Government preparing for extreme weather conditions

Since last year, Viet Nam has been severely suffering from the impacts of El Nino – likely to be the longest one in the last six decades – with nearly 40,000ha of agricultural land rendered inadequate for production due to a massive drought across the central region, Central Highlands and southern region. — VNA/VNS Photo

Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung has asked relevant agencies to bolster their preparations against extreme weather like typhoons, prolonged drought and massive floods, as they are forecast to hit Viet Nam heavily in the next five years.

The Central Steering Committee for Disaster Prevention and the National Committee for Search and Rescue (NCSR) are the two agencies in charge of managing collaboration between ministries and their provincial departments to draft responsive plans to such extreme weather.

Since last year, Viet Nam has been severely suffering from the impacts of El Nino – likely to be the longest one in the last six decades – with nearly 40,000ha of agricultural land rendered inadequate for production due to a massive drought across the central region, Central Highlands and southern region. The weather pattern also caused water shortages that affected tens of thousands of people.

El Nino was predicted to last until the end of this spring, and will possibly be followed by the La Nina phenomenon. La Nina often causes the opposite effects of El Nino, resulting in more rain and flooding as well as landslide risks.

The Prime Minister also directed the NCSR to modernise the vehicles and equipment used by rescue forces as well as promote rescue rehearsal drills and international co-operation in humanitarian aid and disaster relief.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE), meanwhile, was urged to finalise the draft plan on constructing a monitoring system for hydro-meteorology forecasting, especially for rain and floods.

MoNRE is also working on the first-ever disaster alert map on a national scale that will predict natural disaster risks like storms, flash floods, landslides or salinisation across the whole country, serving as the decision-making basis for relevant agencies to carry out preventive measures.

A map specifically on flooding caused by higher seawater levels, and another one on flood risks posed by hydroelectric reservoirs, are being developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD).

MARD and MONRE are expected to co-operate in guiding farmers on which crops and livestock to farm in accordance with the water level each locality will be able to provide.

The Prime Minister also asked MARD to quickly finish anti-drought and water supply projects while promoting the application of advanced farm sprinkling techniques that efficiently cut down on water usage.

The Viet Nam National Coal-Mineral Industries Group (Vinacomin) is tasked with reviewing the safety of coal waste dump sites, which could be seen creating piles resembling small mountains in Quang Ninh Province – the leading province of Viet Nam's coal industry.

Non-stop rains in the province last July triggered a landslide from such coal sludge mountains, burying a 94-household community in Mong Duong Ward in Cam Pha City.

Inclusive growth key to overall human development progress

An inclusive growth path – rapid, sustainable growth that leaves no one behind – is key to achieving overall progress in human development, according to the Vietnam Human Development Report 2015 released on February 5.

The report finds that at the national level, Viet Nam's performance in terms of human development has been impressive over the last 35 years but progress varied at times and has slowed down in recent years.

In the late 1980s, poor performance on the human development index – which measures aggregate achievement in terms of income, education and health – caused a gap to open up between Viet Nam and countries with similar development levels.

The index rapidly increased later and Viet Nam was a star performer from 1990-2000 but the gap was not closed. In the years since the 2008 global financial crisis, Viet Nam's performance levelled off.

The 2015 report finds that all provinces made positive progress but this was not even, with some performing much better than others. Those that did best experienced balanced development.

Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang city recorded high levels of human development comparable to Poland or Croatia. Meanwhile, poor provinces like Ha Giang and Lai Chau were estimated as having human development levels similar to Guatemala and Ghana.

The report also identifies "rising stars" such as Hau Giang, Tien Giang, Binh Phuoc, Thai Nguyen and Phu Yen provinces where development was exceptional, and "static stones" such as Ha Nam, Nghe An, Phu Tho and Ha Tinh provinces, where progress was slower.

According to the authors, to expand productive employment, Viet Nam needs to maintain macroeconomic stability, increase economic efficiency, and enhance connectivity and technological readiness as well as nurturing innovation.

To improve the education and health care systems, the country needs to improve the quality and access to pre-primary, higher education and vocational training, and undertake a comprehensive evaluation of socialisation reforms.

To renovate the social protection system, the report suggests Viet Nam secure a floor level of cover – via universal health insurance; a self-financed social insurance system; and expanded social assistance based on Life Cycle entitlements.

