The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha has blamed the El Nino phenomenon for the recent inaccurate weather forecast reports.

 Cooperation among six countries that share the Mekong – Lancang River should focus on water management for mutual benefit and sustainable growth in the region, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh.

 Hundreds of fishing vessels were forced to stay ashore in the province’s Hoi An City for the past six days due to sedimentation of the estuary, which blocked entry.

 Ha Tinh authorities said they were investigating a Facebook user criticised for posting many photos showing his killing of wild animals.

 Quang Ninh Province has issued regulations on Ha Long Bay protection and management which will tighten control over aquaculture activities.

 Up to 87 out of 163 new species found in the Greater Mekong region were discovered in Vietnam, which proves the country is rich in biodiversity and home to a diverse array of species.

Protecting, maintaining and restoring ecosystems, especially water systems, is among the most urgent tasks for strengthening the country’s resilience to climate change.

 The forestry sector will protect, develop and sustainably use existing forest areas and land fund for forest development with a view to raising the country’s forest coverage to 47.25 percent in 2017.

 Rainfall ranging from 150mm to 400mm over the past two days has flooded communes and villages in the central provinces of Thua Thien-Hue, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen and Khanh Hoa.

 The central city’s People’s Committee has asked two joint-stock steel companies – Dana Y and Dana Uc – to stop production of two factories in Lien Chieu and Haa Vang districts, due to the serious pollution they continued to cause.

 Natural disasters have cost the northern province of Ca Mau VNĐ1.427 trillion (US$63 million) this year, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

 The continual erosion of forested land by local people has narrowed the living space for elephants in Dong Nai Province, leading to more conflict. In addition, the province’s elephant conservation project has still proceeded at a very slow pace.

 World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) and Vietnamese nature authorities today kicked off an emergency project to protect the biggest herd of elephants in the country from extinction.

 Cua Dai coast in Hoi An city, Quang Nam province is being seriously damaged by chronic erosion and sea encroachment, threatening residents and causing big losses for the tourism sector.

 Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Vo Tuan Nhan has expressed wish that Japan would continue boosting effective cooperation with Vietnam in environment protection and climate change response.  

 The Vietnam Directorate of Fisheries and the Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers jointly launched a training course on protecting dolphins during fishing tuna in Phu Yen province on December 13.

 The 100 Resilient Cities programme was launched in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, which joined the programme in May this year, at a conference on December 13. 

 Hanoi People's Committee said changeable weather and discharged waste water are the main causes that killed huge amounts of fish in many lakes in the city.

 Fish bred in cages in a lagoon near the ocean in Thua Thien-Hue Province died en masse for still unknown reasons beginning Thursday last week.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has had a meeting with representatives from the Japanese Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism to discuss the decline in the volume of sediment in Vietnam’s rivers.