Developing small-scale hydropower is a big mistake: experts

Last update 07:50 | 19/06/2017
VietNamNet Bridge – As requested by the National Assembly, in 2013 the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) decided to remove 400 small-scale hydropower projects out of the hydropower development program. But many projects were then carried out in the mountainous provinces of Ha Giang and Cao Bang.

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In other countries, small-scale hydropower plants with capacity of several megawatts which serve a small number of households are located in areas far from the national grid. The don’t interfere with agricultural production.

Twenty years ago, Vietnam was thirsty for capital and power and called for investments in the power sector from different sources.

As requested by the National Assembly, in 2013 the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) decided to remove 400 small-scale hydropower projects out of the hydropower development program.

In the first years of the 21st century, thousands of hydropower projects were approved, designed and executed on thousands of rivers and streams.

Many projects were still on paper, but the supporting works were completed: the forests were felled to create roads to the sites and agricultural land was taken back to make room for the project.

As the people’s lives were upset, scientists and local authorities reported the problems to the National Assembly. The government in 2013 submitted to the National Assembly a list of small-scale hydropower projects to be removed from the hydropower development plan. Tiếp tục đọc “Developing small-scale hydropower is a big mistake: experts”

Taking care of turtles in Cúc Phương

vietnamnews

Update: June, 18/2017 – 09:00

Shell dweller: An Indochinese box turtle. Photo courtesy of Nguyễn Thu Thủy
Viet Nam News Nestled in the dense greenery of Cúc Phương National Park, a team of volunteers and staff work tirelessly to look after around 1,000 rare and endangered turtles. Lê Hương & Hồng Vân report.

Taking trays containing freshly ground paste of vegetables and fruit, Lina V. Wedel and Simon Brauburger head for nearby enclosures to feed the turtles, one of the important tasks they perform every morning. Tiếp tục đọc “Taking care of turtles in Cúc Phương”

Have you ever seen so many elephants?

vietnamnews

Update: June, 18/2017 – 09:00

National heroes: Somewhere in the Central Highlands around 1963 as captured in a still frame by journalist Wilfred Burchett on a visit to the liberated zones of South Việt Nam. Photo courtesy of George Burchett

by George Burchett

In April 2015, I was invited by the Cercle des Francophones (Francophone Association) of Hà Nội to present the film Loin du Vietnam (Far from Việt Nam) at the Hà Nội Cinémathèque. The film was made collectively  in 1967 by some of the great names of new French cinéma: Joris Ivens, William Klein, Claude Lelouch, Agnès Varda, Jean-Luc Godard, Chris Marker and Alain Resnais, in support of Việt Nam’s resistance to US aggression.

I was familiar with the film, but decided to do some extra research for the occasion. Tiếp tục đọc “Have you ever seen so many elephants?”

Mekong Delta protective forests wiped away by rising waters

Last update 07:20 | 14/04/2017
VietNamNet Bridge – Thousands of households along the coast in Ca Mau province have been living in fear as hundreds of meters of protective forests have been lost to the sea each year.

vietnam economy, business news, vn news, vietnamnet bridge, english news, Vietnam news, news Vietnam, vietnamnet news, vn news, Vietnam net news, Vietnam latest news, Vietnam breaking news, mekong delta, flood, climate change

Nguyen Cong Tuan of Dat Mui commune recently drove reporters to the Vam Xoay seaport, about two kilometers away from the central area of the commune.

“The sea here is compared with an ‘evil genius’. Strong big waves can sweep away houses and properties and threaten our lives any time,” he said, pointing to the seaport, where big waves were hitting the shore and roaring. Tiếp tục đọc “Mekong Delta protective forests wiped away by rising waters”

Ha Tinh residents block access to overflowing landfill

Last update 16:15 | 16/06/2017

VietNamNet Bridge – Residents of Huong Khe Town in Ha Tinh Province have blocked garbage trucks’ access to the local landfill for the past 10 days, to protest the use of the overflowing dump.

Ha Tinh, overflowing dump, waste treatment activities, Vietnam economy, Vietnamnet bridge, English news about Vietnam, Vietnam news, news about Vietnam, English news, Vietnamnet news, latest news on Vietnam, Vietnam
Uncollected trash piled on in the Son Market, Huong Khe Town, Huong Khe District in the central province of Ha Tinh. 

