Long-tailed monkeys returned to wild

Seventy long-tailed macaques were yesterday returned to Ba Mun island in Bai Tu Long National Park, located in the northeastern province of Quang Ninh.

The animals were rescued from an illegal trafficking ring in the central province of Phu Yen in 2010 and kept in the Ha Noi's Wild Animal Rescue Centre.

Scientifically known as Macaca fascicularis, the monkeys are an endangered species, under legal protection from exploitation and commercial use.

Inspection teams to check water reservoirs

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development plans to set up five inspection teams to check on the safety of water reservoirs in 23 cities and provinces nationwide.

The checks will evaluate water purity and implementation of regulations related to water reservoirs, as well as gather opinions from local authorities on water reservoir management.

The inspections will focus on central and southern provinces such as Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, Thua Thien – Hue, Ninh Thuan, and Ba Ria – Vung Tau.

Customs officers sieze smuggled pangolin

Customs officials in the northern port city of Hai Phong seized 6.2 tonnes of illegally smuggled pangolin into the country on Monday.

The endangered animals were kept in a 40-feet container that had been transported from Indonesia to the port of Hai Phong.

The seized pangolin species are listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

Since the beginning of this year, 1.3 tonnes of pangolin scales and 10.6 tonnes of pangolin meat have been seized by customs in Hai Phong.

KOICA supports Vietnam in waste recycling

The Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Hanoi University of Technology (HUT) on August 14 signed a project on strengthening the HUT’s research capacity in waste recycling technology.

Accordingly, the Republic of Korea (RoK) Government will provide through the KOICA 1.5 million USD in non-refundable aid to Vietnam in the 2013-15 period to build a recycling technology development centre completed with research and analytical equipment.

In addition, the agency will also transfer waste recycling technology to Vietnam .

Vietnam has set the target of recycling 85 percent of solid waste under the national environmental protection strategy by 2020 with a vision to 2030.

National clean water programme in Thai Nguyen reviewed

As many as 79 percent of residents in rural areas in northern Thai Nguyen province have got access to clean water and 94 percent of schools have installed clean water systems and standard latrines.

The results were reported to officials from the National Target Programme on Clean Water and Rural Environment Sanitation and foreign consultants who came to Thai Nguyen on August 13 to examine how the locality brings safe water to its people under the Target Programme.

Since its implementation in 2012, Thai Nguyen has put into use two systems of running water, serving 8,000 residents in Dai Tu district.

It is building four similar facilities and planning the construction of four others in the districts of Pho Yen, Phu Binh, Dai Tu, and Phu Luong.

The officials have, however, figured out that many grassroots administrations failed to work closely with relevant agencies in implementing and managing the programme properly, threatening the quality of the built facilities.

Committed to addressing the issue, the local authorities have also expressed their wish to continue implementing the Target Programment and taking part in other national pilot programmes on clean water and environmental sanitation.