The National Assembly (NA) Standing Committee postponed a vote on a proposal made by the Finance Ministry to hike the environmental protection tax yesterday, urging serious consideration of its economic impacts.

The central province, in co-operation with the Centre of Biodiversity Conservation, GreenViet, began an urgent conservation project for two herds of gray-shanked douc langurs (pygathrix cinerea) in a forest of Núi Thành District’s Tam Mỹ Tây Commune.

In recent times, it seems that the spring tree planting ceremony has been made unnecessarily pompous with the richness of its original meaning having been lost to many.

Statistics from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam (GSO) showed that the mining industry has posted a record slump since 2011, with the growth rate dropping by 7.1 per cent in 2017 and 4 per cent in 2016.

Recent rapid construction of more than 20 hotels and resorts in Sơn Trà Nature Reserve.is threatening the survival of highly endangered langurs and other wildlife. Human activities, such as illegal logging and hunting, also continue to badly affect the lives of the primates and wildlife in the reserve.

Under the theme “Creating new dynamism, fostering a shared future”, APEC members are committed to strengthening co-operation and taking joint actions to foster regional economic linkages and growth for a dynamic, inter-connected and prosperous APEC community and promote an Asia-Pacific partnership for inclusive and sustainable development, said a joint statement issued by the 29th APEC Ministerial Meeting.

A move by the northern province of Bắc Giang’s administration to lease 1877ha of forest land to a State-owned forestry company with a track record of violations and mismanagement has evoked strong protests from local residents.

Việt Nam needs to implement policies of climate change mitigation in an inclusive and comprehensive way. Of that, mitigation actions might benefit the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people, experts have said.

The National Assembly Committee on Science, Technology and Environment held the 6^th plenary meeting yesterday to review and discuss amendments made to Law on Fisheries (revised) and the Law on Forest Protection and Development (revised)

 The Communist Party and the government of Việt Nam have for long realised that climate change and its devastating consequences are not just a scientific forecast but already a reality and they are aware one of the country’s key tasks is to protect its natural forests.