Social News 7/7 Quang Tri sets up damage assessment council after fish deaths The central province of Quang Tri has established an 18-member council to assess local damage following the recent mass fish deaths. The council is also in charge of devising solutions that are suitable for the condition of each damaged coastal area and keeping track of their implementation and reporting outcomes to the provincial steering committee for overcoming fish death consequences. Chairman of the council Ha Sy Dong, who is also Vice Chairman of the Quang Tri People’s Committee, said a set of measures have been put forth to remedy negative impacts of the environmental incident on the marine ecosystem and resources as well as local livelihoods. According to him, Quang Tri is encouraging offshore fishing operation and the establishment of concentrated aquatic farms. Areas with sandy soil are poised to become new fruit and vegetable plantations, while a policy on supporting lending interest rates will be adopted to support the victims. The province is also restructuring its agricultural production, giving priority to high-quality rice and short-term industrial plants. Authorities at local coastal areas – Vinh Linh, Gio Linh,Trieu Phong and Hai Lang – have been tasked with establishing their own assessment councils to collaborate with the provincial-level agency. Quang Tri has offered aid packages of 804 tonnes of rice and 8 billion VND (360,000 USD) for the sufferers and checked safety standards of offshore fishing products to facilitate trade. The mass fish deaths along beaches in Quang Tri, along with Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, and Thua Thien-Hue in early April, were caused by poison in untreated wastewater from Hung Nghiep Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Limited Company. The incident seriously disturbed the fishing activities of the locals. Formosa accepted responsibility for the incident and promised a total compensation of 11.5 trillion VND (500 million USD) to support local fishermen to switch to other jobs and recover the polluted maritime environment. It pledged to absolutely deal with shortcomings and limitations in waste and wastewater treatment, improve its production technologies to ensure waste is completely treated before being discharged to the environment as required by Vietnamese State management agencies, and not to repeat such incident. Experts explain workplace accidents Two recent work-related accidents in which six people were killed were caused by weak management at both central and local levels, said labour experts. A lime kiln collapsed in Phú Thứ Town in the northern province of Hải Dương on Sunday killing five people. Another accident occurred on Saturday in a stone pit in Quan Hóa District, in the central province of Thanh Hóa, killing one person and injuring another. Nguyễn Anh Thơ, deputy director of the Labour Safety Department under MoLISA, told the Nông Thôn Ngày Nay (Countryside Today) newspaper that the owners of the lime kiln and the stone pit must be the first to bear responsibility for the accidents. The owners did not supply the necessary tools, and did not provide enough information about work-related risks to their employees, said Thơ. Lê Đình Tùng, deputy director of the Thanh Hóa Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said that since the beginning of this year, the department had set up inspection teams to check labour safety in different professions. Last month a team checked labour safety at the Sinh Vượng Trade and Tourism Services Co-operative, which saw an accident with two fatalities on Sunday. The team discovered multiple faults, such as the co-operative not providing worker safety training, not letting its workers sign contracts and not checking the quality of its machines. The team asked the co-operative to temporarily suspend its work until it satisfies all worker safety conditions. However, the accident happened after the co-operative restarted work, said Tùng. This Monday, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), in co-ordination with the Hải Dương Department of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, set up an inspection team to investigate the cause of the lime kiln accident. On the same day, the Hải Dương People’s Committee issued a warning document to lime kilns and brick kilns in the province. Phùng Huy Giật, an expert from the Vietnam Occupational Safety and Health Association, said that not all managers in wards and communes received labour safety training. This was the indirect reason behind labour accidents, he said. The amended Law on Occupational Safety and Health, which was put into effect at the beginning of this month, regulated work safety conditions in agriculture and services. Previously, the country did not have any detailed regulations on the issue, so ensuring work safety in agriculture had met a lot of difficulties, said Giật. MoLISA promulgated national norms in the stone exploitation sector in 2012, but the norms were not passed on effectively to enterprises, Giật said. Speaking about reasons behind the two recent accidents, Giật said that one reason was weak management at both central and local levels, not only in the stone processing