Strategy on marine environment protection announced

A strategy for sustainable exploitation and use of natural resources and protection of the marine environment by 2020 with a vision to 2030 was officially announced at a ceremony in Hanoi on April 2.

Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha said that the plan, approved by Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung last year, will act as an important foundation for Vietnam to effectively utilize its rich marine resources and environment.

Ha also called on ministries and international organisations to contribute opinions to help reach targets set in the strategy, so as to turn Vietnam into a country with a strong sea-based economy while preserving the environment.

From now to 2020, Vietnam strives to provide more timely and trusted predictions about disasters and climate change, minimize the degradation of natural resources and contain the increase of environmental pollution in coastal areas.

The strategy also aims to increase the capacity of adaptation to climate change in marine eco-systems, and strengthen the management of natural resources exploitation activities.

Remains of US servicemen repatriated

A repatriation ceremony for remains of US servicemen who died during the war in Vietnam was held at the Danang International Airport in the central city of Da Nang on April 2.

Attending the event were representatives from the Board of Directors of Vietnam Office for Seeking Missing Personnel (VNOSMP), the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC) and the US MIA Office in Hanoi.

The Vietnamese representative handed over to the US side three boxes of remains which were recovered by joint teams during the 114th Joint Field Activities from February to March 2014.

The remains had been jointly reviewed and concluded by Vietnam and US forensic specialists that they might be associated with the US servicemen missing during the war in Vietnam and were recommended to bring to Hawaii, the US, for further review.

Addressing at the ceremony, a US Government representative expressed deep gratitude to and high appreciation of the steadfast humanitarian policy, good-will and the increasingly efficient cooperation of the Vietnam Government and people.

The seeking of the remains of US servicemen missing during the war in Vietnam is humanitarian cooperation between the Vietnam and US Governments. This is the 130th hand-over of American missing servicemen’s remains since 1973.

Ha Noi water supply pipe made of unsuitable material: expert

The material used in pipes that bring water from the Da River to the capital city came under scrutiny yesterday after a rupture cut off fresh water supply to thousands of households.

Later yesterday, workers from the Viet Nam Clean Water Investment and Construction Corporation (Viwaco) fixed the broken pipe and resumed supply.

Up to 70,000 households in the districts of Hoang Mai, Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay, Tu Liem and Thanh Tri suffered a serious shortage of fresh water.

Le Quang Hung, head of a department under the Ministry of Construction that examines construction work quality, said they would send inspectors to work with the water company to review the incident, especially the quality of water pipes.

He said that they would inform the public about their findings as soon as the inspection was completed.

Nguyen Sy Trung, chief engineer of a road expansion project being carried out by the Institute of Science, Technology and Transportation, said the pipe was made of a synthetic fiber that had been used by the Da River water supply project.

The material would lose its shape or break if directly impacted by any outside force, he said.

He said that the material was not used in advanced countries for water pipelines.

Some countries such as South Korea and Japan used it for waste pipes, he added.

Earlier news reports had said that thousands of households in HaNoi would have to make do without fresh water supply for two days after the pipe broke in Thach That District on Tuesday afternoon.

This is the fifth time the pipe has ruptured since it was put into operation in 1997.

The cause of the break was yet to be ascertained.

Last year, the water pipe ruptured three times in February, November and December at different points of the Thang Long Boulevard and Thach That District.

The supply company had then said that the break had occurred because of "weak soil" around the pipe and its close proximity to the highway.

Central province leads PAPI 2013

The central province of Quang Binh took the lead of the Viet Nam Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance.  

The Centre for Community Support Development Studies (CECODES) under the Viet Nam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA), and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Viet Nam on April 2 jointly announced the PAPI 2013.

Quang Binh was the only locality which gained the highest scores in all six categories. Meanwhile, the northern province of Back Giang was the last.    

PAPI 2013 showed that citizens chiefly concerned about population, traffic accidents, drug use, hygiene safety and corruption.  

