Last week a clean-up day in Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh province, organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and a local cruise firm, attracted over 100 Vietnamese and foreign volunteers.

  Hue City in the central province of Thue Thien - Hue was honoured as the National Green City 2016 under a vote campaign initiated by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) at a ceremony in the central city on June 28.

 The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has asked agencies in Hau Giang Province to inspect a Hong Kong-invested paper plant after concerns were raised that it will pollute the Hau River.

 Hundreds of Asian openbill storks, which are listed as an especially rare species in Vietnam’s Red Book, are making their home at the historical relic site of Dien Bien Phu battlefield this season, greatly delighting tourists.

 Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has asked authorities of the Central Highlands province of Kon Tum to examine and report the case of deforestation and illegal timber transport in the locality before July 10.

 The World Bank (WB) has approved a loan of 90 million USD to help Vietnam strengthen its climate change and green growth agenda in accordance with the World Bank Group’s Climate Change Action Plan.

 The 2016 Mekong Delta Forum entitled “Committed to a Prosperous and Climate Resilient Mekong Delta” will be held in HCM City on June 27 and 28 to discuss solutions for the critical challenges posed to the region by climate change.

  Forest destruction, especially in the Central Highlands, remains a major headache. Deforestation has taken a heavy toll on the ecosystem and the environment, which is evident in serious land erosion, animal habitat reduction, landslides and flooding.

 A 23-year-old man from HCM City’s Go Vap District on Tuesday (June 21) was sentenced to five years in prison and fined VNĐ50 million (US$2,242) for illegal trading wildlife.

 A cement plant has been forced to temporarily shut down as dozens of households in the central province of Quang Ngai continue to demand to be relocated due to environmental pollution.

 The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) has suspended the titan exploitation at Nam Suui Nhum mine for three months due to a reservoir collapse.   

VietNamNet Bridge – As the sea temperatures increase, a large area of coral off Con Dao Island has been bleached white and is no longer living. In some areas there is whitening of up to 70% of coral.

The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers has proposed the government to scrutinise the waste treatment system of Hong Kong Lee&Man Paper Group’s $1.2 billion Lee&Man Paper Co.Ltd before it comes into operation in August.

 Some 28,000 volunteers and soldiers collected garbage along the country’s coastline on June 19 at the launch of the biggest ever national beach cleanup campaign.

 The US would continue working with Vietnam to lessen growingly adverse impacts of climate change, according to Todd Raymond Johnson, who is Forest and Climate Change advisor, the USAID Asia’s Office of Technical Services.

 El Nino-triggered coral bleaching has spread to approximately one fourth of coral reef areas across waters around Con Dao Islands off the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau since March.

Can Tho has been chosen as one of the 100 Resilient Cities (100 RC), a program of the Rockefeller Foundation, said Ho Thi Thanh Bach, deputy director of the Mekong Delta city’s Department of Foreign Affairs.

 The environment ministry has objected to a hydropower project that would go up in Yok Don National Park in Daklak Province due to environmental concerns.

 The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has ordered an investigation into a local titanium exploiter in Binh Thuan Province after a waste reservoir broke allowing huge amounts of toxic red mud to flood residential areas.

 A white-cheeked gibbon has been returned to the wild after being illegally kept by a family in Ha Tinh for 10 years.