The protest has led to waste accumulation in the area, and all waste treatment activities have come to a halt, worsening the already bad situation in Huong Khe District. Tiếp tục đọc “Ha Tinh residents block access to overflowing landfill”

Asia Is Trawling for a Deadly Fishing War

FP

Growing tensions between Sri Lankan and Indian fishermen are just one signal of a looming conflict over the region’s depleted waters.

Photography by Karim Mostafa

June 16, 2017

THALVUPADU, Sri Lanka — Stanley Cruz, a fisher in this beachside village on the island of Mannar off Sri Lanka’s northwestern coast, stands with his bare feet in the sand, holding up a green net between his hands.

“This is the kind of net, you see. Last week, we lost many hundreds of these. Twelve of us fishers, when we went out to get them in the morning they were gone,” he says.

He points toward the waters behind him: the Palk Strait, a narrow body of water separating Sri Lanka from the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Cruz was out the night before, laying his nets in the sea, just like thousands of other fishers from both sides of the strait. But when he went to get them in the morning, they were gone. Tiếp tục đọc “Asia Is Trawling for a Deadly Fishing War”

Conservationist concerned for tourism project’s impact on northern Vietnamese archipelago

DONG NGUYEN/TUOI TRE NEWS

Updated : 05/23/2017 19:08 GMT + 7

Accepting a request made last week by Tuoi Tre News, Neahga Leonard, project director of the Cat Ba Langur Conservation Project in Hai Phong has shared his thoughts on how local wildlife habitat could be impacted by the Cat Ba ecotourism resort and entertainment complex in the namesake archipelago.

Aside from its transportation system, the project will also include three golf courses, an amusement park, and several components to leverage the tourism potential of local areas such as Qua Vang Cave, Lan Ha Bay, Viet Hai Village, and Cat Ong Island.

In that context, local conservationists are concerned that the Cat Ba langur species, the most endangered species in Vietnam, will face multiple threats. Tiếp tục đọc “Conservationist concerned for tourism project’s impact on northern Vietnamese archipelago”

Sand shortage delays transport projects

vietnamnews

Update: June, 12/2017 – 09:00

Sand dredged on the Vàm Cỏ Đông River in the southwestern province of Tây Ninh, some 100km from HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo Lê Đức Hoảnh
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Many transport projects in southern localities have been delayed due to the scarcity and surging price of construction sand, Giao Thông (Transport) newspaper reported.

For instance, a contractor of the Bến Lức-Long Thành Highway said that only half of the road foundation had been built; some 80,000 cubic metres of sand are missing to complete the project’s foundation.

“We are having a headache due to sand scarcity. Foundation sand was VNĐ120,000 (US$5.2) per cubic metre, now it has risen to more than VNĐ200,000 ($8.7) per cubic metre,” he said. Tiếp tục đọc “Sand shortage delays transport projects”

Indonesian police foil attempt to smuggle 200,000 lobster eggs into Singapore: Reports

channelnewsasia

 
File photo of a lobster. (Photo: Reuters)

JAKARTA: Indonesian authorities foiled an attempt to illegally export more than 200,000 lobster eggs into Singapore through Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, reported the Jakarta Post on Sunday (Jun 11).

The suspects had attempted to deliver a big part of the goods via a Garuda Indonesia flight to Singapore.

According to tribunnews.com, Indonesia’s National Police Special Crimes Directorate Chief Brigadier General Purwadi Arianto said: “We confiscated 208,756 lobster eggs inside eight suitcases.” Tiếp tục đọc “Indonesian police foil attempt to smuggle 200,000 lobster eggs into Singapore: Reports”

Tầm quan trọng của trồng cây và bảo vệ cây

Chào các bạn,

Đây là lời phát biểu của Đạt lai La ma thứ 14 tại Khu định cư Doeguling của Tây Tạng, tại Mundgod, miền Nam Ấn Độ.

Đây là hình ảnh Khu định cư và cây cối, con người, tu viện trong đó:

http://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/mundgod.html

Dịch bài này xong, mình cũng thích trồng cây ăn trái trong vườn nhà. 🙂

Chúc các bạn một ngày xanh tươi.