CECODES Director Dang Ngoc Dinh said that PAPI was stable in the 2011-2013 period.

Citizens seemed to be more satisfied with administrative management and public administration at local levels. However, he suggested localities conduct specific measures to make local residents more satisfy with public administration performance.  

PAPI was based on six categories, namely the ‘space’ for citizen participation at grassroots level, transparency, openness, vertical accountability, control of corruption, public administrative procedures and public service delivery./.

Surgery a success after work accident

A 21-year-old man from the southern province  of Dong Nai received a successful operation to reattach his leg at the Trauma and Orthopedics Hospital in HCMC.

We reattached blood vessels, nerves and ligament of the man who had part of his right thigh cut off in a work accident, said Dr. Phan Dzu Le Thang from the hospital’s Microsurgery Faculty.

The man’s thigh was severely cut while operating heavy machinery to make corrugated iron sheeting..

He is currently recovering but doctors say that his nerves in his toes are still intact.

Hospitals experience increase of scarlet fever, chickenpox, HFMD

There has been a rise in reported cases of scarlet fever, chickenpox, and hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD), according to the Preventive Medicine Center in HCMC.

There were 30 cases of scarlet fever in February and 10 cases per week in March 2014.

Over 369 patients suffering from chickenpox were hospitalized since the start of the year, according to the center. This is an increase of 220 percent compared to the same period last year.

Hospitals are receiving up to 40 cases per week.

Patients administered into hospitals for HFMD increased to 150-160 cases per week.

More diseases including flu and mumps are expected to emerge in April, according to the center.

Fire destroys 10ha of forest in HCM City

A fire destroyed 10ha of Indigo forest on Tuesday afternoon in HCM City's Von Loc B Commune in Binh Chanh District.

At 11am, a resident discovered the fire and informed local authorities.

Firefighters from the district and other neighbouring districts were deployed to the site. The fire was extinguished after four hours.

Local authorities are investigating the case.

Chinese man fined for wife purchase

Authorities in southern Tay Ninh Province yesterday imposed a VND20 million (US$950) fine on a Chinese man for coming to Viet Nam to choose a wife via illegal marriage brokers.

According to local police, Lien Liyong was involved in a human trafficking case discovered by provincial police last month. Five members of the trafficking ring were arrested.

Two die in Hai Phong bike accident

Two people were killed in a motorbike accident yesterday on Le Thanh Tong road in Ngo Quyen District in the northern city of Hai Phong.

According to witnesses, the motorbike collided with a container truck travelling in the same direction.

One of the victims died on the spot while the other died at the local hospital.

Hanoians enjoy cold food festival

Residents in Hanoi are making or buying Banh Troi and Banh Chay in celebration of Tet Han Thuc (Cold Food Festival), which falls on the third day of the third lunar month (April 2 this year).

Most people buy special cakes of Banh Troi (floating cake) and Banh Chay (lean cake), but some other buy glutinous rice flour to make them at home to offer their ancestors and worship of Buddha.

Originated from China, the festival nowadays has become popular in Vietnam, and is celebrated by Vietnamese people in both urban and rural areas.

Banh Troi are small white balls made of brown sugar, wrapped in glutinous rice flour. The name floating cakes came about from the way it is actually cooked. After kneading the paste, throw them into water and wait until they are floated.

Banh Chay are also made of glutinous flour, however, they resemble boiled dumplings and are filled with green bean paste, sprinkled with sesame seeds and served in bowls with syrups floured with grapefruit blossom.

These two cakes are made from glutinous rice flour but have two different tastes.

Trial begins for bandits in Dien Bien

On April 2, 29 people appeared before the People's Court of the northern mountainous province of Dien Bien charged with conducting banditry in Muong Nhe district, in accordance with Article 83 of the Penal Code.

The Dien Bien People’s Procuracy allege that the 29 defendants are among 37 people involved in a criminal gang. Eight others are on the run, including Thao A Lu – the suspected ringleader.

