continues to have positive impacts on global priorities - encouraging more zero waste qualities of life, reducing plastic waste on land and sea, with 'drawdown' to reverse global warming - a movement which says: We can reverse global warming, before our planet destroys us!
About the author: Julia Shaw is founder of MANTA Sail Training Centre. Her most recent training: An International Olympic Committee scholarship to draw Vietnam's national watersports plan. Her most recent publication: A chapter in a Springer series on Biodiversity, in Sarawak, where she was born. Current focus: Swimming/watersports survival workshops for climate action, with local children, some too poor for school, and some yet to read, write, and swim, despite sea levels rising, and high drowning rates. Thanks to Beyond Sport, Swedish Postcode Foundation, and Laureus Sport for Good for support. Great respect to UNESCO's plastic initiative awareness raising. Photo credit: Tam Nguyen

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Impact of global collaboration on beaches in Vietnam - MANTA Sail Training Centre

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The beach looks extra clean this week with the corona situation - in reply to Vietnam's widespread poster campaign: 'To stay at home is to love your country' - and in reply to massive global reductions in carbon emissions and plastic waste.