Social News 6/7 Five children drown in Bac Giang Province   Photos of the children who drowned in a tragic incident in Bac Giang. Five children in the northern province of Bac Giang died in a local river on July 4. Local authorities in Hiep Hoa District told DTiNews that the accident occurred at 4pm when the five children, all 12 years old, drowned when taking a swim while tending buffalo near a local river. Relatives mourned the five children who died while swimming on a river in Bac Giang Province on July 4 Rescuers were unable to arrive on time and the bodies of the five students were recovered later in the afternoon. Many children continue to drown in Vietnam, especially during summer holiday. On April 15, nine 12 year-old pupils drowned while swimming in the Tra Khuc River in the central province of Quang Ngai. While on May 4, four girls aged 13 and 14 drowned while bathing on a beach in Van Ninh District, Khanh Hoa Province. Three pupils drowned at a beach in Hai Hau District, Nam Dinh Province on May 10. Official figures show that more than 6,000 children drown every year in Vietnam, and the number has actually increased in recent years. According to the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the number of children drowning in Vietnam is 10 times higher than in other developing countries. While the country has 3,260 kilometres of coast and innumerable rivers and canals, the government has long been criticised for failing to get schools to include swimming as part of the standard curriculum. Indian women super bikers to arrive in HCMC The Biking Queens, a group of four women super bikers, last Saturday arrived in HCMC, a destination in an All Women 10 Nation Ride to ASEAN and South Asia to promote Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi’s initiative/campaign “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” (Save Girl Child, Educate Girl Child). This motorcycle journey is led by Dr. Sarika Mehta, a popular adventure enthusiast and one of the most accomplished Indian women super-bike riders covering Nepal, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore. Other members are Khyati N. Desai, Yugma J. Desai and Durriya M. Tapia. Their journey aims to spread the message of women empowerment and girl education. During a meeting upon their arrival, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Bich, standing vice chairwoman of the Vietnam Women Association in HCMC and the group’s members exchanged views on capacity building, welfare, supportive measures for women, and important roles of women in families, societies and economic upliftment of the two countries. The Biking Queens arrived in town after covering a journey of 570km from the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai. They left India on June 4 and headed for Nepal, then Bhutan and Laos. They will arrive in Singapore, the last leg of their journey, on July 13. They have travelled more than 6,000 km of the total 12,000 km. In Vietnam, they would cover a distance of 1,500 km. Vietnamese photographer wins silver at French contest Px3 Local photographer Tran Viet Van has won a silver medal in the category “Professional Press, Travel/Tourism” of the 10th “Prix de la Photographie, Paris” (Px3), or Paris Photography Awards, according to results announced on the competition website’s px3.fr. Van’s winning photo “Praying Ceremony” was taken in India during his trip earlier this year. “The Ganges in Varanasi City is India’s holiest river, considered a source of spiritual purification for devout Hindus. The praying ceremony that attracted thousands of onlookers took place in the morning and evening daily,” Van describes the photo on Px3’s website. The photographer has won one gold, two silver, four bronze medals, and eight honorable mentions awards in different categories of the annual Px3 contest. According to Px3, Van is working as a reporter for Lao Dong newspaper. He has held nine solo exhibitions and joined many group exhibitions in the U.S., UK, France, Spain, Uruguay, Argentina, Singapore and launched four photo books, including “Dharma and Life”. He is also the first and only Vietnamese photographer to have a portfolio collected by New York-based Win-Initiative and the first and only Vietnamese photographer that has won awards at the Px3 contest. Agriculture ministry told to quickly support fishermen Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has ordered the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to quickly draw up a plan to aid fishermen to embrace offshore fishing and restore the marine life which was seriously damaged by Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp.’s harmful industrial waste. The order comes after the Vietnam affiliate of Taiwan’s Formosa Plastics Group last week admitted responsibility for mass fish deaths along the shores of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue in early April. It pledged to compensate VND11.5 trillion (around US$500 million) for economic damage caused by the serious environmental incident. At the Government’s web conference held in Hanoi last Friday, Phuc urged the VND11.5-trillion sum be used effectively and transparently. He wanted the plan to be implemented urgently with specific and direct supporting measures for fishermen in the four affected provinces. Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh clarified that the compensation money will be firstly used to cover the losses faced by people in the provinces. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will take the central role in the task while the Ministry of Industry and Trade is assigned to join the effort to help other affected sectors, including salt production and tourism. Deputy Prime Minister Binh reiterated the Prime Minister’s instruction to provide financial support for fishermen to go offshore fishing and rehabilitate the marine environment. Affected people will be backed to change their jobs. Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Cao Duc Phat pledged the supporting plan for fishermen would be made available this month. “We will submit the plan to the Government soon,” Phat said. Binh underscored the need to review regulations and standards used to supervise enterprises and production facilities that pollute the environment and told relevant agencies to review the process of licensing the Formosa project in Ha Tinh. Le Minh Hung, governor of the State Bank of Vietnam, said at the meeting that commercial banks have been requested to help assess the losses incurred by fishermen, reschedule loans and write off interest for them, as well as lend to fish traders. The Government should help fishermen to identify which fishing grounds are safe, Nguyen Thien Nhan, chairman of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, told the meeting. Mountainous provinces told to brace for downpours’ impacts Mountainous and midland provinces in the north have been asked to keep a close watch on river levels after recent heavy rains and brace for possible more precipitation over the next few days. The Central Steering Committee for Natural Disaster Prevention and Control and the National Committee for Search and Rescue sent the request on July 4 to provincial steering boards in Dien Bien, Lai Chau, Lao Cai, Son La, Ha Giang, Tuyen Quang, Cao Bang, Bac Kan, Yen Bai, Lang Son, Quang Ninh, Bac Giang, Hoa Binh, Phu Tho, and Thai Nguyen. According to the National Centre for Hydro-Meteorological Forecasting, heavy rains have poured down across the northern region since June 30. About 210mm of rainfall was recorded in Muong Lay township of Dien Bien, 380mm in Bac Quang district of Ha Giang, 550mm in Mong Cai city and 615mm in Quang Ha town of Quang Ninh. Rivers in those provinces have also been in spate due to the downpours. The national committee ordered the provincial boards to advise local authorities on flood control measures and ready evacuation plans at areas susceptible to flash floods, landslides, riverside erosion, and lowland areas as well as mines. Rescue forces must be on full alert, while control of waterway transport should be tightened to ensure safety. Meanwhile, the ministries of natural resources and environment, agriculture and rural development, and industry and trade were also demanded to ensure the safe operation of reservoirs in the northern region. Thua Thien – Hue supports fishermen The People’s Committee of the central province of Thua Thien–Hue have discussed measures to help fishermen overcome difficulties from the recent marine environmental incident to stabilise their living and develop production. The committee set up a council to weigh the damage after the cause of mass fish deaths in the four central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien–Hue was announced on July 1. According to initial evaluations, the incident caused a local economic loss of about 135 billion VND (6.07 million USD) and affected 6,212 households with 30,450 people as well as fishing activities. Implementing the Government’s policy, Thua Thien–Hue has supported 15kg of rice for one person per month over a maximum of six months. The beneficiaries are family members of fishing vessel owners and workers working on vessels as well as fishing logistics and salt-making households. Meanwhile, fishery business owners and fishing logistics vessels could enjoy loans at lowest interest rates at the credit organisations assigned by the State Bank of Vietnam. So far, Thua Thien-Hue has received 800 tonnes of rice and 15.5 billion VND (697,500 USD) from the government to support fishermen. The provincial People’s Committee has directed localities and sectors to promptly distribute rice to the right people. It also raised over 8.5 trillion VND (382.5 million USD) and 25 tonnes of rice from organisations and businesses to support the affected families. The mass fish deaths along beaches in Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hue in early April, which caused by poison in untreated wastewater from Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company, seriously disturbed the fishing activities of locals. According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, aquacultural farms reported 67 tonnes of dead fish