"Viet Nam's renewed development success rests on it building an inclusive and equitable economy – and the route to this lies in full employment based on decent jobs, and opportunity and security for all," said UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Pratibha Mehta.

She noted the need to focus both on the poor and the vulnerable lower middle income group - whose incomes are not substantially above the poverty line, who typically work in informal jobs, are urban migrants or small scale farmers.

"Their opportunities for advancement and protections are limited. They are also underutilised, their inclusion and productivity is vital to Viet Nam's development success," she said.

Ben Thanh to become safe-food market

People in Ho Chi Minh City can now express relief over food safety since two main markets will be turned into safe-food suppliers under a pilot project.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade has implemented a pilot project on safe-food markets in 2016-20, in which Ben Thanh Market in District 1 – one of the two major markets of the municipality– will be transformed into model markets.

Along with Ben Thanh Market, Hoc Mon Produce Wholesale Market in Hoc Mon District is the other marketplace to be turned into a similar model this year.

According to the project, safe-food markets are built to meet food safety requirements, focusing on farming products’ origin and their quality.

The safe-food model will be applied to food service as well as the trade of certain farming produce, including vegetables, pork, and more.

Based on the results achieved by the two model markets, 12 other marketplaces in Ho Chi Minh City will follow suit in 2017-20.

After 2020, the model is expected to be applied to all markets in the city.

Situated right in the heart of the metropolis, Ben Thanh Market, characterized by a traditional trading atmosphere, is an attraction popular with tourists seeking local handicrafts, textiles, ao dai(Vietnam’s traditional long gown), souvenirs, and local cuisine.

An Giang needs 10 resettlement areas

The Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta province of An Giang's People's Committee has asked the government to support construction of 10 resettlement areas from 2015 to 2020, according to Ho Viet Hiep, the vice chairman of the People's Committee.

The areas are expected to provide accommodation for 3,000 families living in flood- and landslide-prone spots in the districts of Tan Chau and Chau Phong.

"I love you"

Most schools in Ha Noi are now applying information technology in sending messages to parents' mobile phones to inform them about their children's performance at school regarding studying, tests or mistakes in the day.

The messages are sent by the teacher of each class or school managing board.

One day as usual, the managing board of a school sent a message to all students' parents to announce that the students would be off the next day.

The message was: "School managing board: I love you." Most parents were shocked at that massage while students thought that one male teacher was flirting with a student's mother and he used the computer of the school to send a message to her mobile phone.

Fortunately, after five minutes, all parents received another message from the school managing board to say sorry to parents because there was trouble with the computer's technology.

Programme 135 targets nearly 2,300 disadvantaged communes

The Prime Minister has agreed to add 2,275 disadvantaged villages in 48 provinces and cities nationwide to the investment list for Programme 135 in the 2016-2020 period.

Of those, 2,240 will receive investment sourced from the State budget, while the other 35 in Quang Ninh, Hanoi, Khanh Hoa and Ba Ria – Vung Tau will be subsidised from local budgets.

The most disadvantaged communes are in Cao Bang, Ha Giang, Lao Cai, Thanh Hoa, Lang Son, Son La and Dien Bien.

In 2015, 80 communes from 23 provinces and cities were recognised as having fulfilled targets of the programme. They included 12 each from Binh Phuoc and Thai Nguyen, eight from Soc Trang, and seven each from Lao Cai and Tra Vinh.

The programme invested in nearly 6,000 extremely disadvantaged areas including border communes and extremely disadvantaged hamlets, with total funding of nearly 7.8 trillion VND (347.77 million USD).

The Government’s Programme 135, launched in 1999 under the Prime Minister’s Decision 135/1998/QD-TTg on July 31, 1998, aims to improve living conditions for rural residents with a particular focus on ethnic minority communities.

Dak Nong to connect all remote areas to national power grid by 2020

The Central Highlands province of Dak Nong aims to connect all local communes and households to the national power grid by 2020.

To realise this goal, the province is carrying out a power supply project targeting dozens of thousands of rural households from 2014-2020 at a total cost of over 771 billion VND (34.42 million USD).

As of the end of 2015, over 135,000 households in 771 villages have enjoyed national power coverage, accounting for approximate 94 percent of the local population.

Last year, the Dak Nong Electricity Company in cooperation with local relevant bodies invested over 100 billion VND (4.46 million USD) in building and upgrading nearly 100 facilities and works serving the development of the local rural electricity network.