The prosecutors claim that members of the gang embarked on a shooting spree on October 15, 2012 at soldiers on duty in SenThuong commune in MuongNhe district, killing one border guard officer and injuring four policemen.

They said Thao A Lu and a person named Vang A Ia led a group of 19 overseas Vietnamese and 16 locals in Dien Bien to perform a scheme to seize weapons and attack several targets in MuongNhe district with the goal to set up a so called MongKingdom .

They affirmed all defendants are aware of the group’s scheme to oppose the people’s administration and conduct armed activities to establish their own " Mong Kingdom ”. They joined in the activities while knowing that their acts violated the law. The prosecutors asserted that the defendants’ acts breached the safety of the people’s administration and disturbed social security and order.

During the trial, eight defendants are charged with conducting banditry activities under Item 1, Article 83 of the Penal Code, while the other 21 are accused of being accomplices in banditry activities in accordance with Item 2 of the article.

The trial is scheduled to run until April 8.

Hanoi’s website to support IT businesses

The Hanoi Department of Information and Communications has launched a website to support information technology (IT) businesses’ operations.

The new website announcement was made at a program to meet the needs of firms in the information and communications technology field in Hanoi on April 3.

The launching of the website dncntt.hanoi.gov.vn aims to introduce and promote information technology in Vietnam to stimulate market demand and facilitate access to the most recent IT information to meet the requirements for socio-economic development.

It will also help IT firms promote their trademarks, services and products and receive feedback from customers.

Additionally, the website will provide the State’s decisions, policies, strategies and the latest development orientations in the IT field.

HCMC will not set up ‘red-light’ districts: official

Ho Chi Minh City authorities have no policy to gather providers of ‘sensitive services,’ which tend to discreetly run prostitution activities, into designated areas dubbed ‘red-light’ districts, Hua Ngoc Thuan, deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, has said.

The municipal government will instead re-arrange them for better management and will authorize district people’s committees to license and directly look over them in the future, Thuan said late last month at a meeting.

Thuan’s confirmation was made in response to a question by Major General Phan Anh Minh, deputy director of the city police, that the city authorities should clarify whether specific areas for ‘sensitive services’ would be set up.

Minh’s question followed recent suggestions that businesses offering ‘sensitive services’ should be pulled into certain parts in the city for easier control.

“A number of district governments say they do not want such businesses to be located in designated areas, but they want to continue implementing a city policy that restricts the establishment of new ‘sensitive services’ providers,” Minh said.

In response, Thuan said that the city Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism is preparing a plan for the re-arrangement of such providers for better control, and that the city will not increase the number of businesses providing ‘sensitive services.’

Also under the plan, the department will stop granting licenses to such businesses and district governments will take over this work and be directly responsible for the management of these ‘sensitive services’ providers, Thuan said.

The department is collecting feedback on the plan to perfect it before submitting it to the city authorities for approval, possibly in late April, Thuan added.

Prostitution now comes in various forms of sexual intercourse and sexual stimulation, according to a report by the city People’s Committee, which specifies that it can be found in brothels, hotels, bars, discotheques, café, barbershops, massage parlors, spas, saunas, and karaoke parlors.

Therefore, these places have been classified as providers of ‘sensitive services,’ which can easily include prostitution activities, the report said.

The city now has about 35,000 such providers, of which 5,000 have yet to obtain a license.

These providers are operating in many districts across the city, so concerned agencies cannot put them under effective control with its modest workforce.

Many providers of ‘sensitive services’ often use complicated tricks to hide their prostitution activities from competent agencies.

District inspectors should pay regular visits to places where ‘sensitive services’ are suspected to be offered and suspend their operations whenever they find the providers fail to meet city conditions, Pham Van Muoi, deputy chairman of the People’s Committee of Binh Tan District, a hot spot of ‘sensitive services,’ suggested.

The city government has repeatedly complained relevant bodies find it hard to battle prostitution when it is so easy to carry out the procedures required for setting up service businesses, Muoi added.

