Commitments to tackle climate change should be translated into action as its threats appear to be imminent, said British Junior Foreign Minister Bill Rammell. Rammell was speaking during his visit to the Red River after attending the 9th Asia-Europe Foreign Ministers' meeting (ASEM) that wrapped up May 26 in Hanoi.
Nearly 150 wild animal species are categorised and described in A Pictorial Guide for Quick Identification of Some Wild Animals Protected by Vietnamese Laws and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
The HCM City Department of Natural Resources and Environment has ordered enterprises to cease all production processes that generate wastewater if it is not properly treated. It asked the Taiwanese-owned Paiho Company, which makes textile dyes in Tan Tao Industrial Park, to stop operation.
A two-hour long heavy rain on a large scale caused the flooding in Ho Chi Minh City on May 25. Some places in District 1 and District 3 were submerged 20 – 30 centimetres under water. The Xo Viet Nghe Tinh and Nguyen Huu Canh roads in Binh Thanh district were submerged 40 centimeres under water, making thousands of cars and motorbikes come to a dead stop.
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing a EUR 100 million loan for Vietnam to finance investments that will contribute to the mitigation of climate change in the country. The loan agreement was signed in Hanoi today by Francisco de Paula Coelho, EIB Director for Lending Operations in Asia and Tran Xuan Ha, Deputy Minister of Finance.
Song Da Sudico on May 22 held the ground breaking ceremony of Song Da - Ngoc Vung ecological tourist site. Located at island commune of Ngoc Vung (Van Don district), the tourist site occupies an area of 39 hectares and is planned to go into operation after 3 years with total investment capital of VND 250 billion.
The Da Nang People's Committee and the German Reconstruction Credit Institute (KfW - Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) have agreed to cooperate in improving the city's public transportation, in which Euro4-diesel will be used for buses in the city to meet European emission standard.
Ha Long Bay made it to the top 25 of the most wonderful seascapes in the world on the official website of Newopenworld (NOW) on May 25. The board, that is encouraging the people to vote for Ha Long, is doing its best to promote the bay around the world and the bay has been selected twice by UNESCO as a world natural heritage.
A project to build a low-impact greenfield university campus in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho has won the Silver of the Global Holcim Awards 2009. The project was designed by Kazuhiro Kojima and Daisuke Sanuki from Japan and Vo Trong Nghia from Vietnam.
Vietnam has the potential to utilise many renewable energies, but the development of these energy sources is restricted due to the lack of suitable and advanced technologies, said experts at a seminar held in Hanoi recently. Currently renewable energies make up only a tiny part of the country’s power supply compared to other energy sources.