while the volume of natural fish found dead was estimated at 100 tonnes. Statistics showed that Ha Tinh’s total seafood output in the first six months of this year was down 16,000 tonnes year on year, while Quang Binh suffered a drop of 23,600 tonnes, Quang Tri 16,000 tonnes and Thua Thien-Hue 13,300 tonnes. Children’s painting exhibition opens on Russian family day Nearly 70 paintings featuring family sentiment and peace for world by Hanoi children are being showcased at an exhibition opened on July 4 in Hanoi on the occasion of the Russian Day of Family, Love and Fidelity. The week-long event, themed “Hay de mat troi luon chieu sang” (Let the sun shine), was jointly held by the Hanoi Children’s Palace (HCP) and the Russian Centre of Science and Culture in Hanoi (RSCS). At the opening ceremony, Tran Minh Tuan, HCP deputy director, said that the event aims to honour loyalty amongst couples and families in Vietnam and Russia as well as other countries in the world. The week also creates opportunities for Vietnamese and Russian families to exchange and promote traditional values of their own nations, he added. Meanwhile, Shafinskaya Natalia, RSCS acting director, noted that family day is organised to promote family values. The Russian Day of Family, Love and Fidelity was launched in 2008 as part of celebrations for the country’s “Year of the Family”. Celebrated on July 8, the holiday falls on the Russian Orthodox saints’ day of Pyotr and Fevronia who are seen as ideal example of happy married life. Khánh Hòa Province needs more doctors Khánh Hòa Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Hospital is struggling to employ specialist doctors despite priority support from the local health care sector. Hồ Tá Phương, director of the hospital, said it had only 7 members of staff, including the management board, while they were managing 100 beds. Due to a lack of doctors who specialise in conducting X-ray screening, testing and surgery, the existing hospital staff had to hold several positions. Thus, it was causing difficulties for both doctors and patients. Phương said although the hospital had a supporting policy for doctors who agreed to work at the hospital, it couldn’t recruit enough staff. Under the policy, they would receive an initial finance allowance of between VND5 and 10 million depending on their degree. Only two doctors specialised in preventive health care were recruited over the past 16 years, he said, adding that three doctors had left the hospital for new jobs and retirement since 2000. The hospital is in need of 8 general doctors to undertake examination, treatment and per form other special techniques, he told Sức khỏe và đời sống (Health and Life) newspaper. To meet the demand on doctors, the hospital has submitted a recruitment plan to the provincial health department and at the same time sent nurses to study higher education at universities, Phương said. “In my calculation, if the hospital can recruit one doctor and send one or two nurses to higher education, by 2026 it will fulfill its doctor’s recruitment plans. However, it is impossible in reality,” he said. Bùi Xuân Minh, director of Khánh Hòa Province’s Health Department said although the department had  policies to attract doctors like accommodation support, the number of doctors recruited was still short compared with the demand in hospitals in the province, including Khánh Hòa Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases Hospital. Besides sending nurses to higher education, the department also dispatched a number of doctors from other health facilities to work at the hospital to ease the pressure on its staff, he said. The department will continue to carry out these solutions in the coming years and create a support policy to attract more doctors for the province. Smartphones not smart in exam Hundreds of thousands of students across the country have been sitting the national high school exams that are also university entry tests. As in previous exams, many students have tried various ways to cheat in the exams but were still found out and fined by inspectors for violating exam regulations. Following in the steps of former candidates, but smarter, a candidate at the Hà Nội-based University of Forestry exam venue tried to apply new technology by bringing a tiny hi-tech device into the exam room to avoid being discovered. He put a tiny earphone into his ear, which allowed him to get assistance from his friend outside the exam room. However, as he was sitting at the first table in the exam room, very close and in front of the examiner, the candidate could not use the device. After two hours, his friend outside the exam room felt anxious because he hadn’t received any message from the candidate and decided to call him. Perhaps because he was anxious, the candidate had pressed the “loudspeaker” button instead of the “silent” button on his phone, allowing the examiner to hear the incoming call. The examiner checked the candidate and found him to have brought in a mobile phone and another high-tech device into the exam room, which is banned for all candidates. He was then