sector, but also in other sectors. At present, most management work is done by ward and commune authorities who have little training in worker safety. Nguyễn Quốc Thị, chairman of the Hồng Phong Commune People’s Committee in Ninh Giang District, in the northern province of Hải Dương, said that local authorities regularly gave warnings to enterprises, but they still did not pay enough attention to worker safety. Huế announces Formosa damage Authorities in Thừa Thiên - Huế Province have announced that the estimated initial damage of the locality from the mass fish deaths was VNĐ135 billion or US$6 million, following a meeting report released on Monday. Initial statistics showed that 6,212 households, or 30,450 fishermen, were affected by the environmental incident caused by Formosa’s waste release in four central provinces of Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên - Huế. The operation of 2,939 fishing ships was halted, and 136,608 kilogrammes of fish in floating breeding farms were discarded due to the incident. Participants at the meeting said the province needed further investigation to find out the level of damage to the marine ecosystem in the area. Detailed surveys will be conducted to provide exact statistics of the damage to each economic sector. Investigation and monitoring work will be carried out in adjacent areas, including lagoons and estuaries. Thừa Thiên - Huế was the second locality announcing initial damage from the Formosa poison, after Quảng Bình. Experts said that it seems to be too late to conduct this work, as the incident happened in April. Railway overpass site to be inspected The Việt Nam Association of Bridge and Road Science and Technology has asked agencies to inspect the construction of a railway overpass under the north-south axis project in Hà Nội. The move comes after layers of foam were found between concrete and sand under the road’s surface. Nguyễn Ngọc Long, deputy chairman of the association, said the construction unit of the project was reckless, and the entire project must be reviewed carefully before it was put into operation. Cienco5 Land Development Corporation has invested in the north-south axis project linking Hà Đông District to the southern districts of the city such as Thanh Oai, Ứng Hòa and Phú Xuyên, with total capital topping VNĐ6 trillion (US$266.6 million). The project was implemented by the Build-Transfer (BT) method, which allows the investor to mobilise capital for the construction of the project and transfer it when the construction is completed. The city’s authority would refund the capital by collecting land use fees for urban projects. The project was carried out to establish a new route to serve socio-economic development needs and ease overloading on National Highway 21B, which connects Hà Đông District and Tam Điệp City in the northern Ninh Bình Province. Although the project has not been completed, under the city’s decision, the overpass opened to the public before the last Tết holiday to meet the high travelling demand of trucks. However, subsidence and cracks appeared on the overpass, revealing layers of foam with thickness of three to four centimetres between layers of sand and concrete on the road’s surface. Lê Thanh Song, deputy general director of Cienco5 Land Development Corporation, said the construction of the railway overpass was primarily completed in 2012. A temporary lighting system was installed on the railroad overpass to serve traffic. After finishing the construction of pavement on the overpass, the construction unit placed foam sheets to mark the positions where cables would be inserted for 24 lighting poles on the overpass.   To date, the lighting system has not been completed and the foam sheets have not been removed. In response to questions about the subsidence and cracks on the road surface, Song said the cracks were located in areas where construction was still ongoing. The project was still under construction and had not been handed over to agencies, he said, adding that the construction unit has quickly completed the project. Long, deputy chairman of the association, has asked the corporation to hire consultancy companies to re-examine the entire project, especially the road surface at the positions of lighting poles, and quickly solve the problem. The corporation could ask for the support of agencies, if needed, Long said, adding that the project must be checked carefully before operations begin. Tra Vinh: The disadvantaged assisted to build safe houses The government has approved approximately 327 billion VND, or 14.65 million USD, in soft loans for poor households in the Mekong Delta province of Tra Vinh to build or repair their houses from 2016-2020. The funding belongs to the second phase of the soft housing loan programme developed under the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 167/2008/QD-TTg dated December 12, 2008. More than 11,400 disadvantaged rural households, nearly 6,000 of whom from the Khmer ethnic minority group, are expected to benefit from the programme in the next four years. Each household will be provided up to 25 million VND in soft loan to build or upgrade its house following basic safety standards regulated by the Ministry of Construction. The