Swartkops river pollution

Northern Helicopter Company, run by Vietnam Helicopter Corporation, has inaugurated its new "Song Hong (Red River) HeliTour," granting visitors a rare glimpse of Hanoi’s water artery, company director Nguyen Nhat Huyen said on Tuesday. The river originates in China’s Yunnan Province, dissecting Hanoi and several provinces in northern Vietnam before hitting the Gulf of Tonkin. With numerous tributaries, the Red River Delta encompasses a major agricultural area mainly devoted to rice, infamous for experiencing violent floods and seasonal fluctuations. The tour, featuring the U.S.-made Bell-505 helicopter, will lift-off from Gia Lam airfield, 15 minutes from downtown Hanoi, and cross major attractions including Long Bien Bridge, Nhat Tan Bridge, Co Loa ancient citadel and Bat Trang pottery village. A floating repose. Photo by Shutterstock/Ha Anh. The tour kicks off several months after the company launched its successful Ha Long equivalent in May, allowing … [Read more...] about New heli-ride rotates perspective on Hanoi Red River

Northern Helicopter Company, run by Vietnam Helicopter Corporation, has inaugurated its new "Song Hong (Red River) HeliTour," granting visitors a rare glimpse of Hanoi’s water artery, company director Nguyen Nhat Huyen said on Tuesday. The river originates in China’s Yunnan Province, dissecting Hanoi and several provinces in northern Vietnam before hitting the Gulf of Tonkin. With numerous tributaries, the Red River Delta encompasses a major agricultural area mainly devoted to rice, infamous for experiencing violent floods and seasonal fluctuations. The tour, featuring the U.S.-made Bell-505 helicopter, will lift-off from Gia Lam airfield, 15 minutes from downtown Hanoi, and cross major attractions including Long Bien Bridge, Nhat Tan Bridge, Co Loa ancient citadel and Bat Trang pottery village. The service is available daily, serving tourists from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. at VND3.5 million ($151) per person. A floating repose. Photo by Shutterstock/Ha Anh. The tour kicks off … [Read more...] about New heli-ride rotates perspective on Red River

IUCN Acting Country Representative Jake Brunner speaks at the workshop (Photo: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – A workshop was held in Hanoi on December 10 with a focus on national guidance for identifying plastic pollution hotspots and working out solutions. The event, organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the French Institute of Research for Development (IRD), was part of a project on building a network for monitoring plastics and plastics’ appearance in society and the environment (COMPOSE) and another named Marine Plastics and Coastal Communities (MARPLASTICCs). In his speech, IUCN Acting Country Representative Jake Brunner said the recent issuance of the national action plan on plastic waste management is an important stride of Vietnam.  However, he noted, numerous challenges are still lying ahead since plastic pollution is a problem relating to production, consumption and waste management that needs to be addressed thoroughly. IRD … [Read more...] about Workshop provides guidance for identifying plastic pollution hotspots

The Building Resilience Drought Southeast Asia dialogue held in Can Tho city on December 10 (Photo: VNA) Can Tho (VNS/VNA) - ASEAN-member countries have vowed to take immediate action to resolve problems caused by worsening drought in Southeast Asia, especially in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta region, which is especially susceptible to global warming. Speaking at a meeting on December 10 in Can Tho, Intani Nur Kusuma, senior officer at the Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Division of the ASEAN Secretariat, said that a declaration on drought would be adopted by leaders at the ASEAN Summit to be held in Vietnam in November next year. ASEAN has worked closely with relevant sectors to help the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management draft the declaration, she said, adding that drought-related activities need to be integrated into the future action plan of ASEAN. To mitigate the impact, drought risk assessment and early-warning services should be improved … [Read more...] about ASEAN to take immediate steps to combat drought

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, home to 20 million people and a major rice producer, will see a 30-45 percent decrease in water flow between now and February 2020, according to the National Center for Hydrometeorological Forecasting. The center said on Tuesday that drought and saltwater intrusion from the sea in the region in the next few months could be as devastating as in 2016, the delta's worst drought since data was first available in 1926. It had caused losses worth VND8.9 trillion ($400 million). The prolonged drought, caused by El Nino, saw more than 400,000 families suffer from lack of water and destroyed 250,000 hectares of rice, 130,000 hectares of cash crops and 30,000 hectares of fruits. The center's data shows that between June and October this year rainfall in the upper Mekong region was 35-40 percent less than normal. As a result the water level in the upper part of the Mekong is now about 0.4-0.7 meters lower than normal. To cope with the situation, the Ministry of … [Read more...] about Mekong Delta set to grapple with devastating water shortage