Illegally imported tobacco impounded

Over 15,800 packets of smuggled tobacco were seized on Tuesday in an operation by the HCM City Market Watch Department to prevent smuggled tobacco from being traded in the city.

The city's operation is part of an ongoing nationwide campaign against tobacco smugglers held between April 1 and June 30, which was launched by the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Market Surveillance Agency on Tuesday.

The move follows the Government's directives on fighting cigarette smuggling to protect the domestic producers and local employees, and to ensure revenue for the State budget and social security.

Typically, the Market Watch Team 3B, which checked tobacco trading in District 3' s Ward 8, confiscated more than 1,800 packets of smuggled tobacco, whereas the Tan Phu Market Watch Team, which checked the trading in Tan Phu District's Tay Thanh Ward, seized more than 6,000 packets of smuggled tobacco of different kinds.

Deputy Director of the department Nguyen Van Bach noted that the campaign in the city was aimed at decreasing the amount of tobacco being smuggled and set up a public order for managing tobacco.

Violators will be punished in accordance with the current law, including criminal prosecution, claimed Bach.

In the central city of Da Nang, the municipal Market Watch Department conducted checks on 45 tobacco shops in the first day of the campaign and found 11 shops selling smuggled tobacco.

The department confiscated more than 1,400 packets of tobacco bearing different trademarks, such as Jet and 555.

According to the Market Surveillance Agency, over 6.8 million packs of illegally imported tobacco were seized during 2013 and in the first quarter of 2014. The situation along the borders with China, Laos, and Cambodia is complex.

There is rampant tobacco smuggling taking place in the southern provinces of Tay Ninh, An Giang, Long An, Dong Thap, and Kien Giang, while the storage and distribution of the illegal cargo takes place in major cities, such as Ha Noi, HCM City, and Quang Ninh.

The agency's Deputy Head, Nguyen Trong Tin, stated that they will coordinate closely with public security, customs, and border security forces to carry out effective inspections. Businesses, households, and individuals dealing in tobacco, as well as supermarkets, coach stations, bars, and dance halls will also be checked.

The current laws stipulate that those who repeatedly violate the law will have their business operations suspended for one to two years, and a transaction involving 1,500 or more packs of contraband cigarettes will attract a criminal charge.

However, the lack of close cooperation between the concerned authorities and the increasingly sophisticated ploys adopted by the smugglers are hindering the fight against tobacco smuggling, the agency reported.

Book launched to assist Vietnam’s judicial reform

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the Justice Partnership Programme on April 2 launched the Vietnamese version of a book expected to aid Vietnam’s judicial reform.

The “Resource Guide on Strengthening Judicial Integrity and Capacity” covers various legal areas such as judicial recruitment and personnel and the management over courts and cases.

UNODC Vietnam Country Director Zhuldyz Akisheva said judicial reform is high on the agenda of many countries, including Vietnam. The book suggests strategies developed by experts in the field and presents measures successfully taken by countries around the world.

Nguyen Quynh Lien from the Ministry of Justice considered the book a valuable reference that provides a relatively comprehensive approach to judicial reform.

The translation of the book into Vietnamese was coordinated by the European Union delegation in Vietnam and funded by Denmark and Sweden.

Vietnam Business and Women’s Groups Receive Training to Help Reduce Demand for Rhino Horns

Participants representing business and women’s groups in Vietnam took part in training workshops to promote wildlife conservation and help stop the buying, selling and use of rhino horns in the country. The Viet Nam CITES Management Authority, Humane Society International, the Small and Medium Size Enterprise Association and the Ha Noi Women Association organized the training workshops, as part of a three-year campaign to reduce demand for rhino horns in Vietnam.

Teresa Telecky, director of HSI's wildlife department, said: “Rhinos are being driven to extinction by demand for their horn. We welcome this collaboration with the business community and the Ha Noi Women’s Association and commend the Viet Nam CITES Management Authority for their work, which will help to save rhinos from extinction.”  

