Ambassador Ted Osius of the United States rides a bicycle yesterday in Ha Noi as part of a campaign calling on people to protect the rhino. Demand for rhino horns has decreased sharply a year after the campaign was launched, officials say. — VNA/VNS Photo Minh Son

HA NOI (VNS) — Rhino horn demand has decreased by 77 per cent in Ha Noi and 38 per cent across Viet Nam, more than a year after a campaign was launched to eliminate its use.

The numbers show the country’s determination to tackle the long-existing problem, said Nguyen Ba Ngai, deputy head of the Viet Nam Forestry Administration under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Develoment. Continue reading Rhino horn demand plunges →

QUANG NAM – Monday, June 08, 2015 14:58

TNN – Hydropower dams on the Vu Gia – Thu Bon River system has hindered sedimentation downstream, causing severe erosion that could wipe out a popular beach in Hoi An town, experts warn.

“Climate change with a sea-level rise of 30cm is not the only reason for the current speed of erosion of Cua Dai Beach,” Vu Thanh Ca of the Scientific Research Institute of Sea and Islands said. Continue reading Vietnam UNESCO heritage threatened by erosion as dams stop sedimentation →

By Chi Nhan, TNN – Tuesday, June 02, 2015 11:21

Vietnam’s government is putting the environment at huge risks by approving many riverside and seaside golf courses, whose uses of fertilizers and pesticides are alarmingly high, experts said.

Le Anh Tuan, a senior environment researcher at Can Tho University in the Mekong Delta, said golf courses “are a threat to the environment.” Continue reading The cost of having fun: Golf courses are ‘killing’ Vietnam’s environment →