Initiatives to protect the green planet towards a sustainable development environment were introduced at a talk held by the Live & Learn Centre in collaboration with the French Cultural Centre (L’Espace) in Hanoi on August 19.

The death toll caused by floods following typhoon Bebinca, the fourth storm that hit Vietnam this year, had increased to 10 as of August 18, according to the Office of the Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control. ​

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) has yet to approve a proposal from a thermo electric power project on the dumping of 2.5 million cubic metres of waste mud into the local sea.

As domestic solid waste has long been piling up and become an acute issue in Vietnam for a long time, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) is developing a project to improve waste treatment and management in both rural and urban areas.

Storm Bebinca is heading to coastline from northern Hai Phong city to north central Nghe An province at a speed of about 15km per hour, and is forecast to land over the next 24-48 hours.

The People’s Committee of the southernmost province of Ca Mau has asked the Government to provide 300 billion VND (13.2 million USD) to move locals from landslide-prone areas to new residential areas.

The forest protection department of the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang released two reticulated pythons back to nature at the Lung Ngoc Hoang Nature Reserve in Phung Hiep district on August 14.

The National Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the National Committee for Disaster Response, Search and Rescue issued an official dispatch in response to storm Bebinca, the fourth of its kind hitting the country this year.

The southern province of Kien Giang has seen complicated developments of riverbank and coastal erosion which is affecting local infrastructure and people’s daily lives, according to the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The Mekong Delta province of Ca Mau has established its first ever “soil bank”, also the first of its kind in the Mekong Delta, according to the government’s e-newspaper at baochinhphu.vn.

The Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment has recognised a group of 400 Po Mu (Fokienia hodginsii) trees in the forest of mountainous Tay Giang district in Quang Nam province as Heritage Trees.

The central province of Thua Thien-Hue plans to grow 13,000 hectares of large-timber forest by 2020, with 40 percent of which received Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)’s certificate, ensuring that products come from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits.

Having suffered a significant reduction in the number of sea turtles and the species’ breeding activities, the central coastal province of Ninh Thuan is making efforts to improve the situation

Experts shared information on smart water management policies and technologies for sustainable development during a workshop in Hanoi on August 8.

Nearly 40 houses in Luc Yen district in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai were damaged due to torrential rains on August 6-7.

The Red River Delta province of Hung Yen has raised the alarm over environmental pollution as many local companies continue to discharge untreated wastewater despite strict punishments by authorities.

Hanoi’s environmental problems have been basically solved since the city made its administrative boundary adjustment in 2008.

Three years after beginning a pilot programme to buy solar power at 2,000 VND (8.7 US cents) per kWh generated in homes and offices, Ho Chi Minh City has signed up 290 consumers.

The Mekong Delta province of An Giang is devising measures to prevent coastal erosion, which has become more serious due to climate change and socio-economic activities.

Floods and landslides triggered by torrential rains in the past days had left six dead, five missing and two injured in the northern mountainous region by 17:00 on August 5.