The courses for the Ha Noi Women’s Association, given on 26th and 27th of March, involved 150 members from two urban districts, Hoan Kiem and Cau Giay, and one rural district, Thuong Tin. In addition, the Association gave a special presentation to more than 30 households involved in trading wildlife products.  

Following the business group training on April 1, which was attended by 50 businesspeople, the Economics and Integration Newspaper in Vietnam began running a special wildlife conservation program focusing on rhino and other important species to help the business community become more informed about and involved in wildlife-related issues.

Mr. Vu Quang Trach, General Editor of the Economics and Integration Newspaper- the Viet Nam Enterprise Online Newspaper said “This program is very meaningful for the enterprise community to improve their awareness for wildlife protection, particularly for rhino which is facing with the danger of being exticted. Businesses are those with good economic potentials and may have demand for using rhino horns. Therefore, with the training, I do hope that the perception for rhino horns will be changed and awareness for protection of the species will be improved.”

Do Quang Tung, director of the Viet Nam CITES Management Authority said: “Widening the message about rhino horn demand reduction is very crucial for rhino protection. This is an urgent issue for the global community to address. The London Declaration that has been supported by more than 40 countries and more than 10 international governmental agencies also recognizes the importance of engaging the private sector and business community in the battle against illegal wildlife trade. As a result, we hope that the joint cooperation among the Viet Nam CITES Management Authority, Humane Society International, the Small and Medium Size Enterprise Association and the Economics and Integration newspaper will contribute significantly to the implementation of the commitments that Viet Nam has made in address the global issue of wildlife conservation.”

Programme inspires children to read

A special “Storytelling train” event was held in the central city of Da Nang on April 2 with the aim of instilling Vietnamese children with a love of reading and encouraging them to enhance their language acquisition.

The event, which shapes part of a literature project between the Danish Embassy in Vietnam, the Danish Writers Association and Kim Dong Publishing House, also means to fuel the creativity of local writers and artists as well as help children across the country access a new variety of books.

More than 300 books were presented to the municipal Children’s Cultural House - which is home to a book club of 700 members and nearly 3,000 book titles, as part of the project.

Many activities were also held for bookworms during the programme, such as a quiz, storytelling, story writing and painting, all aiming to develop a reading culture and habit for the youngsters.

The organising board also took the occasion to call on members of the local arts and literature association to take part in the 2013-2015 story creating campaign.

The competition will include two categories for children. Children aged 3-6 will enter comic stories titled “Ngay toi gap …” (The day I met …), while 10-14 year olds will compose prose writing on the theme “Go cua trai tim” (Knocking at the door to love).-

Vietnam Electricity promotes energy saving solutions

A pilot implementation of the Energy Service Company (ESCO) through the project on installing solar water heater systems for customers is one of the jobs that Vietnam Electricity Group will do this year to realise the Power Saving Programme for the 2014-2015 period, according to the Vietnam Economic News.

EVN’s Deputy General Director Nguyen Tan Loc said the pilot implementation of the first phase of the ESCO project has been assigned to EVN’s Southern Power Corporation (EVN SPC) and prestigious ESCO companies in Vietnam who would install solar water heater systems for customers with average electricity consumption of over 20,000 kWh a month. They are mainly restaurants, hotels and luxury resorts in southern provinces. EVN is expected to pilot 10 projects of this kind with total funding of about 12 billion VND (570,000 USD).

It is known that the ESCO model has been applied in many countries. This energy efficient business model requires little investment capital and is mutually beneficial.

ESCO provides comprehensive energy solutions, including designing and implementing energy efficiency projects, energy preservation projects, building energy infrastructure projects for rent and implementing energy service package from setting up plans, installation, operation, maintenance to optimization of financial contribution.