annual interest rate will be 3 percent, with a maturity period of 15 years. The households eligible for the programme are those have no house or have a house in unsafe conditions but cannot afford to repair it. They must also not yet receive housing support from any programme of the government or a social-political organisation; or has benefited from other housing programmes earlier but now unable to rebuild or repair their houses which has collapsed or been seriously damaged due to natural disasters. During the first phase of the programme, Tra Vinh province has offered more than 233.7 billion VND, or 10.5 million USD, in soft housing loans for over 28,600 local poor households, including nearly 15,000 from the Khmer community. Phu Tho ramps up public administration performance index Phu Tho is evaluated as one of the localities to effectively implement administrative reform during 2011-2015. The province ranked 35 th out of 63 cities and provinces in the country. In 2015, the locality’s Provincial Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI) was listed third, jumping 22 places from the previous year, while the province’s administrative reform index was graded 7 th . The information was heard at a conference on increasing PAPI in the northeastern, northwestern and the Red River Delta regions held in the locality on July 5. PAPI is a joint research activity between the Centre for Community Support and Development Studies (CECODES), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and other organisations under the Vietnam Fatherland Front. Delegates at the event shared localities’ experiences in PAPI implementation to increase the State’s public administration effectiveness, serving responsibilities on socio-economic development. The 2015 index ranking for provinces showed a downward trend in five out of six criteria, including “involvement of the grass roots,” “transparency,” “authority’s accountability” and “control of corruption.” A slight drop was seen in the criteria of “public administrative procedures” while there was an upturn in “public service delivery.” PAPI is the most effective policy monitoring tool that reflects citizen experiences with central to local governments in performing their governance duties, public administration and public services delivery functions. It measures six dimensions, namely Participation at Local Levels, Transparency, Vertical Accountability, Control of Corruption, Public Administrative Procedures and Public Service Delivery, alongside 22 sub-dimensions and 92 indicators. Archeological excavation of Ho Dynasty Citadel expanded The archeological excavation in the Citadel of the Ho Dynasty will be expanded to the defending canal area in the northern part, according to the Ho Citadel Heritage Conservation Centre. The centre said the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has freshly agreed to allow Thanh Hoa province’s Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in collaboration with the Vietnam Institute of Archaeology, to excavate the defending canal area located in Vinh Tien and Vinh Long communes in Vinh Loc district. The expanded area is around 1,000 sq.m, bringing the total excavation area in the northern defending canal area to 3,000 sq.m. The expansion aims to determine the scale and structure of the northern canal for the research and preservation of the ancient water system and to improve the landscape serving tourism development at this world heritage site. The canal is a component belonging to the overall excavation strategy for the citadel in 2013-2020. After many excavations, a lot of valuable antiques have been found but more excavations are still needed to find out the exact answer for the world heritage value of the citadel. Earlier in 2015, the Ho Citadel Heritage Conservation Centre excavated part of the southern canal over an area of over 2,000 sq.m and clarified the scale, structure and functions of the defending canal. Besides being used for defence, the canal provided a workshop producing stones used in the construction of the citadel. Archaeologists have found antiques complementing research and display at the relic site such as stone blocks, bricks with letters carved upon them, ceramic objects of the Tran and Ho dynasties, ceramic objects from the early Le dynasty, and especially iron chisels and swords, which are rarely found in Vietnam’s archaeological excavations. The Ho Dynasty Citadel was Vietnam’s capital under the Ho Dynasty (1398-1407). Located in Vinh Loc district, the citadel measures 870m by 883m and was built in 1397. It is the only citadel in the country built entirely of stones and remained nearly intact throughout the nation’s history. It was recognised as a World Cultural Heritage Site by UNESCO on July 27, 2011. According to experts, the structure is an outstanding example of a new style of construction for a Southeast Asian imperial city. Approaches to protecting Mekong Delta coastal areas suggested The management of land use, the use of sand bags to strengthen dykes and the recovery of mangrove forests were among approaches, technology proposals and solutions suggested by experts for the Mekong Delta region to fortify its coastal areas to be resilient to environmental