suspended from the examination. So, smartphones are not always smart in all circumstances if you are not smart at using them. Asian women still suffer pay gap, inequality at work: study Nguyen Thi Ngoc Bich has come to terms with the fact that she may never earn as much as her husband. The 39-year-old accountant in Ho Chi Minh City said, due to the pay gap, she is expected to do most of the housework in the family. “Money talks. I make less money and so I do the chores,” said Binh. This is not a rare story in Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries, where women generally earn less than men. A recent report by Oxfam found that women and men across Asia continue to experience gaps in status, pay and access to rights in the workplace as women’s work is generally underpaid and undervalued. On average, women in Asia earn between 70% and 90% of what men earn, according to the report. “The secret of Asia’s competitiveness in the global market is simple: paying poor women low wages and assigning them all unpaid care work,” it said. Around 75% of women’s work in Asia is in the informal economy, without access to benefits such as sick pay or maternity leave. Many women are employed in the agricultural sector, where productivity and incomes are low. Meanwhile, women carry out around 2.5 times the amount of unpaid care work that men do, the report found. A 2015 report by UN Women also found that on average women around the world earn 24% less than men and earn just half of the income men earn over a lifetime. Maria Dolores Bernabe, policy and research coordinator for Oxfam’s Asia Regional Center, said most countries in the region have minimum wage laws and policies to help uphold minimum standards of payment for workers. “Unfortunately, a study in 11 countries found that the application of minimum wage laws is lowest for women from ethnic minorities or indigenous groups,” she told Thanh Nien News. Public investment in the care economy can create good quality jobs for women, reduce gender inequality, and also support economic growth, she said. Bernabe also called for more policies implemented by governments and businesses to address the gender wage gap and promote the rights and interest of women. “Adopting policies that address the issue of gender wage gaps, unpaid care work and need for living wages can help create a regional economy that offers more opportunities, rather than challenges for women.” Crack down on electric motorbikes From last Friday, police in Hà Nội have started checking electric motorbikes without number plates, and a great number of drivers have been discovered violating the laws in the past four days. Observations by the Giao Thông (Transport) newspaper’s correspondent showed that within only 30 minutes, dozens of electric motorbikes without number plates were discovered at the Xã Đàn-Nam Đồng intersection in Đống Đa District. The police handed out warnings to the drivers concerned, most of whom were students. Phạm Văn Chiến, deputy director of the Hà Nội Traffic Police Division No 3, told the Nông Thôn Ngày Nay (Countryside Today) newspaper that the division assigned police to patrol hot spots such as high schools and main roads to give warnings to drivers. More education will be given so that they will register their electric motorbike in the future as per the regulations, he said. Chiến said that many people thought electric motorbikes were considered to be in the same category as electric bicycles, so they were unaware of the serious consequences of disobeying the regulations. They also believed that electric motorbikes were for children and young people only, and did not pay enough attention to completing procedures when buying an electric motorbike. The clearest difference between an electric motorbike and electric bicycle was that the electric motorbike could reach speeds of up to 100kph, whereas an electric bicycle could only manage 30-40kph, Chiến said. Chiến added that to encourage citizens to register their electric motorbikes, the Ministry of Public Security last year promulgated Circular 54, in which a supplement detailed regulations for registering the vehicle. Under the circular, from December 6 last year to June 30 this year, to register electric motorbikes, residents need only two kinds of papers including the photocopy of the family record book and identity cards. After July 1 this year, those registering electric motorbikes must bring papers such as the vehicles’ inspection papers issued by relevant organisations, papers proving the vehicles’ origin, as well as the photocopy of the family record book and identity cards. After August 1, people caught contravening the regulations will be fined VNĐ300,000-400,000 (US$13-17). Long An: About 840 households vulnerable to riverside erosion Nearly 840 household living along banks of Vam Co River in Tan Tru district, in the Mekong Delta province of Long An have been suffering from severe riverside erosion. The garden of a local resident, Truong Van Hai, in Binh Hoa hamlet, Tan Tru town was swept away by soil erosion and fell into Vam Co River in the middle of the night last