The local sector also focused on developing a comprehensive electricity transmission infrastructure system in a bid to enhance the effectiveness of the network, especially in the remote, border, far-flung and ethnic minority areas.

Mekong Delta: Work on major bridges halfway done

The construction of Cao Lanh and Vam Cong bridges in the Mekong Delta provinces of Dong Thap and Can Tho have completed more than 60 percent of the total workload.

The Cao Lanh Bridge spanning Tien River in Dong Thap province and the Vam Cong Bridge spanning Hau River to connect Can Tho city with Dong Thap are local major transport infrastructure projects, which will be open to traffic in early September next year.

Cao Lanh is 2 kilometres in length, while Vam Cong is longer, at almost 3 kilometres. Both bridges are capable of accommodating four lanes of mechanised vehicles and two lanes of rudimentary vehicles. Once the bridges become operational, traffic will be allowed to travel at a designed speed of 80 kilometres per hour.

The Cao Lanh Bridge is being built at a total cost of 145 million USD, partly sourced from the Australian Government’s non-refundable fund and through a loan from the Asian Development Bank.

The construction of the Vam Cong Bridge, meanwhile, will cost more than 270 million USD, mainly covered by the Republic of Korea’s official development assistance.

Landslides threaten riverside houses in Quang Ngai

Dozens of households located along Tra Bong River in the central Quang Ngai Province are facing the risk of sudden landslides.

For the last ten days, dangerous landslides have been occurring south of the river in Binh Thoi Commune in Binh Son District, threatening the lives of the people living in 13 households. They do not know when their houses will be swept away.

According to the local authority, the area being affected by landslides is about 20km long, where a new road now has a 5m-diameter hole.

Duong Thi Loi, a resident of the commune, said while it has not rained heavily in the area in the last few days, riverside landslides had, strangely, still occurred.

Loi said her house was located 4m away from the river bank.

The local residents have been asked to prepare for evacuation, while vehicles have been banned from travelling through the area.

The local authority has examined and reinforced embankments along the rivers to reduce the risk of landslides.

Thousands of households located in mountainous or riverside areas of Quang Ngai Province are located in the path of potential landslides, the risk of which rises during the flood season.

Late last year, the province identified about 130 landslide-prone areas along 160km of local rivers in the districts of Tra Bong, Tra Khuc, Song Ve and Tra Cau.

The province has been planning for years to build resettlement areas for residents living in landslide-prone areas.

However, many residents have refused to move and build new houses because of moderate support from the state.

Unlicenced herbal medicine gives infants lead poisoning

Doctors at Ha Noi's Central Paediatrics Hospital treated multiple cases of lead poisoning in infants over the past week caused by unlicenced herbal medication.

Parents of the two children, who were 1 and 6 months old, bought powdered medicinal herbs from unlicenced manufacturers with the hope their babies would grow quickly and gain weight.

The common powdered medicine, usually called thuoc cam, uses components from many medicinal plants and herbal combinations. Vietnamese grandmothers and mothers often say it will help infants eat well and gain weight. In the countryside it is advertised as a "miracle medicine" that could cure ulcers, furry tongues, inflammation and diarrhea in infants.

Doctor Ta Anh Tuan, head of the Central Paediatrics Hospital's Emergency Faculty, said the centre's doctors were treating two serious lead poisoning cases. Dinh Phuong My, a 6-month-old girl, was hospitalised on January 27 after coming from Bac Giang Province's Hiep Hoa District, 80km from Ha Noi.

According to the family, My's grandmother used homemade herbal medicine to clean the baby's furry tongue. Two days later, the baby suddenly turned pale. Her left eye and hands began to twitch. She was rushed to a local private hospital, then Bac Giang Paediatrics and Obstetrics Hospital. There, doctors performed an endotracheal intubation and then quickly moved her to Ha Noi for treatment.

Doctor Ta Anh Tuan said a blood test showed the baby had lead poisoning.

Another mother fed her 1-month-old son Tran Duy Hung dissolved herbal medicine in water three times a day. The baby's weight increased 1.3kg in the first month. On January 19, the baby refused to suckle, and then had a convulsive fit. Doctors found he had caught pneumonia and meningitis due to the lead poisoning.

Doctor Ta Anh Tuan said these two children weren't the first to be poisoned by this type of herbal medicine.

When the lead caused severe neurological manifestations in children, it could result in mental retardation, seizures, blindness and permanent paralysis, Tuan warned.