Two parties will make deals based on the energy efficiency levels with clear commitments as they implement given projects. In other words, if enterprises invest in this system, ESCO guarantees to provide certain levels of energy efficiency as well as energy auditing. After the initial investment is recovered, the enterprises will possess the whole ESCO system and it’s cheap energy. In theory, an ECSO project is estimated to save up to 70 percent of electricity and reduce energy reliance on traditional resources, ensure customer safety and mitigate emissions to protect the environment.

EVN’s power saving programmes in the 2014-2015 period will focus on six key issues, including directing and managing; replacing incandescent bulbs with compact alternatives; advertising solar water heaters; piloting ESCO model and promoting power saving campaigns between the Ho Chi Minh Youth Union and EVN.

Apart from economic efficiency from ESCO’s energy service projects, the model also brings environmental and social effects like reducing greenhouse gas emissions, creating jobs, raising customer awareness on the project which leads to raising awareness of the community on energy efficiency.

Vietnam has huge energy efficiency potential, therefore, the pilot implementation of ESCO model will be a chance to review the effect, participation and response of customers in the energy service market. It will provide a foundation to make suggestions and appeals to agencies for support policies to expand and develop this model.

Along with the pilot ESCO implementation, this year EVN will also pilot a project on replacing incandescent bulbs with compact alternatives at dragon fruits farms in Binh Thuan, Tien Giang and Long An provinces. EVN and EVN SPC will subsidise 30 percent of the costs for dragon fruits growers to buy compact bulbs and sockets, 100 percent of the expenses to recover incandescent bulbs and assist them to install safe lighting systems on their fruit farms.

Quang Binh leads localities in public administration performance

The central province of Quang Binh continues to top Vietnamese localities in terms of the Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) which was announced on April 2.

The PAPI survey, the largest-ever one of its kind in the country, scrutinises six different dimensions of provincial governance and public administration. They include people’s participation at local level, transparency, accountability, the control of corruption in the public sector, public administrative procedures, and public service delivery.

According to the PAPI results, Quang Binh is the only locality that is systematically ranked at the top of all the six governance dimensions, followed by top three of the country’s PAPI-performing provinces: Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Binh Dinh and Binh Phuoc.

Meanwhile, Bac Giang, Tay Ninh, Quang Ninh and Quang Ngai provinces scored relatively low at the other end of the scale.

Director of the Centre for Community Support and Development Studies (CECODES) Dang Ngoc Dinh, a key member of the PAPI team, said that people measured in the survey are more satisfied with the effectiveness of governance and public administration in their locality.

He added the localities need to put forth measures to surmount shortcomings detected in the survey, with a view to raising people’s satisfaction with public services in the coming time.

Started in 2009, the PAPI survey, jointly conducted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), CECODES and the Vietnam Fatherland Front, has enabled 50,000 participants to share their real experience of governance and public administration performed by authorities at grassroots levels.

Central provinces strive to clear UXO

Many areas of land in the central province of Ha Tinh, once hit hard with hundreds of tonnes of bombs and mines during the American war, are being revived as a result of a 2010-2025 national action programme on overcoming the consequences of post-war unexploded ordnance (UXO).

According a survey carried out from 2004-2008, 234,000 hectares of land are contaminated with UXO, accounting for 38.8 percent of the province’s total area. It ranks third, after two other central provinces of Quang Tri (83.8 percent) and Quang Ngai (57 percent).

Thanks to efforts by the local authorities, armed forces and people and funds from the Vietnamese Government, foreign countries and non-governmental organisations, thousands of hectares have been cleared of UXO and put back into use, contributing to the locality’s socio-economic development.

Another project to this end has been also underway in Quang Ngai province since 2010.

The provincial Military Command has to date performed bomb and mine clearance over 3,600 hectares of land, discovering and deactivating more than 26,000 explosive materials.

According to the command, 232,000 hectares in all communes in the province are polluted with UXO. From 1975-2006, 1,418 people were killed and 1,580 injured across the province by the deadly legacy of the war.

According to the National Steering Committee for Recovery over the Postwar Bomb and Landmine Impact, about 800,000 tonnes of UXO, scattered across 6.6 million hectares or 20.12 percent of the country’s land, are putting people in danger every day.