month, causing land loss of more than 40 metres in length and 6-8 metres in width and washing away ten coconut trees and many other crops. The soil erosion also created a 30-metre-long soil crack in the garden of Hai’s neighbour, Cao Van Dong, leaving it on the brink of sudden collapse. Hai said his family has been living here for generations and has never seen such dangerous erosion before. According to Tran Van Doc, Chairman of the district’s People’s Committee, the district has never recorded any riverside erosion. But now, its seven communes, including An Nhut Tan, Binh Tinh, Binh Trinh Dong, Duc Tan, Lac Tan, My Binh, Nhut Ninh and Tan Tru, with about 4,200 people, or 840 families, are vulnerable to the disaster, Doc said. An initial survey suggests that climate change, which might have affected the flow of the river, could be behind the issue, he noted. The people’s committee has mobilised the locals to plant trees and stakes to temporarily reduce the erosion while a plan is being devised to evacuate affected households.- Hà Nội Police unearth online gambling ring Hà Nội Police have discovered an online ring related to fraud and gambling on football pools, Vương Tiến Dũng, head of Police Office in Hà Đông District, said today. The police have detained eight persons from the ring for investigations. They include Lê Đình Hà, Trần Đức Việt, Nguyễn Mạnh Vinh, and Đặng Duy Nam, apart bfrom Nguyễn Đức Nghĩa, Nguyễn Hữu Đức, Vũ Văn Lực and Nguyễn Ngọc Tuấn. All the suspects live in Hà Nôi and are between the ages of 21 and 52, the police said. According to the police investigation, in early April, Lê Đình Hà offered an account and password on website bong88.com to Trần Đức Việt and Nguyễn Mạnh Vinh, along with US$15,000 (VNĐ330 million). After taking over the account, Việt and Vinh divided the main account into smaller accounts with specific instructions and passed them on to the other accused who would use it for betting on football matches. Under the agreement, $1 could exchange between VNĐ30,000 and VNĐ60,000 while betting. The case is under further investigation and more arrests are expected. Two more islands in Kien Giang to enjoy power soon The Southern Power Corporation (EVNSPC) has planned to conclude two projects to supply power to the island communes of Lai Son and Hon Nghe in the southern province of Kien Giang in the third quarter of this year. Specifically, the project to provide power for 1,956 households in Lai Son, launched on September 4 last year at a cost of 467 billion VND (20.9 million USD), is scheduled to complete in July. It comprises 43km of 110kV transmission line, including 24km crossing the sea, an 110kV transformer station and 13 distributing stations with a total capacity of 2,080kVA. The project is 96 percent finished. Meanwhile, the other project to bring power to Hon Nghe island commune was commenced in October 10, 2015 with an investment of 140 billion VND (6.27 million USD). It consists of a 9,941km 22kV middle voltage transmission line and eight transformer stations with a total capacity of 975kVA. 30 best players chosen at Toyota junior football camp The organisers of the “Toyota Junior Football Clinic and Camp 2016” have selected the 30 best players from the qualifying rounds to compete in the training stage on July 16-22 in HCM City. After the training, the 18 most outstanding junior players will attend the final stage featuring a trip to Japan on August 23-29 to play friendly matches with Japanese and Thai youth teams. The Toyota Motor Việt Nam Company held the event for boys aged 9 to 11 in four cities: Hà Nội, Vinh in Nghệ An province, Đà Nẵng and HCM City. Electricity comes to over 5,300 ethnic families More than 5,300 ethnic households in the mountainous province of Son La have joined the national grid as a result of a local power project that began in September 2015. The beneficiaries come from the Mong, Thai, Kho Mu, Xinh Mun communities residing in mountainous border villages across five communes in Mai Son and Song Ma districts. Under an investment of 153 billion VND (6.88 million USD) sourced from the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN) and EVN Northern Power Corporation, the project completed on June 30, 2016. It brings the proportion of residents in Son La having access to electricity to nearly 90 percent, with 87.8 percent of rural households now connected to the national grid. Cao Dai Missionary Church celebrates 60th founding anniversary A ceremony to mark the 60th anniversary of the Cao Dai Missionary Church, a sect of Caodaism, and its fifth Congress were organised at the Trung Hung Buu Toa Oratory in the central city of Da Nang on July 4. Speaking at the ceremony, the head of the Caodaism Department under the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, Nguyen Dac Tuan, spoke highly of the achievements gained by the church over the past six decades. During the 2011-2016 period, the church organised the religion’s ceremonial activities, constructed new parishes and places of worship and encouraged its followers to take part in social and charitable activities and preserve family and religious traditions. He asked Cao Dai dignitaries and followers to continue following the Party’s policies and the State’s laws, actively participating in social activities, and boosting business and production. At the fifth congress, the church reviewed its operations over the past five years and discussed programmes for the next five years. The Cao Dai Missionary Church, with nearly 50,000 followers, has 63 parishes and numerous worship places nationwide. Founded in the early 1920s in Vietnam, Caodaism was both deeply influenced by ancient Oriental culture and open to Western civilisation.