changes. At a workshop in Can Tho city on July 5, the experts coming from the Integrated Coastal Management Programme (ICMP) shared outcomes of their studies on the feasibility of investment projects to protect coastal areas and manage water resources in the region. ICMP, which was funded by the governments of Vietnam, Germany and Australia, looks to assist Vietnamese agencies in efforts to help the Mekong Delta be well prepared for climate change and lay a firm foundation for its sustainable growth. According to Severin Peters, senior technical advisor of the German Society for International Co-operation (GIZ), the studies have been implemented for one year and are scheduled to finish in this September. Apart from that, a project on the agricultural sector’s response to climate change in coastal areas is being carried out and will be completed in this August. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Hoang Van Thang stated that the studies are considered to be the first set of tools pointing out approaches, technology orientations and solutions to coastal protection. The experts’ recommendations on a flood drainage project in An Giang and Kien Giang provinces and the Cu Lao Dung project in Soc Trang also conform to the localities’ policy of considering sea-related issues as environmental issues and flood control. The Mekong Delta is facing complicated impacts of climate changes and upstream activities, from saline intrusion, drought, landslides to floods and land subsidence. With an area of 3.96 million hectares and a population of 18 million, it contributes 50 percent of Vietnam’s total food output; 90 percent of the country’s export rice; 70 percent of fruits; and 65 percent of aquatic products. The Mekong Delta includes Can Tho city and 12 provinces - Long An, Dong Thap, Tien Giang, Vinh Long, Tra Vinh, Ben Tre, An Giang, Hau Giang, Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Ca Mau and Kien Giang. Experts estimated that a one-metre rise in sea levels would likely affect 10 percent of Vietnam’s population and cause losses equal to 10 percent of GDP in its delta regions. The workshop was co-organised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the German Society for International Co-operation (GIZ). Lao Cai moves to reduce emissions from deforestation The northern mountainous province of Lao Cai announced on July 5 an action programme for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+). The action programme was built with the help of the Forest Resources and Environment Centre (FREC) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. It will work out measures for reducing emissions, protecting and sustainably developing forests in Lao Cai. FREC Director Vu Tien Dien said the launch of the REDD+ action programme is an important step in protecting forests, preventing climate change while ensuring local socio-economic interests. To Manh Tien, Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said in its REDD+ action programme, Lao Cai aims to protect the existing 267,100ha of natural forests, including nearly 57,000ha of special-purpose forests and nearly 102,000ha of protected forests. It will improve fire-fighting capacity while minimising deforestation and forest degradation resulting from forest product exploitation or cardamom cultivation. The province will conserve and increase forest carbon stocks by breeding forest trees, especially multipurpose trees like cinnamon, son tra (Fructus Docyniae), and pine. Lao Cai will also attract investment in afforestation, ecosystem protection and forest product processing to raise incomes for residents engaging in forest protection, Tien noted. Labour export opportunities for fishermen from central provinces The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA) will assist fishermen from four central provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri and ThuaThien-Hue in changing their careers because of being affected by mass fish deaths. MoLISA Minister Doan Mau Diep said on July 5 that the ministry would help fishermen grasp opportunities to work in Japan, the Republic of Korea, Taiwan, Germany and Thailand with lower expenses, or at factories in Vietnam and support them in fishing offshore. The ministry will submit to the Government a proposal for exempting and reducing training fees for these labourers. The career shifting program will be implemented until seas in central region become normal and fishermen can resume their normal lives, Mr Diep said. The MoLISA estimated that around 263,000 working people, including 100,000 fishermen, in four central provinces were affected by mass fish deaths. The mass fish deaths along beaches in four provinces 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.   WB supports land governance and database project The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved a $150 million credit for the Vietnam improved land governance and database project on July 6. The project will develop a national multi-purpose land information system (MPLIS) and make a National land database available to both the government and the public. “Over the past 20 years reforms in the land sector have gained momentum and Vietnam’s regulatory framework governing land administration is now relatively advanced compared with other lower middle-income countries,” said Mr. Achim Fock, the World Bank’s Acting Country Director for Vietnam. He added that significant challenges remain, in particular implementation on the ground. “Therefore, we want to support the central and local governments as well as all land users with better access to land information and land services,” he said. The project is designed with an emphasis on building sustainable databases that are accurate, user-friendly, and accessible through a gradual approach to developing land information systems and land databases. The project will also help the government simplify procedures and business processes for land registration offices operating at sub-national levels, provide better quality land services, and increase public awareness about land information and land services. The credit comes from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank Group’s concessional lending source for low-income countries. German bank to assist green bus project in Vietnam The German public-owned development bank KfW wants to implement a project on low-carbon buses in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, said Director of the KfW office in Hanoi Christian Haas at a meeting with the local leaders on July 5. Accordingly, the project will invest in the operation of 200 green buses in Can Tho and Hanoi between now and 2020. Of the total, 50 buses are set to run in Can Tho. The vehicles include both hybrid and hybrid electric bus, each can accommodate 50 passengers. The project will expand to the remaining cities in Vietnam in five years from 2020. Estimated costs amount to approximately four billion USD, of which eight percent is a non-refundable fund. If the project is given the green light, it will help Vietnam cut emissions by about four million tonnes and reduce noise pollution in urban areas. Dao Anh Dung, Vice Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, said the city totally endorses the plan, adding that the local bus system is rather old, and the rate of bus users remains low. Can Tho will call on public transport operators to renew the system in the near future, he said. Dung noted that the local transport infrastructure is more suitable to the operation of 30-seated buses, and the city expects to receive about 30 green buses of this type from the project in addition to the 50-seated ones. Khanh Hoa fishermen updated on search, rescue regulations The Ministry of Transport held a programme in the central province of Khanh Hoa on July 5 to introduce search and rescue regulations and safety rules for maritime activities to local fishermen. The event also aimed to review the implementation of the International Convention on Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR 79), to which Vietnam is a signatory. Fishermen to the event were provided with information on search and rescue systems at sea, equipment and tools for the work, measures to prevent fishing boats from sinking and burning, first aid methods and lifesaving methods in the case of being in distress at sea. In his opening speech, Head of the ministry’s Traffic Safety Department Nguyen Van Thach said the ministry has arranged a series of activities to disseminate measures for ensuring safety for ships, maintaining communications and performing medical emergencies at sea, contributing to raising public awareness of the importance of enforcement of relevant legal regulations . The Vietnam Maritime S earch and Rescue Coordination Centre has rescued thousands of sailors and a great number of domestic and foreign fishing boats and cargo ships, which met with accidents at sea, he noted. VNA launches fourth “Golden Moment” photo competition The Vietnam News Agency (VNA), in collaboration with the Vietnam Association of Photographic Artists, launched the fourth “Golden Moment” media photo competition in Hanoi on July 5. At the launch ceremony, VNA Deputy Director General Nguyen Hoai Duong said that after six years of interruption, the competition will be organised annually from 2016. It offers a space for journalists and photographers to reflect all aspects of society, ranging from politics, economics, culture and sports, to science and technology, and show their points of view on hot current issues of the nation, he added. Entries can be single photos or groups of photos taken from September 1, 2015 to August 31, 2016. They should be posted on website www.khoangkhacvang.vnanet.vn or sent to the email khoangkhacvang04@gmail.com from now to August 31. One first, one second, three third and five consolation prizes will be awarded to the categories of single photos and groups of photos at an awards ceremony scheduled for September 15. Number of births rises sharply in first six months The number of babies born in the first half of this year increased 9.9 percent compared to the same period last year. The information was revealed by Le Canh Nhac, deputy head of the General Department of Population and Family Planning (GDPFP), at a press conference held on July 5 in response to World Population Day (July 11). Nhac said clinical contraceptive methods reached only 40 percent of the set target in the period, while non-clinical contraceptive methods reached only 75 percent of last year’s figure. In the second half of the year, the population and family planning tasks will focus on implementing communication activities in line with the characteristics of each region and area, as well as expanding networks supplying family planning services nationwide, Nhac said. The sector will also strengthen the implementation of reducing the gender imbalance at birth, boosting social marketing, and socialising contraceptive methods. On the occasion, the GDPFP in collaboration with the United Nations Population Fund released information relating to the activities to respond to this year’s World Population Day which is themed “Investing in teenage girls.” A meeting in response to the Day will be held in Hanoi on July 9 with a number of activities, including parades and consultancy services on reproductive health. New Đồng Nai flood project The People’s Committee of Đồng Nai Province has approved a VNĐ458 billion (US$20.4 million) project to prevent flooding at the Biên Hùng five-way crossroads in Biên Hoà City. The province’s Water Drainage Centre will carry out the project between 2016 and 2018. Flooding occurs frequently at the Biên Hùng intersection, causing traffic jams and affecting people lives in the rainy season. After a 15-20 minute heavy rain, the area is often flooded under 0.4-0.7 metres of water. The Biên Hoà People’s Committee had asked the Đồng Nai Province People’s Committee to give budget priority to flood-prevention projects in Biên Hoà City. Biên Hoà has 28 sites that regularly flood, including the Biên Hùng intersection, Nguyễn Ái Quốc Road and National Highway 51, according to the People’s Committee. Other sites that often flood are the Đồng, Miễu, Tân Cang, Vườn Dừa and Tân Lập hamlets along the Buông River in Phước Tân Commune. The major causes of flooding in Biên Hoà are rapid urbanisation, littering, construction works that illegally reclaim canals and drainage systems, and outdated sewage systems. The province’s Party Secretary Nguyễn Phú Cường has told authorities in Biên Hoà to dredge canals and streams this month to prevent flooding. Authorities were also urged to apply sanctions against companies responsible for construction works that illegally encroach on canals and drainage systems. Đồng Nai said it would borrow foreign loans for more flood-prevention projects. HN urges water supply to Hoàng Mai households Hà Nội’s Department of Construction has asked for the quick resumption of water supply to thousands of households in the Đại Kim Urban Area. The Hà Nội Housing and Urban Development JSC has been told to work with the Clean Water Investment and Construction Corporation (Viwaco) to restore supply. In a message to the two companies, the department has asked them to promptly build a reservoir with a 400cu.m. water capacity and upgrade the water pipelines to supply clean water to households in the Đại Kim Urban Area. The work must be completed by next month, the department said. During construction, the department has asked Viwaco to conduct a regular check on the water supply to households in the area to meet their requirement. Water tankers will be mobilised in case there is a shortage of water. Previously, the local press had reported that thousands of households in the Đại Kim Urban Area in Hà Nội’s Hoàng Mai District faced a serious shortage of water during the hot summer days. Many pumping machines of these households had broken down after Viwaco JSC, the water supplier, suddenly stopped water supply. Although Viwaco had mobilised 30 water tankers to the area, water supply was far lower than the demand. As a result, many households had to buy water at the price of VNĐ800,000 (US$35.5) for a water tanker with a capacity of 7cu.m., which was sufficient only for a few days. The Hà Nội Housing and Urban Development JSC is in charge of supplying water to households in the area. The company was purchasing water from the Clean Water Investment and Construction Corporation (Viwaco) instead of producing it on its own. Search underway for victims of Thái Bình shipwreck A rescue team from the northern province of Thái Bình is still searching for a boy who was on board a boat that sank yesterday in Vũ Thư District. The waterway accident occurred at 3.30pm, when two boats travelling in the same direction on Hồng (Red) River in Hồng Lý Commune collided, causing one boat to sink, local police reported. The local rescue force acted quickly to retrieve the victims upon receiving the report. Local authorities have confirmed the deaths of three people involved in the accident, while one is still missing. At 10pm yesterday, rescue forces found the body of Trần Văn Tuấn, 41, captain of the NB2434 vessel. This morning, the rescue team found the body of his wife, Trần Thị Hái, 39. They also found the couple’s two-year-old daughter, Trần Thị Đào. The rescue force is continuing the search for the remaining victim, Trần Văn Duy, 8, Tuấn’s son. Trần Huy Hải, chairman of the Vũ Thư District’s People’s Committee, said the vessels were carrying stone and clinkers, weighing some 80 tonnes, when they collided. Business in Phú Yên violates environment regulations A seafood production company in the central