Latest statistics show that ordnance left behind by the war has killed more than 42,000 people and injured 60,000 others nationwide.

An International Mine Action Day will be held on April 4, with related events held across the globe, including in Vietnam.

Nearly 70,000 hectares of Tay Ninh forest at risk of fire

Nearly 70,000 hectares of protective and special-use forests along border areas in the southern province of Tay Ninh are withering in the peak of the prolonged dry season, making them vulnerable to fire.

Four small-scale fires have been recorded already at Lo Go Xa Mat National Park and the forests of Nui Ba and Dau Tieng.

On April 2, the provincial Steering Committee for Forest Fire Prevention directed forest management boards and authorities of border districts to come up with plans to prevent forest fires.

Relevant units were asked to inspect forests that are at high risk of fire, especially those in areas bordering Cambodia, and to deploy forces and fire extinguishers in case any fire occurs.

Tay Ninh has assigned 37 fire-fighting teams to forests and national parks, and offered fire-fighting training to over 1,300 locals.-

Dak Lak loses 4.4 million USD to drought

Drought has damaged crops and cost the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak over 93 billion VND (4.4 million USD), said Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development Trang Quang Thanh on April 1.

The heat has depleted more than 5,500 hectares of crops, including 4,000 hectares of winter-spring rice and the remaining, vegetables and maize.

The districts of M’Drak, Ea Kar, Krong Ana are among the hardest-hit.

In Krong Bong district, over 1,300 ethnic households have not had enough clean water as reservoirs and wells are bone dry.

Thanh said this condition will prolong until May, 10-15 days later than usual.

The provincial authorities have directed localities to help ethnic groups dig more wells and buy pipelines to bring water from lakes to farming areas, using their own emergency funds.

Krong Bong district was also asked to supply clean water to the locals and re-check irrigational works.-

Mekong River countries work to ensure water, energy, food

Strengthening cross-border cooperation for water, energy and food security in transboundary basins during a time of climate change lies at the heart of a conference that is being held in Ho Chi Minh City on April 2 and 3.

The event, which shapes part of the second Summit of the Mekong River Commission (MRC), has drawn 300 scientists and experts from home and abroad to discuss sustainable development of the aforesaid resources by 2015 and the post-2015 agenda.

Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyen Thai Lai underscored the Mekong River as the most valuable property granted by nature to regional countries.

However, while the water supply is limited, the demand to utilise it for socio-economic development is increasing. This, along with the impacts of climate change altogether, has damaged the water source, Lai warned.

Fritz Holzwarth, a senior marine policy expert of the German Ministry of Environment, Nature Conservation, Building, and Nuclear Security highlighted the inextricable connection between water, energy and food, which need equal concern in order to obtain environmental sustainable development.

Participants also talk about strategies for climate change adaptation, the role of groundwater utilisation in achiving sustainability, and the level of cross-border cooperation required to resolve climate change impacts.

As a member of the commission, Vietnam , along with its peers, has worked out instructions on building international-standard hydropower plants.

The second Summit of the Mekong River Commission (MRC) is scheduled for April 5 in Ho Chi Minh City .

Themed “Cooperation for Water, Energy and Food Security in Transboundary Basins under a Changing Climate”, the meeting aims to inspire the highest commitment of member states to regional cooperation in the area.

It will also define priority areas for the MRC in the immediate future, especially in ensuring water, energy and food security and lessening the impacts of climate change.

The MRC was set up in Chieng Rai, Thailand on April 5, 1995 with four member countries, namely Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam. The first MRC Summit was held in Hua Hin , Thailand on April 5, 2010.-

Thua Thien-Hue intensifies protection for rare animals

The People’s Committee of the central province of Thua Thien-Hue has decided to establish a forest management station in the Sao la Nature Reserve in the locality in a bid to protect the rare fauna and flora in the area.

