Malaysia seizes US$3.1m worth of rhino horns at airport

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian authorities have seized about US$3.1 million (£2.5 million) worth of rhinoceros horns flown in from Mozambique via Qatar, the latest seizure in Asia of products from endangered species to feed demand for traditional remedies, officials said on Monday.

Malaysia is a major transit point for the trade in endangered species to other Asian countries although a customs official told Reuters Malaysia was believed to have been the final destination of the 18 horns. Tiếp tục đọc “Malaysia seizes US$3.1m worth of rhino horns at airport”

Bile farmers decimate wild bears

vietnam news

Update: April, 10/2017 – 18:00

A moon bear caged in a village during the surveys. It was reportedly trapped in a wire snare in 2015 near the Laos-Việt Nam border. — Photo courtesy of Centre for Environment and Rural Development

HÀ NỘI — The country’s wild bear population has declined sharply over the past 20 years, according to recent surveys carried out in 22 protected areas.

The surveys were part of a three-year collaborative project by the Centre for Environment and Rural Development at Vinh University with the support of the conservation and animal welfare organisation Free the Bears and Animals Asia. Tiếp tục đọc “Bile farmers decimate wild bears”

Exclusive: Vietnam’s ‘double standards’ in ivory trade

Al Jazeera Investigative Unit’s report raises questions about Vietnam’s commitment to tackle wildlife trafficking.

14 November 2016

Al Jazeera’s Investigative Unit has uncovered evidence that Vietnam is still a major market for illegal wildlife products, despite Hanoi’s stated commitment that it is tackling the issue.

The investigation comes a few days before the Southeast Asian nation hosts an international conference on stopping the illicit trade.

On Saturday, Vietnamese authorities in the capital ground down and burned two tonnes of ivory and 70kg of rhino – all seized from smugglers –  in a symbolic move designed to show the government’s commitment to thwarting wildlife crime. Tiếp tục đọc “Exclusive: Vietnam’s ‘double standards’ in ivory trade”

Mass fish deaths reported in fresh water cages

Update: April, 07/2017 – 18:00

A breeder and his dead fish. — VNS Photo Điền Quang

THỪA THIÊN- HUẾ — Fish breeding in floating cages in central Thừa Thiên-Huế Province’s river have died en mass, resulting in huge losses for breeders.

The fish deaths occurred earlier this week in Bồ River’s section running across the province’s Hương Toàn Commune in Hương Trà District. Breeders said the fish were almost ready to harvest; therefore, they were expected to incur significant losses for this breeding season. Tiếp tục đọc “Mass fish deaths reported in fresh water cages”

China may shelve controversial Myitsone dam in exchange for other interests in Myanmar

japan times

Reuters, Apr 6, 2017

China has shifted its position in a lengthy dispute with Myanmar over the building of a $3.6 billion dam, seven sources said, signaling its willingness to abandon the project in exchange for other economic and strategic opportunities in Myanmar.

Myanmar President Htin Kyaw will discuss a potential deal on the massive Myitsone dam during a trip to China beginning on Thursday, two senior Myanmar officials and a person familiar with the matter said. Tiếp tục đọc “China may shelve controversial Myitsone dam in exchange for other interests in Myanmar”

China’s Influence on Hydropower Development in the Lancang River and Lower Mekong River Basin

CGIAR (consultative Group in Agriculture Research)

Read and download:China’s Influence on Hydropower Development in the Lancang River and Lower Mekong River Basin

Link to Mekong Hydropwer Map and Portal

Series of “State of knowledge” on Mekong:

1. The Impact of Dams on the Mekong
2. Mekong sediment basics
3. Corporate social responsibility in Mekong hydropower development
4. China’s Influence on Hydropower Development in the Lancang River and Lower Mekong River Basin

 

Corporate social responsibility in Mekong hydropower development

CGIAR (Consultative Group in Agriculture Research)

Read and Download:Corporate social responsibility in Mekong hydropower development

Link to Mekong Hydropwer Map and Portal

Series of “State of knowledge” on Mekong:

1. The Impact of Dams on the Mekong
2. Mekong sediment basics
3. Corporate social responsibility in Mekong hydropower development
4. China’s Influence on Hydropower Development in the Lancang River and Lower Mekong River Basin

 

Mekong sediment basics

CGIAR (Cnsultative Group in Agriculture Research)

Read and download:Mekong sediment basics

Link to Mekong Hydropwer Map and Portal

Series of “State of knowledge” on Mekong:

