A workshop discussing measures to promote sustainable energy development in connection with environmental protection was held in Hanoi on November 29.

The Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO held a workshop in the southern province of Dong Nai on November 28 to review its work in 2018 and plan for the implementation of the Lima Action Plan and eco-labelling in world biosphere reserves in Vietnam.

The central province of Quang Tri has planted over 7,200 ha of concentrated forest and 2.7 million dispersed trees, the largest area recorded so far.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved aid worth over 100 million USD to help the Vietnamese Government install eight modernised irrigation systems in five drought-affected provinces, according to the bank’s November 27 news release.

The Vietnam Association for the Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE) convened its seventh congress for the 2018-2023 tenure in Hanoi on November 26 and marked its 30th founding anniversary.

The Education for Nature – Vietnam (ENV), on the occasion of Vietnam Bear Day (November 26), launched a letter writing contest with the aim of engaging young people in bear protection efforts.

A water resource management project has been underway in Dak Rong commune, K’Bang district of the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, aiming to preserve the local biodiversity, improve the livelihood of communities in the basins of Srepok and Sesan rivers sustainably, and encourage the engagement of parties in managing natural resources.

The largest economic hub in southern Vietnam – Ho Chi Minh City suffered from widespread floods and one person was killed when a tree uprooted in the city as part of consequences of Storm Usagi.

Non Nuoc Cao Bang received the global geopark status from the UNESCO at a ceremony held in the northern border province of Cao Bang on November 24.

Typhoon Usagi, developed from a tropical low-pressure system and the ninth storm to hit the East Sea this year, is heading to south central Vietnam.

Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Nguyen Thanh Phong and World Bank (WB) Country Director for Vietnam Ousmane Dione on November 22 took a fact-finding trip to the city’s District 2 where the second phase of a WB-funded environmental sanitation project is underway.

Ho Chi Minh City will enforce regulations on garbage sorting on November 24, with fine of up to 20 million VND (over 850 USD) to be imposed on those who fail to comply with the rules.

A seminar was held in Hanoi on November 22 to look into marine spatial planning and a project on improving the human habitat and coastal ecosystems in the Mekong Delta.

A tropical depression developed in the central region of the Philippines may intensify into a storm and enter the East Sea on November 22.

The People’s Committee of north central Thanh Hoa province has approved a 34.2 billion VND project (1.46 million USD) for repairs on the dyke system along Ma River, which has sustained serious damage after storms and flooding over recent years.

As wildlife-related crimes are able to generate profits almost equal to those from the trafficking of drugs, firearms, and human beings, they are quickly becoming increasingly more of a threat to Vietnam, according to an official from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Vietnam.

Ten Asian small-clawed otters (Aonex cinerea) have been rescued from illegal traders by the Save Vietnam’s Wildlife (SVW) in the northern province of Nam Dinh.

Prudential Vietnam Assurance Private Ltd., and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) signed a collaboration agreement on November 16 in Hanoi on the project “Building plastic pollution free communities.”

Wetlands in Vietnam are under threat from both natural factors and human activities.

A Malayan bear which had been kept in a tourism site in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong was handed over to FOUR PAWS Viet on November 16.