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FILE – In this July 2002 file photo, dust flows from under the truck loaded with logs as it makes its way on a rural road in Preah Vihear province, north of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. An environmental watchdog has accused Vietnamese government and military officials of taking payoffs to ignore vast smuggling of lucrative lumber from neighboring Cambodia. Millions of dollars in bribes have been paid by Vietnamese timber traders to both Vietnamese and Cambodian officials, the report issued Monday, May 8, 2017, by the U.K.-based Environmental Investigation Agency alleges. (AP Photo/ Heng Sinith, File)

 vietnamnet – Last update 16:00 | 09/05/2017

VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnam will have to pay a heavy price if its products continue to be associated with Chinese, economists have warned.

Many products including iron, steel and wood from Vietnam are under an investigation by the US Department of Commerce (DOC) and may be subject to anti-dumping duties.

Dinh Son Hung, former deputy head of the HCMC Institute for Development Studies, said the US side said it decided to investigate products from Vietnam because it suspects they originated from China but were labeled as Vietnamese.

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International Union for Conversation of Nature

Intensive rice production is the predominant cause for the loss of biodiversity and resilience to climate change in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Today, less than 5% of the natural wetlands of the Delta remain. In order to intensively grow rice in the upper-delta deep flood zone, traditional low dyke systems that have supported 2 rice crops in a year while allowing floods to enter the dyke system in the flood season, have been converted into high dykes that displace the floods so that a third rice crop can be grown.

This costly hard infrastructure has disrupted the natural flood pulse of the Mekong Delta and reduced the amount of wetlands with devastating impacts on the aquatic biodiversity that underpins the fisheries livelihoods of particularly poor people, and the loss of sediment replenishment necessary for agricultural sustainability.

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VIETNAMNEWS – Update: April, 17/2017 – 09:00

A flooded alley in District 12, HCM City. High tides broke sewer No. 4 in the district’s Thạnh Xuân 25 Street during the rainy season in October last year, flooding the neighbourhood and disrupting the lives of residents. — VNA/VNS Photo Mạnh Linh

HA NOI – Most Vietnamese cities lack the capacity to confront climate change challenges, experts say, calling for greater preparedness efforts.

Cities have to be ready to adapt to new situations and unexpected developments, ensuring essential services to residents at all times, they add.

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