1. The Impact of Dams on the Mekong
2. Mekong sediment basics
3. Corporate social responsibility in Mekong hydropower development
4. China’s Influence on Hydropower Development in the Lancang River and Lower Mekong River Basin

 

The Impact of Dams on the Mekong

CGIAR (Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research)

Read and Download: The Impact of Dams on the Mekong

Link to Mekong Hydropwer Map and Portal

Series of “State of knowledge” on Mekong:

1. The Impact of Dams on the Mekong
2. Mekong sediment basics
3. Corporate social responsibility in Mekong hydropower development
4. China’s Influence on Hydropower Development in the Lancang River and Lower Mekong River Basin

From dams to basins: mapping across scales

Tiếp tục đọc “From dams to basins: mapping across scales”

Hanoi needs long-term solutions for garbage collection

Last update 08:10 | 02/02/2017
VietNamNet Bridge – The garbage collection in urban areas is mechanized, while the work is still done manually in rural areas with low productivity and efficiency.vietnamnet bridge, english news, Vietnam news, news Vietnam, vietnamnet news, TPP, US President Obama, Vietnam net news, Vietnam latest news, vn news, Vietnam breaking news, rural area, trash workers, Hanoi

In rural areas, garbage collection is done by self-managed units in hamlets and communes. Garbage is collected from residential quarters, gathered in certain places and then carried to the city’s concentrated treatment plants.Since there are not enough dumpers, garbage cannot be collected in the right way and the collection time is erratic. Garbage is often left in residential quarters. In most cases, garbage is only collected once every 2-3 days, or 10 days. The places where garbage are gathered are within residential quarters, but the rubbish is not covered in a hygienic way. Tiếp tục đọc “Hanoi needs long-term solutions for garbage collection”

Certifying Vietnam’s timber plantations would help smallholders profit from lucrative export market

BOGOR, Indonesia (21 November, 2012)_If Vietnam wants its timber producers to benefit from the growing “eco-conscious” and more lucrative international furniture market, national forest institutions should look for ways to get plantation forests certified, said Louis Putzel, a senior scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

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The area of certified forests in Vietnam is vanishingly small. Ahmad Dermawan.

BOGOR, Indonesia (21 November, 2012)_If Vietnam wants its timber producers to benefit from the growing eco-conscious and more lucrative international furniture market, national forest institutions should look for ways to get smallholder plantation forests certified, said Louis Putzel, a senior scientist at the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR).

Eco-certification may become more important as countries start putting in place import restrictions, with the European Union ruling it will ban illegally harvested wood from entering its market as of March 2013. Tiếp tục đọc “Certifying Vietnam’s timber plantations would help smallholders profit from lucrative export market”

Monsanto’s Superfund Secret

DISSENT Magazine

Monsanto elemental phosphorous plant, Soda Springs, Idaho (Kevin Beebe / Flickr)

The world’s most widely used herbicide, Roundup, has faced intense scrutiny in recent weeks, since documents surfaced revealing a close relationship between Monsanto, the creator of Roundup, and EPA officials tasked with regulating herbicide use in the United States. One email exchange included a Monsanto executive boasting that an EPA official had told him he “should get a medal” if he could “kill” an agency investigation into the herbicide.Ư

This news was troubling, considering the fact that the World Health Organization recently declared Roundup’s active ingredient “probably carcinogenic to humans.” The 2015 WHO announcement raised major alarms because roughly 89 percent of American corn and over 90 percent of all soybeans produced in the United States—millions of tons of which are exported every year to dozens of countries around the world—are genetically engineered to be herbicide resistant, Roundup Ready being a preferred variety. These findings gave new scientific fodder to many GMO opponents who have long alleged that the world’s food supply is awash in dangerous chemicals. Tiếp tục đọc “Monsanto’s Superfund Secret”

Những người đắm đuối vì voọc Sơn Trà

  • TẤN VŨ
  • 03.04.2017, 11:32

TTCT – Rừng, động vật của Việt Nam sao phải để các tổ chức nước ngoài tài trợ bảo tồn? Sao người Việt không làm điều đó? 

Bùi Văn TuấnNhững câu hỏi ấy đã thôi thúc một nhóm thanh niên và câu chuyện duyên nợ với voọc Sơn Trà của Trung tâm bảo tồn đa dạng sinh học Nước Việt Xanh (GreenViet) bắt đầu.

Căn nhà hai tầng chật chội ở đường Thành Vinh 1, nằm sát chân núi Sơn Trà, là nơi làm việc của hơn 10 người thuộc GreenViet đã hơn năm năm nay. Tiếp tục đọc “Những người đắm đuối vì voọc Sơn Trà”