Wingecarribee local environmental plan 2010

Construction of a small solar power project in Krông Pa District in the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoài Nam Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — The building of new thermopower plants has recently become a cause célèbre in the country as economic demands and environmental concerns face off, especially with a number of localities rejecting central Government-approved plants. Việt Nam needs an enormous amount of energy to feed one of the fastest growing economies in the world, and coal-fired thermopower plants are usually favoured by governments as the most affordable option that can guarantee a cheap supply of electricity, however, environmentalists and the public have been arguing that the perceived ‘low costs’ have not accounted for costly long-term consequences that these plants dealt to the environment and people’s health. According to the revised National Power Development Master Plan VII (for the period 2016-30), the installed capacity of the whole … [Read more...] about Southern provinces want environmentally-friendly LNG power, not coal power

Bình Thuận gears up to develop ocean economy, ensure sovereignty protection Debunking China's baseless and illogical 'Four Shas' claim Việt Nam rejects China’s statement on sovereignty over Trường Sa islands Korean scholar says states should not resort to force China asked to withdraw ships from Việt Nam’s territorial waters Residents receive last year’s environmental incident compensation in central Quảng Trị's Vinh Linh District. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Tĩnh HÀ NỘI - Deputy Prime Minister Trương Hoà Bình has urged four localities affected by last year’s environmental incident to accelerate the disbursement of compensation and complete the process by June 30. He made the request yesterday at the eighth meeting of the Steering Committee on stabilising the lives and production of people in four central coastal provinces – Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị, and Thừa Thiên – Huế, which were ravaged by environmental disaster caused by Taiwanese firm Formosa in … [Read more...] about Deadline set for environmental incident compensation

Geert Bourgeois, Minister-President of Flanders, makes a speech at the seminar. — VNS Photo Phương Thảo Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Belgium and its Flanders region are keen to cooperate with Việt Nam and the capital city of Hà Nội to strengthen global partnership in the field of urbanisation. This was said by Geert Bourgeois, Minister-President of Flanders, at a seminar held in Hà Nội on Monday. He believed the pace of urbanisation was growing significantly, especially in Asia, and that Việt Nam was no exception. The seminar was organised by Flanders Investment and Trade and the People’s Committee of Hà Nội to showcase best practices and case studies from Belgium in the urban and environmental sectors as well as strengthen cooperation between Flandersand Việt Nam in those fields. Belgium has been a global leader in environmental technology for 50 years. It is particularly known for its advanced expertise in the field of water and waste management and, more recently, … [Read more...] about Belgium to support Việt Nam in urban planning

Patients with infectious diseases are treated at the Hà Nội-based National Hospital of Tropical Diseases. The Government has launched a national action plan to prevent and control hospital infections through 2020. - VNA/VNS Photo Dương Ngọc Viet Nam News HCM CITY — Việt Nam’s national action plan for prevention and control of hospital infections between 2016 and 2020 will focus on improving effectiveness at health facilities to ensure patient and staff safety. The plan, issued yesterday at a conference held in HCM City, aims to improve policies, technical processes and professional documents. Accordingly, more than 80 per cent of hospitals in the country will have standard sterilisation units by 2020. Currently, 46.5 per cent lack the units. Software, tools and a database for a national surveillance system on control of hospital infections will be set up in 2017. More than 50 per cent of provincial-level hospitals will carry out surveillance and will … [Read more...] about Gov’t issues plan to curb infections in health centres

Khanh (left, front row) with other winners of the 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize.— Photo courtesy of GreenID Việt Nam Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — Ngụy Thị Khanh, 41, director of Việt Nam’s Green Innovation and Development Centre (GreenID), features on the newly-published list of seven winners of the 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize - the world’s largest award for grassroots environmental activists. Khanh used scientific research and engaged Vietnamese State agencies to advocate for sustainable long-term energy projections and reduction in coal power dependency in Việt Nam. Her efforts helped eliminate 115 million tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions from the country annually. The winners will be awarded the prize at an invitation-only ceremony on Monday at 5:30 pm (PT) at the San Francisco Opera House. They are also invited to attend a ceremony at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, April 25, at 7:30 pm (EDT). This year’s … [Read more...] about GreenID’s Director wins 2018 Goldman Environmental Prize

Piles of broken furniture and domestic waste have filled up along the road in a residential area in Sơn Trà District. — Photo vov.vn Viet Nam News ĐÀ NẴNG — Thousands of vacant plots of land in the central city of Đà Nẵng have become garbage dumps, online newspaper vov.vn reported. Piles of broken furniture and domestic waste have filled up along the road in a residential area in Sơn Trà District. Huỳnh Văn Việt, a local resident, said this situation has existed for more than 10 years, causing great concern to the people. “Many times, the local residents clear the garbage, but a few days later, people from other areas start dumping waste again. The area stinks of garbage throughout the day,” he said. In the wards of An Hải Đông, An Hải Bắc, Nại Hiên Đông and Phước Mỹ of Sơn Trà District and along the roads leading up to Võ Văn Kiệt, Võ Nguyên Giáp and Hà Bổng, which attract many foreigners, the vacant land has been filled with garbage and construction waste. These … [Read more...] about Garbage dumps in residential areas causing environmental pollution

Illegal exploitation of natural resources in the Central Highlands Province of Kon Tum. The issue has caused losses to the area as well as the country. — VNA/VNS Photo Viet Nam News CENTRAL HIGHLANDS — Illegal mining has caused not only losses of natural resources but also environmental problems in the Central Highlands provinces of Việt Nam. In 2011, Núi Cao Investment and Mining JSC was licensed by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to explore natural resources at Núi Cao (Cao Mount) near the National Highway No 27C in Đà Lạt City of the Central Highlands province of Lâm Đồng. With the license, Núi Cao JSC carried out 97 exploratory drills and found tin ores in Cao Mount. In March 2016, when the license granted to the company expired, the provincial authorities of Lâm Đồng asked Núi Cao JSC to move its facilities, machinery and equipment away from Cao Mount and to transfer the exploration area to Lâm Đồng Province. Since then, illegal tin miners have … [Read more...] about Illegal mining causes environmental problems in Central Highlands

Local residents catch fish on Kim Ngưu River in July, 2018. After an earlier flood, fish in city ponds followed the flow to the river. — VNA/VNS Photo Danh Lam Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI — A number of senior architects have objected to plans to build sewer system into Kim Ngưu River, one of the most polluted in the city. With seven sewers discharging household wastewater into it every kilometre, water in the 7.7km Kim Ngưu River has a black colour and smells bad. A Vietnamese construction company in August proposed a plan to revive the river by improving water quality in a 1.2km section of it, starting from Trần Khát Chân Street to the Mai Động Bridge in the city’s inner district of Hai Bà Trưng. R&D Planners suggested divided the river into two layers: the riverbed, where a system of underground sewers will be built to collect wastewater, and the surface water which retains rainwater and treated wastewater. While agreeing that improving the river’s water quality will … [Read more...] about Concerns raised of sewer plans

A view of the central coastal province of Phú Yên. VNA/VNS Photo Trọng Đạt Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI – The National Assembly yesterday agreed to remove the master plan on the development of notarisation from a law being drafted to amend planning-related laws. Those at the meeting also agreed to put the Government in charge of developing detailed regulations on the establishment and operation of notary offices, and assured the development of the notary offices complies with the Law on Planning and meets requirements of the State. Võ Thị Như Hoa from Đà Nẵng said as a notary was a special occupation, it needed to be closely monitored by the Government and its agencies. “Notarisation used to be a public service, but now private companies are also able to notarise after being empowered by the State. Such characteristic requires notaries and notary offices to be strictly supervised,” Hoa said. “There are high risks that could come from rising competition among notary offices and … [Read more...] about National Assembly discusses notarisation and urban planning

Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng chairs the teleconference with localities to review the implementation of the planning law on Monday. HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Trịnh Đình Dũng has asked ministries and agencies to fix obstacles during the implementation of the Law on Planning so that slow planning doesn’t hinder socio-economic development. He made the request at a teleconference with localities on Monday to review the implementation of the law which took effect in January. Dũng underlined the significance of the law as its covers many economic sectors and many new concepts are introduced for the first time, including the 10-year overall national planning scheme. The law is also considered an important tool to help the Government, ministries, sectors and localities set development targets and strategies, ensuring comprehensive and sustainable socio-economic development and effective and economical exploitation of resources. To implement the law effectively, the … [Read more...] about Planning Law come under scrutiny