Thu Hương, Tiếp tục đọc “Tầm quan trọng của trồng cây và bảo vệ cây”

1.300 cây xanh trước ngày chặt hạ để làm đường ở Hà Nội

VE – Thứ năm, 1/6/2017 | 12:23 GMT+7

Để mở rộng đường Phạm Văn Đồng, Hà Nội sẽ đánh chuyển, chặt hạ 1.300 cây xanh, phần lớn là xà cừ lâu năm trong 3 tháng tới.

Nằm trong dự án đầu tư mở rộng đường vành đai 3 đoạn Mai Dịch – Cầu Thăng Long, 1.300 cây xanh nằm hai bên đường Phạm Văn Đồng từ chân cầu Mai Dịch đến cầu Thăng Long sẽ được chặt hạ, đánh chuyển trước ngày 30/9.

Tiếp tục đọc “1.300 cây xanh trước ngày chặt hạ để làm đường ở Hà Nội”

Mực nước ngầm ở các tỉnh, thành phố ven biển ở mức báo động

Thứ năm – 21/01/2016 09:55 Cục Quản Lý Tài Nguyên Nước – Bộ TN&MT

Mực nước ngầm ở các tỉnh, thành phố ven biển kéo dài từ Hải Phòng đến Cà Mau đang hạ xuống mức báo động.

 
Cảnh báo trên được ông Nguyễn Chí Công – Phó Tổng Giám đốc Trung tâm Quy hoạch và Điều tra Tài nguyên nước quốc gia (thuộc Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường) đưa ra tại hội thảo quốc tế về Quản lý tổng hợp tài nguyên nước vùng ven biển – Kinh nghiệm quản lý nước dưới đất khu vực Đông-Đông Nam Á (CCOP 2016).

Tiếp tục đọc “Mực nước ngầm ở các tỉnh, thành phố ven biển ở mức báo động”

UN chief warns of serious clean water shortages by 2050

srsnews

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Tuesday that by 2050 global demand for fresh water is projected to grow by more than 40 percent and at least a quarter of the world’s population will live in countries with a “chronic or recurrent” lack of clean water.

He told the Security Council that “strains on water access are already rising in all regions,” noting that three-quarters of the 193 U.N. member states share rivers or lake basins with their neighbors. Tiếp tục đọc “UN chief warns of serious clean water shortages by 2050”

How can humans and elephants better coexist?

The human-elephant conflict plays a huge role in the rapid decline elephant numbers. A panel of experts share ideas on how to mitigate this problem

A Mahout and elephant in Thailand’s Surin province.
A Mahout and elephant in Thailand’s Surin province. Photograph: Aroon Phukeed/Getty Images

Conservation must be higher up on the political agenda

We need conservation (not just fighting the illegal wildlife trade which has captured the limelight more recently) to be far higher up the political agenda. For example, we in the UK could be much more effectively linking overseas aid (budget of £12bn this year) to poverty relief, sustainable development and environmental protection, ecosystem services and conservation priorities. Will Travers, president, Born Free Foundation Tiếp tục đọc “How can humans and elephants better coexist?”

Chỉ đúng nguyên nhân ĐBSCL sạt lở và các khuyến nghị

BĐV – Bài viết của GS.TSKH Nguyễn Ngọc Trân – Nguyên Chủ nhiệm Chương trình cấp Nhà nước Điều tra cơ bản tổng hợp ĐBSCL về tình hình sạt lở ở khu vực này.

Tình hình sạt lở bờ sông, bờ biển ở ĐBSCL ngày càng nhiều và nghiêm trọng.

Các nguyên nhân cơ bản thường được nói đến thời gian gần đây là do thiếu hụt trầm tích bị các đập thủy điện trên dòng chính sông Lancang – Mekong giữ lại, và do lạm khai thác cát sông.

Hiểu sâu để có giải pháp tốt. Nhằm mục đích này, xin đóng góp một số ý kiến vào nhận thức khách quan vấn đề sạt lở và từ đó một số việc cần làm theo thiện ý của tác giả.

Tiếp tục đọc “Chỉ đúng nguyên nhân ĐBSCL sạt lở và các khuyến nghị”