The central province plans to allocate a fund of VNĐ100 billion (US$4.4 million) to restore a 100ha forest as a safe habitat for a herd of gray-shanked douc langurs (pygathrix cinerea) living in Đồng Cổ Village, Tam Mỹ Tây Commune of Núi Thành district in 2019-28.

Fewer new pollution hotspots have been found in Việt Nam in the past few years, but vigilance is needed to control potential risks, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Việt Nam Environment Administration has said.

Water in the Nhuệ and Đáy rivers in the northern province of Hà Nam is heavily polluted, according to the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

Việt Nam is one of Asia’s five worst polluters of ocean plastic waste, according to international organisations. With 13 million tonnes of waste released to the ocean every year, the country ranks 17^th in the world for ocean plastic waste pollution.

Forestry agencies in upland areas across the country have been told to closely monitor the risk of fires as risks reach critical levels.

With the development potential of renewable energy, coupled with the Government’s preferential policies, Việt Nam has drawn the attention of both domestic and foreign investors in the clean energy field, which is expected to grow quickly in the coming years.

HCM City targets reducing the volume of plastic bags used at supermarkets and business centres by 65 per cent, and at traditional markets by 50 per cent compared with 2010.

Authorities in the Mekong Delta are bracing for the dry season and the resultant saltwater intrusion from the sea in rivers.

The management board of the Cham Islands Marine Protected Area has released a rare sea turtle that was accidentally caught by a local fisherman back into its natural habitat.