74 collectives and individuals honoured for environmental protection

A ceremony to honour domestic and foreign collectives and individuals that have gained significant achievements in environmental protection was held in Hanoi yesterday by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE).

National Assembly Vice Chairman Uong Chu Luu and Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen attended the event which was part of the third National Conference on the Environment in Hanoi from November 17-18.

In recent years, environmental protection projects have been widely deployed in localities across the country and raising public awareness of environmental protection has become one of the MoNRE’s key activities.

In the past ten years, the MoNRE has also acknowledged and honoured more than 200 collectives and individuals that have shown initiative and contributed scientific research with practical applications to reduce environmental pollution in industrial zones and rural areas to improve the quality of life in communities. This year, 74 exemplary groups and individuals were awarded trophies and certificates of merit for outstanding contributions and research that has been effective in helping to protect the environment.

Government leader receives German, Bulgarian guests

Vietnam is willing to create more favourable conditions for companies from Germany and the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, to invest in the country and create practical benefits for both sides.

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung made this commitment on November 19 while receiving Baden-Wurttemberg’s Governor Stefan Mappus, who is leading a business delegation on a visit to Vietnam.

The government leader said Baden-Wurttemberg is one of the fastest growing states in Germany and its strengths are in industry, education, training, science and technology, all fields in which Vietnam needs cooperative ties.

Having thanked Baden-Wurttemberg for its participation in the Vietnam-Germany University project, PM Dung urged the state to continue funding school construction and granting scholarships to Vietnamese students to study in Germany.

The PM also asked for the state’s government to create better conditions for overseas Vietnamese so they could enjoy a stable living and integrate smoothly into the community.

He also noted with pleasure that the friendship and multifaceted co-operation between the two nations in all spheres are increasing at both local and national levels.

Mappus said businesses from Baden-Wurttemberg want to step up co-operation with Vietnamese partners to develop and strengthen friendly relations between the two countries as well as between the German state and Vietnamese provinces.

Also on November 19, PM Dung hosted a reception for the outgoing Bulgarian Ambassador to Vietnam, Georghi Vasilev, during which he spoke highly of the diplomat’s contributions to enhancing the traditional co-operation and friendship between Vietnam and Bulgaria.

Vietnam hopes to join hands with Bulgaria to further promote bilateral co-operation in all fields, particularly economics, trade, investment, education and culture, the PM said.

Vasilev thanked PM Dung and the Vietnamese Government for their support during his term of office and congratulated Vietnam on its achievements in recent years.

The ambassador also highly valued the fine development of bilateral relations between the two countries, noting that both sides are speeding up the implementation of previously signed agreements.

Vietnam recognised as high biodiversity nation

Vietnam has been recognised as a nation with high biodiversity and is one of the countries on the list of priorities for global conservation, said Dr. Pham Anh Cuong, Deputy Director of the Biodiversity Conservation Department, at an international symposium on biodiversity in Hanoi on November 17.

The diversity of terrains, ecosystems, and climate creates the diversity in the overall ecosystem,and among species and gene pools in Vietnam, he said.

Participants at the symposium agreed that to strengthen biodiversity conservation in the 2011-2015 period, authorised agencies should complete a legal framework for the action plan and create a national strategy for biodiversity conservation up to 2020.

The experts also emphasized the need to boost international cooperation in the field through technical assistance, technological transfer and sharing information.

In its terrestrial ecosystem, Vietnam has identified over 13,200 species of flora and more than 10,000 species of fauna, and more than 3,000 species of organisms have been found in freshwater lakes and rivers.

The country’s ocean territory comprises 20 specialised ecosystems providing an environment for over 11,000 species of marine creatures.

PV