The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) on Tuesday recognised Huế as Việt Nam's National Earth Hour Capital 2016 as part of the highly selective global Earth Hour City Challenge.

The quality of air in the capital city, Hà Nội, has consistently worsened, especially in urban areas, main transport routes and ongoing construction sites, director of the municipal Department of Natural Resources and Environment Nguyễn Ngọc Đông has said.

Overlapped and poor management among agencies has driven biodiversity in the Sơn Trà Nature Reserve into endangered situation, a biologist said in a dialogue on how to protect the red-shanked douc langur (Pygathryx nemaeus) in the Nature Reserve in Đà Nẵng city.

Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc this morning stressed the important role that the Mekong Delta plays in national development as well as the enormous challenges that faced the region, especially climate change.

The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta suffered losses worth more than VNĐ4.7 trillion (US$215 million) due to the severe and prolonged drought and saltwater intrusion last dry season, the Southwest Region Steering Committee has reported.

A 23-year-old man from HCM City’s Gò Vấp District on Tuesday (June 21) was sentenced to five years in prison and fined VNĐ50 million (US$2,242) for illegal trading wildlife.

The People’s Committee of the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai has proposed that the Prime Minister considers stopping investment in a hydro power plant at Kon Chư Răng Natural Reserve in Kbang District.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) has suspended the titan exploitation at Nam Suối Nhum mine for three months due to a reservoir collapse. 

HCM City is one of hotspots where the illegal trade and consumption of wildlife animals and plants take place on a large scale, experts have said.