Minister of MONRE Tran Hong Ha has signed the decision to announce 10 most environmental highlights in 2016. To many surprise, the mass fish deaths in the four central provinces, an unprecedented scandal, is not found in the list.

The absence of the event in the list has stirred up the public as no one can understand how ‘one of the most severe environmental disasters in Vietnam’s history’ can be ‘forgotten’. Tons of fish died and the central coast only got clean again after many months due to the untreated waste water from the Formosa Ha Tinh steel complex.

Deputy Minister of MONRE Chu Pham Ngoc Hien told VietNamNet that he thinks the mass fish deaths need to be listed among the most outstanding events of the year. However, the final decision was made by the Emulation and Reward Council.

The representative of the Emulation and Reward Council also said the council considered the events based on many criteria: they must be of great public interest and must have positive effects on society.

In the case of the Formosa scandal, the finding of the causes and the campaigns to handle the consequences were the results of the joint efforts of many ministries and branches, not only MONRE. Therefore, it would be unreasonable to count it as an achievement of MONRE.

Minister of MONRE Tran Hong Ha has signed the decision to announce 10 most environmental highlights in 2016. To many surprise, the mass fish deaths in the four central provinces, an unprecedented scandal, is not found in the list.

The other most outstanding events include action programs, government policies and urgent measures to protect the environment.

The ministry also mentioned Vietnam participation’s in the Global Green Growth Forum (No 5), the signing and ratification of the Paris Agreement on climate change, and the issuance of an implementation plan for this deal (No 7), the discovery of copper and uranium ore in Dak Ruong commune of Kon Plong district (No 8) and the completion of a set of maps of the Vietnam-Laos border (No 9).

Meanwhile, Tin Nhanh Moi Truong and environment journalists named the 10 most outstanding events as follows:

1.Vietnam has for the first time a factory to recycle waste tires
2.Formosa discharged untreated waste water causing tragic environmental pollution on the central coast
3.Vietnam-US released joint communiqué about fight against climate change
4.An accident occurred in Binh Thuan province, titanium sludge dyed the sea red
5.Hue City was honored as ‘national green city’
6.The VND10 trillion anti-flood project in HCMC kicked off
7. Da Phuoc Landfill created bad odor to the southern part of Saigon.
8.87 new species have been discovered
9.MOH denied the existence of 10 "cancer villages"
10.The central region suffered heavy floods

Nam Chi