Pirate gold mining threatens livelihoods

Illegal gold mining in Pi Toong Commune is causing pollution in the northern province of Son La's Muong La District, and using up water resources necessary for local agriculture.

The lack of water for rice fields was threatening the livelihoods of many families in villages close to the mining area.

Witnesses said that more than 10 teams of gold miners were working illegally along Toong Stream, which runs through Lua, Hua Na and Na Phia villages in Pi Toong Commune.

Each mining team included about four or five people who used rudimentary tools, such as soil picks, shovels and sieves to search for gold, while some have moved in excavators and pumps.

One resident said the miners were residents who had taken to gold mining because they were unemployed, setting up tent accommodation around their activities.  

In fact, illegal gold mining has put people in 90 households in Lua Village out of work because water supplies necessary for agricultural production have became exhausted.

The village's rice field used to be the biggest in the commune and in Muong La District, but this year its land was barren and dry.

The main water source for the field, the Toong Stream, is running low and muddy.

Head of the village Lo Van An said the stream was exhausted due to water running into holes being dug by miners, several metres deep.

They then pump out the water which had been mixed with mud, thus making the water in Toong Stream polluted and unusable, he said.

"Local residents' lives mostly depends on the rice field, and they cannot produce without water. Except for those living along the Toong Stream, who have an income from gold mining, the remainder did not have a job," An said.

Meanwhile, Pi Toong People's Committee chairman Quang Van Tam said local authorities had confiscated residents' machines and tools used for gold mining, but they replaced them.

Tam said the commune also could impose a fine of VND2 million ($95) which wasn't strict enough, he said.

Muong La District's Division of Natural Resources and Environment head Phan Tien Dien said the district had set up an inspection team to deal with illegal gold mining in the commune, but it had not been effective as residents warned each other to stop work when the inspectors came.

Solutions sought for energy security

Viet Nam is looking for solutions to ensure energy security after scientists warned that climate change would have strong impacts on energy demand and supply in the country.

Nguyen Ba Cuong, deputy head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade's Institute of Energy, said at a workshop yesterday that climate change impacts could cause an increase in demand for energy.

Then the level of dependence on imported energy would increase, Cuong said. A dependency on imported coal to generate electricity would increase more and more, he said.

It was forecast the country would have to import about 130-140 million tonnes of coal per year to generate electricity by 2030, he said.

"It will even result in a suspension of supplying energy safely and stably for a long time in the country," he said.

Viet Nam had taken initial steps to set up a system for energy security but there was no clear sign of diversification of energy supply in the country, he said.

Dang Quang Thinh, a representative from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said climate change, with unusual and heavy rains, had already affected the operation of hydro-power plants, as well as oil rigs in the coastal areas and the transportation of oil and gas.

"Identifying climate change impacts on hydro-power plants, electric power systems and the mining-and-using coal system is imperative to setting up a system for energy security," said Nguyen Duc Cuong, director of the institute's Centre for Renewable Energy and Clean Development Mechanism.

Also yesterday, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment held a workshop to hear comments and suggestions from foreign partners on a national draft plan to cope with climate change.

According to scientists, climate change would cause rising sea levels, rising temperatures, changing rainfalls and growing frequencies and intensities of extreme weather conditions. Viet Nam was one of countries to be hardest hit by climate change.

A climate-change adaptation plan for seven coastal provinces in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta will aim to improve the lives of the region's 9.07 million residents by ensuring sustainable development.

The Southern Institute for Water Resources Planning, which drew up the plan, has given priority to nine projects, including the building of sluice gates to prevent salt-water intrusion, the upgrading of sea dykes and the development of fresh-water sources and sustainable shrimp cultivation.

The plan will be carried out in Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau and Kien Giang provinces, which account for more than half of the Delta's population.

This plan, which covers a total area of 24,631 sq. km, also calls for developing new salt-resistant rice varieties and setting up warning systems about early floods and saline water intrusion.

The Japan International Co-operation Agency helped the institute develop the plan, which was announced at a seminar organised by the agency and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Can Tho City on Monday (Jan 28).

The Delta is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The temperature is predicted to increase by 0.2-0.3 degrees Celsius and sea water by 8-9 cm every 10 years, reducing the Delta's rice output by 10 per cent in the winter-spring crop by 2030 and by 15 per cent in the winter-spring crop by 2050, according to the institute.

The rainfall is expected to increase by 0.4-0.6 per cent every 10 years, causing a decline in output of other crops in the rainy season.

Rice and fruit will be the most affected by saltwater intrusion.

Serepok River sees mass fish die-off

The Serepok River in the Central Highlands provinces of Dak Lak and Dak Nong has witnessed a mass die-off of fish in the past two days. Hundreds of local residents flocked to the river to gather the dead fish for sale. The fish included species of carp and catfish.

Pollution from nearby industrial zones have been blamed for the catastrophe. The Dak Nong People's Committee has already levied a fine of VND225 million (US$10,700) against a company in the Tam Thang Industrial Zone in Cu Jut District for discharging waste into the river.

Police catch polluter in Quang Nam

Quang Nam central Province's Environmental Police have caught red-handed an animal food production unit discharging untreated waste water directly into the Bau Nit River in Dien Ban District.

The waste water contains hydrochloric (HCl) acid - used for cleaning shrimp shells and heads - which has caused a foul smell and polluted river water for a long period of time, according to local police.

At the scene, authorities found a sewage pipe line running three metres underground that discharged around 176 cubic metres of untreated waste water into the river each day. Authorities have collected water samples for analysis.

The unit, named Long Dinh Tien, has been in operation since 2009.

The case was the first ever reported instance of waste water being discharged into the province's river.

Hotline launched to report illegal mining

A hotline to report any illegal exploitation, transportation, processing and consumption of coal has recently been launched by the People's Committee of northeastern Quang Ninh Province.
Customers can report cases via mobile on 0915280628.

According to the report of the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the police closed illegal coal mines in the districts of Dong Trieu, Hoanh Bo, and Ha Long last year. They also confiscated 10,972 tonnes of coal being illegally exploited.

Source: VNS