To prevent lead poisoning, parents should not buy and use unlicenced herbal medicine.

"Ensuring the safety of children's lives starts from the consciousness of the family," Tuan said.

Loopholes in law create more urban construction violations

The remaining loopholes in regulations on urban construction management have resulted in a variety of unsolvable issues in dealing with illegal construction in Ha Noi, inspection officials have said.

Pham Van Loi, Head of Cau Giay District's Construction Supervision Division, said on Monday some investors are unwilling to cooperate with authorities and fail to submit required documents, particularly the construction licence, and thus it is hard for authorities to conclude whether the project is being implemented in accordance with the guidelines.

Loi took a construction project on Cau Giay Street as an example to prove that there should be measures to force the investors to provide all of their project documents to the authorities before it begins construction.

The official said that the project on Cau Giay Street had violated construction law by building three more stories than the allowance.

Despite being asked many times to send all of the documents, including the construction licence, to the authorities since mid-2013, the project's investors defied the requests and finally sent them last October.

Without the licence, authorities could not follow the progress of the project, and thus failed to detect violations, said Loi.

The investors were eventually imposed an administrative fine of VND80 million (US$3,600).

The authorities should have imposed stricter punishments such as suspending the project by cutting the electricity and water as well as preventing material transportation and halting workers from accessing the site, said Loi.

That was only one of many others cases, including the projects of 8B Le Truc, 88 Lang Ha, 250 Minh Khai, CT36 Tower in 326 Le Trong Tan, Dai Thanh and 38 Tran Thai Tong, all of which were found in violation of the regulations by exceeding the permitted height, misusing public space, constructing without a licence or making unauthorised changes and additions to the projects' original plans, the Tin Tuc (News) newspaper reported.

However, the authority is not permitted to suspend projects as punishment for investors' failure to cooperate with inspection agencies. Construction is suspended only when violations are found, said Loi.

"Administrative punishment alone is insufficient in preventing violations," Loi said. "The investors would rather pay fines to continue the construction work rather than send the project documents to the authority."

"When the authorities are given the right to suspend the construction work, the investors will have to cooperate with them and hand in project documents."

The Ha Noi Department of Construction asked the construction supervision division to collaborate with local authorities to handle the violations promptly and in accordance with law, a representative of the department said.

The department also asked the construction inspectorate to make regular project inspections. If any violations are found, the agencies must report it to the district authority to promptly handle the situation, he said.

Do Hieu Liem - a successful farmer in Tien Giang

At the age of 70, Do Hieu Liem of Tien Giang province owns a farm that combines fish ponds and orchards, earning him approximately US$50,000 annually.

Do Hieu Liem has been selected as a role model in Tien Giang province’s production emulation campaign.

After raising cattle on his limited farmland, Do Hieu Liem of Phu Kiet commune, Cho Gao district, switched to fish farming in combination with growing fruit trees.

With some initial success, Liem expanded his fish farm and orchards of apple, longan, and pomelo trees. Liem’s production model has proved effective thanks to smart application of the latest advanced production technologies.

Liem was the only farmer from Tien Giang province selected to take part in a national conference honoring excellent production models last year.

"I use a model of integrating home garden, orchards, livestock, and fishpond, which has proved effective. This model requires farmers to use advanced technologies and promptly address problems that arise. For example, we have to find a treatment for the fish as soon as we detect the smallest signs of unhealthy fish," he shared.

Liem’s goramy fish farm and orchards of pomelo and aromatic coconut trees earned him strong revenues every year. Liem’s production model  provides a role model for other local households to follow.

Now well-off himself, Liem spares no effort to help others increase their revenues. As head of the communal Fish Association, Liem shares his knowhow to help others become more productive.

Every year, Liem donates US$2,500 to help the association’s disadvantaged members buy better breeds and develop their productions.

Bui Van Cuc, deputy chairman of the Phu Kiet communal Farmers’ Association, said, "Do Hieu Liem has contributed his experience, labor, land, and money to every communal activity and to help other farmers become better off. His production model has developed strongly over the past few years and is a role model for other local households to follow."

Do Hieu Liem said he wants to do more to help his commune fulfill the national new rural development program’s 19 criteria.

"Farmers like us have our own ways to contribute to national development. We always try to do our best in our farm work and to help our commune fulfill all 19 criteria of the national new rural development program," he stressed.

VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri