The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) countries have made stunning progress over the past quarter century. Once plagued by poverty, they are now economic success stories.

 Two bears have been rescued from a farm in the northern province of Ninh Binh Province by the Four Paws Viet organisation, ending bear keeping in the area.

The three-day event, a match-making platform for key stakeholders in the renewable energy sector, has brought together some 30 local investors and international developers and investors.

 Local people living along the Nguyen Tat Thanh Beach in the central city of Da Nang have complained that the sea water became black with brown foam and a foul smell.

 Many people in Trung Tu Ward, Dong Da District, Hanoi, have blamed Hanoi Medical University Hospital for discharging sewage and polluting Lu River.

 The People’s Court of Ha Dong district in Hanoi on March 20 handed down a jail sentence of 13 months on Nguyen Mau Chien for smuggling 36kg of rhino horn, according to the Education for Nature Vietnam (ENV). 

 A large area of forest in the central province of Quang Binh has been found to be illegally destroyed for timber.

 Environmental police in the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong on Wednesday found about 40,000 tonnes of solid waste dumped illegally in the area of Da Lat Waste Treatment Factory in Xuan Truong Commune, Da Lat City.

Construction investors are often totally indifferent to the storm of dust, construction waste and general filth their projects unleash on the general public. 

 The Bac Lieu Bird Sanctuary in the Mekong Delta province of Bac Lieu is facing a level-4 risk of fires, which is likely to be raised to level 5, the level of extreme danger, said the sanctuary management board on March 13.

A local resident in central Quang Nam Province’s Dong Giang District has handed over a red-shanked douc langur (pygathrix nemaeus) to the district’s forest management unit, according to local authorities.

Over 40,000ha of winter-spring and summer-fall rice in the Mekong Delta province of Hau Giang will be hurt by saline intrusion this year.

 Provinces in the Mekong Delta have stepped up efforts to prevent forest fires as the region is entering the highly risky dry season.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Transport have agreed to work more closely together to protect the environment and cope with climate change in the field of transportation during the 2018-21 period.

Scientists have found nearly 12,000 Vietnamese marine creature species, including animals and plants, through studying the country’s marine biological resources, reported the Vietnam News Agency.

The quality of water in many lakes in Hanoi has been improved considerably, leading experts said at a meeting on March 6 to review the one-year using of Redoxy-3C to tackle pollution in lakes.

 The central province of Quang Nam is reviewing tourism projects on Cu Lao Cham (Cham Island), a tourism magnet in Tan Hiep commune of Hoi An township, following reports on the environmental impacts of some construction activities.

 The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) on March 5 launched a 158 million USD energy project to help key industries and enterprises with energy saving.

 Grave air pollution in Vietnam’s cities and towns, especially Hanoi, continues to cause severe health problems for Vietnam’s growing urban population. However, no effective measures have been taken to deal with the situation.

 Dana-Y and Dana-Uc steel factories will have to suspend their operation indefinitely due to violations of wastewater discharge regulations.