According to Le Ngoc Tuan, director of the reserve, the move aims to enhance the enforcement of the law on forest protection and strictly handle any violations.

Covering an area of 15,519 ha, the reserve connects to a similar reserve in central Quang Nam province, Bach Ma National Park and the Xe Sap National Protected Area in Laos, forming a conservation corridor and a vast and continuous span of forest.

The reserve includes a strictly protected section, an ecological rehabilitation area and another for administration and services. It contains the remaining primeval forest of the central Truong Son mountain range, where the biodiversity is of the highest standard in the world.

The region is also shelter for rare animals like Truong Son muntjacs, giant muntjacs, Annamite striped rabbits and white-cheek gibbons.

Since 1985, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has considered the region as a place in need of urgent protection, Tuan added.

The WWF has worked with the Thua Thien-Hue Forest Protection Department and the management board of Sao la reserve to conduct an array of projects furthering the protection of forest and wildlife here.

Coastal communities get help against climate change

A foreign-funded project has successfully helped enhance the climate change adaptability of coastal communities in the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.

The remark was made by Nguyen Thien Phap, head of the Sub-department of Irrigation and Storm and Flood Prevention and Control under the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The 18 billion VND (around 853,000 USD) project, financed by the Oxfam International in Vietnam and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), aims to help the most vulnerable people, especially women and children, in the locality to raise their adaptation to harsh living conditions.

Started in 2012, the two-year project has enabled nearly 1,000 households in Go Cong Tay and Tan Phu Dong districts to access loans of up to 5 million VND ( 236 USD ) to develop their breeding and traditional handicrafts.

Besides, it has benefited more than 10,000 local households through its training activities and job generation.

The project’s management board has carried out market research to support poor labourers in the locality and suggested new models of livelihood and economic development.

Outstanding Vietnamese intellectuals honoured

The Association of Young Science-Technology Intellectuals held a ceremony on April 2 at the Hung Kings temple in Phu Tho province to honour outstanding Vietnamese intellectuals in the fields of business and society in 2013.

More than 220 outstanding intellectuals recorded outstanding achievements in labour movements, application of research results, scientific-technological progress and management methods to help local authorities and residents accomplish socio-economic targets.

They were selected from 500 candidates in a programme, which was launched in December, 2013, to vote for outstanding Vietnamese intellectuals.

The progamme is considered as a practical activity to identify, commend and reward Vietnamese intellectuals, with outstanding achievements in all areas of the social-economic fields.

Degraded suspension bridges in central Vietnam threatens lives of people

Inspection of suspension bridges in the central region revealed that many are in poor condition, according to the Department of Transport.

Quang Nam Province has 162 suspension bridges. Sixty three of the bridges were built by local residents and local governments without signs of loading capacity. Many are not properly maintained.

The department is looking to replace the unsafe bridges with permanent, concrete ones.

Quang Ngai Province has 24 suspension bridges in mountainous areas. Two-thirds of the bridges are over 10 years old and in poor condition. Transportation authorities have banned people and vehicles to travel on some bridges including Huy Mang in Son Tay District, Thon Ban O in Tra Bong District, and Lang Chai in Ba To District.

Nguyen Duc Cuong , chairman of People’s Committee in Quang Tri Province has ordered local governments to remove suspension bridges Lang Ho No.1, 2, and Nguon Rao. There is a ban for use of Ban Moi, Lang Cat, Ban Pin, and Ban Vay No.2 bridges.

Nine out of 10 bridges in Bo Trach, Tuyen Hoa, and Minh Hoa are rusty with decomposing wood, said Le Quoc Cuong, head of Quang Binh Department of Transport. The Ministry of Transport has agreed to provide VND 13 billion (US $617,339) for reconstruction projects.

Four suspension bridges in Ha Tinh Province are completely dilapidated. The transport authority ordered the People’s Committee to improve the bridge and limit the number of travelers through the bridge. The transport authority also suggested the People’s Committee to finance VND2.5 billion for improvements.