- Son La to increase conservation area The northern mountainous province of Son La will develop a new natural conservation area covering about 16,000 hectares in Muong La district while focusing on preserving its existing centres. The locality is now home to Copia-Thuan Chau, Sop Cop, Ta Xua, Xuan Nha and Muong La natural conservation areas. Spanning Hua Trai , Nam Pam and Ngoc Chien communes, the Muong La natural conservation site, which was established in 2015, aims to protect and use forest resources, biodiversity and rare species of fauna and flora in an effective and sustainable manner. Statistically, the area is home to 622 plant species, including 27 placed in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal species - and 323 fauna species, including 51 rare species. Under the province’s plan on biodiversity conservation by 2020 with a vision towards 2030, Son La will also pay heed to protecting and developing natural biodiversity in submerged areas like Hoa Binh and Son La hydropower plants and the upper Ma River. The province has nearly 779,600 hectares of forest with the rate of forest coverage accounting for 45 percent of the local natural area. HCM City launches Pink Holiday Campaign The HCM City Youth Union on Sunday launched its 15th Kỳ Nghỉ Hồng (Pink Holiday) Campaign with around 40,000 volunteers. The annual campaign, which lasts until August 14, focuses on five areas: environmental protection, building a civilised life and urban beauty; social security and gratitude activities; building new rural areas; charity activities toward the country’s seas and islands; and international volunteer activities.   The volunteers are organised in nine groups in the city’s outlying districts, the South and Tây Nguyên (Central Highlands) regions, on near-shore islands and in Laos. Phùng Thái Quang, head of the HCM City Youth Union’s Workers and Youth Division and head of the campaign, said the groups had surveyed the area where they took part in volunteer activities two months ago. The volunteers are civil servants and State workers and employees in the city. In environmental protection, building a civilised life and urban beauty activities, the campaign aims to guide households to classify rubbish at home and provide legal consultancy about administrative procedures for people and other works. In social security and gratitude activities, the campaign will give 1,000 gifts for families subject to Government preferential policies and poor families, repair 10 charity houses, and present 50 scholarships and 50 bicycles for poor workers’ children. The campaign seeks voluntary blood donors to donate at least 2,000 units of blood. After the launch ceremony, nearly 1,000 volunteers donated blood. After the campaign’s first day, the volunteers installed lights for 40 households and water meters for 30 households in Cần Giờ District, gave 50 breeder pigs and cows to poor households in outlying districts, and paved a road in Củ Chi District. The volunteers also provided health check-ups and medicine for nearly 1,000 households in District 5 and District 6 on the first day. Heritage title given to centuries-old tree in Vinh Phuc A roughly 600-year-old tree at the temple of General Tran Nguyen Han in Son Dong commune of Lap Thach district, the northern province of Vinh Phuc, has been granted heritage status. The certificate of the heritage tree was presented on July 4 by the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE). The “loc vung” tree, scientifically named Barringtonia acutangula (L) Gaertn, is about 10 metres tall and has a leaf canopy of nearly 20 metres. The temple where it grows is dedicated to General Tran Nguyen Han, whose hometown was Lap Thach district. He greatly contributed to the victory of the Lam Son uprising against the Ming invaders in 1427. After he passed away, local people built the temple and planted the “loc vung” tree there to honour him. The programme to select and honour Vietnam’s heritage trees was launched in 2011 by the VACNE in a bid to conserve their genetic resources and raise public awareness of environmental protection. To win the honour, the trees must be at least 200 years old in the case of wild trees, and at least 100 years for those planted. They should also be connected with the historical and cultural characteristics of the area where they grow. Those which do not meet the criteria, yet have special values to science, history or culture, will also earn recognition. VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE