Tác giả: Đào Thu Hằng

I'm from Hanoi, Viet Nam. I'm an author of Dot Chuoi Non (dotchuoinon.com/author/hangbelu/), a blog on Positive thinking, founded by Dr. Tran Dinh Hoanh, an attorney in Washington DC. I'm a co-founder of Conversations on Vietnam Development - cvdvn.net, a virtual think tank. I am a co-founder of two companies in Viet Nam working on children education services. I advise companies on STEAM education, English language education for children and students in Vietnam. I'm studying the Buddha's teaching and the teaching of Jesus. I practice mindful living including meditation. I hold a PhD on Sustainable Energy Systems from University of Lisbon and Aalto University. I graduated from Hanoi University of Technology on Environmental Engineering. I obtained a Master degree of the same major from Stanford University and Nanyang Technological University. My English-language blog at: hangbelu.wordpress/. I play table tennis as a hobby.

Mega-regional infrastructure initiatives – Asia’s new noodle bowl?

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Published on Monday, 26 October 2015

ADB has financed part of the Almaty-Bishkek highway.
ADB has financed part of the Almaty-Bishkek highway.

One of the striking lessons from Asia’s success over the past few decades is that it makes economic sense to invest in regional infrastructure to link two or more countries to support outward-oriented development strategies.

Cross-border projects such as the Almaty-Bishkek regional road in Central Asia, the India-Bangladesh Electrical Grid Interconnection project, and the Tonga-Fiji Submarine Cable have enhanced Asia’s economic development by stimulating flows of goods, services, investment, people and technology. They have also fostered regional peace and cooperation. Negative effects such as environmental degradation, displaced people, crime and trafficking from such projects have been largely mitigated through safeguards and public policies. Tiếp tục đọc “Mega-regional infrastructure initiatives – Asia’s new noodle bowl?” →

Vietnam: Fossil fuel subsidies need to be phased out

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Jun 18, 2014

imageUNDP VN – Ha Noi, 18 June 2014 – “Fossil fuel subsidies should be phased out and a price set on carbon,” the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Viet Nam has recommended in a discussion paper launched today.

The paper, “Green Growth and Fossil Fuel Fiscal Policies in Viet Nam – Recommendations for a Roadmap for Policy Reform” argues that despite the Government’s commitment towards green growth and restructuring the energy sector including price reform, there are still substantial indirect subsidies on fossil fuels in the country.

According to the paper, Viet Nam’s energy prices are low compared to other countries in the region. Although there have been significant price increases, average retail prices remained the same during 2008-2013, and are in fact lower than the previous five-year period, when measured against 2002 prices taking into account inflation. Tiếp tục đọc “Vietnam: Fossil fuel subsidies need to be phased out” →

Emergence of Southeast Asia as energy giant carries risks, opportunities

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

IEA report sees continued shift to coal and increasing dependence on oil and gas imports

8 October 2015   Kuala Lumpur

WEO2015_ASEAN_Cover

IEA – The energy landscape in Southeast Asia continues to shift as rising demand, constrained domestic production and energy security concerns lead to a greater role for coal, a sharp rise in the region’s dependence on oil imports and the reversal of its role as a major gas supplier to international markets.

“As Southeast Asia flourishes, it is moving to the centre of the global energy stage,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. “Countries in the region now have much in common with IEA members. We must all work together to build more secure and sustainable energy supplies and markets, as platforms for promoting economic development.” Tiếp tục đọc “Emergence of Southeast Asia as energy giant carries risks, opportunities” →

Child marriage: a devastating effect of the refugee crisis

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

By Mabel van Oranje

Oct 22 2015

weforum – The global refugee crisis triggered by the Syrian war and other conflicts poses a major challenge for governments around the world. Behind the scenes, though, it is exacerbating another, less visible, but equally disturbing global phenomenon: a dramatic increase in child marriage.

When families find themselves in dire straits because of war or natural disaster – without a home or income, with worries about security and an uncertain future – many choose to marry off their daughters, often to older men. Parents may believe this is the only way they can protect and provide for these young girls. The impact, however, can be devastating. Child brides are often affected by domestic violence and face overwhelming pressure to have children when they themselves are still children. Most of them are also denied education, even though this is a well-established route out of poverty. Tiếp tục đọc “Child marriage: a devastating effect of the refugee crisis” →

Buddhist Leaders Call For Climate Change Action At Paris Talks

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

“The earth is not just our environment. The earth is our mother.”

Headshot of Lydia O'Connor
General Assignment Reporter
<span class='image-component__caption' itemprop="caption">The Dalai Lama joined with 11 other Buddhist leaders to urge the phasing out of fossil fuels.</span>
Huffingtonpost – The Dalai Lama joined with 11 other Buddhist leaders to urge the phasing out of fossil fuels.

A dozen Buddhist authorities, in what they’re calling an unprecedented effort, appeal to world leaders to take strong climate change action at next month’s Paris conference.

In the letter released Thursday and titled “Buddhist Climate Change Statement to World Leaders,” the Dalai Lama and 11 other signatories urge the phasing out of fossil fuels and movement toward 100 percent use of renewable energy. This letter, the authors note, is the first time this so many Buddhist leaders have united to take a stance on a global issue. Tiếp tục đọc “Buddhist Leaders Call For Climate Change Action At Paris Talks” →

UN Sustainable Development Goals: Good For Business

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Forbes – Think of the word “sustainability” and what springs to mind? For many, it means being “green,” and accepting the need for more careful use of increasingly limited natural resources. More specifically, it is a word synonymous with energy renewal and efficiency programs, harnessing the power of the sun, water and wind.

Advocates of these programs argue that they are ultimately good for the bottom line. Yet there are those – and there are many across the boardrooms of global business – who caution that sustainability can be a slippery slope, leading the corporation to make investments that may be good for society but detrimental to shareholders.

Let me offer another word to consider – “development.” Perhaps you would associate this with something that governments are responsible for – the economic and social development of their country through sensible domestic and foreign policies. Companies, of course, should be in compliance with whatever laws exist to implement these policies, but they are not directly responsible for development, right? Tiếp tục đọc “UN Sustainable Development Goals: Good For Business” →

New generation of ecommerce startups are helping Vietnamese artisans

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Vietnamese Graphic

Image: GKTA Group Ltd.

techninasia – In 2009, two years after Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization (WTO), Fashion4Freedom (F4F) was founded by Vietnamese-American LanVy Nguyen to create a socially responsible supply chain for fashion products while at the same time preserving local craft traditions in Vietnam.

Less than six years later, the enterprise has fully established an ethical and scalable model for producing hand-crafted luxury goods—the first in Vietnam. Today, its has full production services, an artisan line, and a market incubator all of which, according to the F4F website, impact “100 villages, co-ops, and workshops.” Tiếp tục đọc “New generation of ecommerce startups are helping Vietnamese artisans” →

World Bank Forecasts Global Poverty to Fall Below 10% for First Time; Major Hurdles Remain in Goal to End Poverty by 2030

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

October 4, 2015
 Worldbank – WASHINGTON, October 4, 2015 – The number of people living in extreme poverty around the world is likely to fall to under 10 percent of the global population in 2015, according to World Bank projections released today, giving fresh evidence that a quarter-century-long sustained reduction in poverty is moving the world closer to the historic goal of ending poverty by 2030.

The Bank uses an updated international poverty line of US $1.90 a day, which incorporates new information on differences in the cost of living across countries (the PPP exchange rates). The new line preserves the real purchasing power of the previous line (of $1.25 a day in 2005 prices) in the world’s poorest countries. Using this new line (as well as new country-level data on living standards), the World Bank projects that global poverty will have fallen from 902 million people or 12.8 per cent of the global population in 2012 to 702 million people, or 9.6 per cent of the global population, this year.
Tiếp tục đọc “World Bank Forecasts Global Poverty to Fall Below 10% for First Time; Major Hurdles Remain in Goal to End Poverty by 2030” →

Bloggers keep the windows open in Vietnam’s constitutional debates

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này
20 October 2015
Author: John Gillespie, Monash UniversityEastasiaforum – Under President Xi Jinping, the Chinese Communist Party is using the Seven Prohibitions to shut down discussion about liberal constitutional reform. In comparison, constitutional deliberations in Vietnam appear open, vibrant and far-reaching — prompting some commentators to speculate on whether Vietnam is a model for post-socialist institutional reform. But do all types of constitutional discourse translate into institutional reform or are some types of discourse more potent than others? This inquiry has particular relevance in Vietnam, where the discourse in social media has as much influence in shaping the constitution as that in state-mediated forums.

During the debates leading up to the adoption of Vietnam’s 2013 constitution, commentators focused on public calls for liberal institutional reforms. Hundreds of newspaper articles discussed limits to party power, constitutional review and human rights. Much has also been made of Petition 72, a demand for sweeping liberal constitutional reforms submitted by public intellectuals such as Nguyen Dinh Loc, a former minister of justice. These commentators argue that this discourse reveals broad-based support for liberal constitutionalism and law-based governance in Vietnam. Tiếp tục đọc “Bloggers keep the windows open in Vietnam’s constitutional debates” →

Indigenous peoples must benefit from science

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

To drive sustainable development, Dyna Rochmyaningsih argues, science must empower rural communities — not just serve industry and governments.

20 October 2015

Nature – The sun has been pale for months here in Sumatra and the skies are grey all day — choked with pollution from the massive fires that rage across the Indonesian island. Since the late 1990s, the haze caused by these annual fires has posed a significant threat to the health of Sumatra’s rural communities. This year’s haze is especially bad and has affected major cities, both here and abroad; consequently, the fires have again made headlines around the world.

Related stories

Many of these news stories blame the big palm-oil companies for the fires. Slash-and-burn techniques remain the cheapest way to clear forest for new plantations. But scientific evidence suggests that this simple narrative is not absolutely true. A number of surveys have found that the bulk of these fires are started outside the official oil-palm concessions. Small-scale farmers seem to be more to blame.

The haze in Indonesia is not just an environmental issue; it is a complex socio-economic problem that is driven partly by conflict over land ownership between palm-oil companies and rural communities — a struggle that the companies usually win. Tiếp tục đọc “Indigenous peoples must benefit from science” →

Why states with more marriages are richer states

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ 1 bình luận
By Jim Tankersley October 20

istock

Washingtonpost – There is a story gaining steam among some academics that suggests the institution of marriage — particularly marriage for parents of young children — could play an important role in strengthening the American economy. It is a story about growth and poverty, about responsibility and work ethic.

And largely, it is a story about men.

According to new research, states with a high concentration of married couples experience faster economic growth, less child poverty and more economic mobility than states where fewer adults are married, even after controlling for a variety of economic and demographic factors. The study, from the conservative American Enterprise Institute and the Institute for Family Studies, also finds that the share of parents who are married in a state is a better predictor of that state’s economic health than the racial composition and educational attainment of the state’s residents. Tiếp tục đọc “Why states with more marriages are richer states” →

The Trans-Pacific Partnership — friend or foe to the environment?

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

By Megan Strachan & Mark L. Madras

GLOBE-net: On October 5, 2015, Canada announced that it had concluded negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (“TPP”). The TPP is a free trade agreement which will provide Canada with preferential and unprecedented access to the Asia-Pacific Region.

The TTP is currently comprised of twelve Pacific-rim countries, representing a market of 800 million people. The TTP will need to be ratified by party, including Canada, before it will come into force.

For an overview of the TPP, please click here.

While the text of the TPP is not yet available, a technical summary of these environmental commitments is available online. Canada has indicated that the text of the TTP will be made available once the technical review, translation, and legal review are completed. Tiếp tục đọc “The Trans-Pacific Partnership — friend or foe to the environment?” →

Satellite imaging to monitor Asian rice paddies

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

By Amantha Perera

[COLOMBO] Sri Lankan agricultural experts plan to use new satellite imagery developed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the Philippines and the European Space Agency (ESA) to forecast rice crops that are now seen to be increasingly vulnerable to changing climate.

“With a capacity to monitor weather conditions and other factors like water availability, continuously, we can advise farmers on what to expect,” says Amitha Bentota, head of Sri Lanka’s Rice Research and Development Institute (RRDI). “Presently, we lack round-the-clock capacity and our predictions reflect the lack of data.”

The IRRI has developed a mosaic of images from ESA’s Sentinel-1A satellite covering over seven million square kilometres of South and South-east Asia. Sentinel’s ‘synthetic aperture’ cameras can monitor the earth’s surface even during rain and cloud cover, allowing continuous monitoring of agriculture.

 You might also like

Tiếp tục đọc “Satellite imaging to monitor Asian rice paddies” →

Experts give ASEAN food security scheme high marks

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Speed read

  • ASEAN members have boosted efforts to secure domestic and regional food reserves
  • The Philippines is the ‘fastest-growing country’ in terms of rice yields in the region
  • An ASEAN vision for science and technology will help foster ASEAN community 2015  

scidev.net – [MANILA] Two experts gave a positive assessment of food security efforts of Association of Southeast Asian (ASEAN) member countries during a forum on food security organised by SciDev.Net and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) last 30 July in Makati City, Philippines.

Asked to rate “ASEAN food security 2015” from a scale of 0-5, with ‘5’ as the highest score, panellists from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Philippines’ Department of Science and Technology (DOST) gave an optimistic assessment of ‘4’. Tiếp tục đọc “Experts give ASEAN food security scheme high marks” →

Nuclear Power in Vietnam: International Responses and Future Prospects

~ Đào Thu Hằng ~ Bình luận về bài viết này

Published by American Academy of Arts and Sciences,
Cambridge, MA 02138, 2014
Download the PDF

Preface

In 2006, with the adoption of the document “Strategy for Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy up to 2020,” Vietnam’s government officially announced its long-term plan to meet rising domestic energy consumption by including nuclear energy in its energy portfolio. The following year, another document, “Strategy Implementation Master Plan,” was released to provide further details on the roadmap that the Vietnamese government intended to follow to develop a nuclear energy program. According to the latter document, Vietnam’s nuclear program would include the construction of two 1,000 megawatt of electrical power (MWe) reactors in Phuoc Dinh in the southern Ninh Thuan province by 2015, originally scheduled to be in operation by 2020. Following this, another 2,000 MWe nuclear power plant (with two reactors) is set to be built in Vinh Hai, a seaside community 40 kilometers from Phuoc Vinh, and scheduled to come online by 2021.

Despite recent obstacles that have forced the government to delay construction on the first two nuclear plants, Vietnam is thus poised to become the first state to operate nuclear plants in Southeast Asia, outpacing countries such as Indonesia and Malaysia, which have long been interested in nuclear energy. Tiếp tục đọc “Nuclear Power in Vietnam: International Responses and Future Prospects” →