province of Phú Yên was found to be discharging untreated waste water into the environment, thanks to local residents who reported the matter. This was announced by officials of the Natural Resources and Environment Department yesterday. The officials took samples of waste water from the Việt Thái Trade and Production Ltd. Co in Tuy Hòa City’s An Phú Industrial Zone for testing. The untreated waste water was black in colour and full of worms because it had remained stagnant for a long time behind the company’s factory. The stench of the waste water had spread several metres around the area. Cao Xuân Phúc, the company director, admitted to discharging waste water, which had resulted in environmental pollution. The company had built eight tanks to collect waste water, but with a large amount of water being discharged everyday, the tanks were full and the water had overflowed into the surrounding environment, Phúc said. He also explained that the company was going through a difficult period, which had started in 2011 and continued even today. Phúc said the company had not been able to pay dues to the industrial zone for renting land and other debts. He said the company had asked the industrial zone’s management board to connect its waste water pipe to the zone’s system to enable production, but the board had not yet agreed despite the company committing to paying its dues. Meanwhile, the environment department has asked the company to stop discharging untreated waste water, until it gets a waste water treatment system. This is third time sanctions that have been imposed on the company for discharging waste water, yet the business continues to flout regulations. Winning photos of Viet Nam’s beauty on show The beauty of Việt Nam, from the coastal region to the highlands, is portrayed in photos displayed at the exhibition Việt Nam Today. Officially launched yesterday, the exhibition is a result of a contest organised by the Việt Nam National Administration of Tourism (VNAT) and Việt Nam Association of Photographic Artists. The contest was held with the aim to gather photos to promote national tourism and encourage photographic artists to discover the country’s beauty. It started last December. After six months, the organising board received nearly 5,500 entries including coloured and monochrome photos. Of those submissions, the 11 best photos were selected and awarded prizes, and nearly 100 entries went on display at the exhibition. Back to Origin, a photo by Nguyễn Trang Kim Cương, received the top prize. The photos cover several topics, including destinations, historical relics, cultural activities, traditional handicrafts and the exchange between locals and tourists. The photos all demonstrate high quality, effort and creativity, said Hà Văn Siêu, deputy director general of the VNAT. “The photos depict the beauty of our people, culture and landscape seen through various angles of the photographers,” said Siêu. The photographers put Vietnamese tourism in the spotlight and depict the unforgettable moments tourists experience when they travel to Việt Nam. In these photos, foreigners not only enjoy the pulchritude of nature, but also participate in locals’ daily lives and cultural activities. The exhibition of photos selected from the contest will run until Saturday at the Exhibition House, 29 Hàng Bài Street, Hà Nội. National tennis tournament for teenagers kicks off The national tennis tournament for teenagers kicked off in the southern province of Cần Thơ on July 4. The event attracted the participation of more than 250 players from 27 teams, including Cà Mau, Bạc Liêu, Đồng Tháp and Kiên Giang, as well as HCM City and Sơn La. The teens are competing in the boys’ and girls’ singles and doubles categories, in five age groups — U10, U12, U14, U16 and U18 — for 14 sets of medals. According to Đoàn Quốc Cường, head of the tennis section of the National Sports Administration, the event aims to enhance the skills and provide experience to young players nationwide. The best athletes at the event will be selected for the national team. The tournament will end on July 12. Dak Lak works to reclaim illegally occupied forest land The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak is taking a number of measures to reclaim nearly 51,000 hectares of forest land that were illegally occupied for reforestation. The aim is to increase the rate of forest coverage in the locality to 40.4 percent by 2020. Apart from mobilising all human and financial resources to reduce deforestation and illegal occupation of forestry land, the province encourages forest owners to commit to a duration to give back land to the State. Violating families will be punished as regulated if they do not voluntarily return the land. Despite efforts, the province has just reclaimed nearly 2,000 hectares of forest land. In Ea Sup district, which has thousands of hectares of illegally encroached land, only about 100 hectares have been returned so far. Meanwhile, in M’Drak district, there are 1,247 hectares of land destroyed and unlawfully occupied. However, only 4.75 hectares have been recovered. International seminar discusses sustainable groundwater use An international seminar on the sustainable use of groundwater took place in Hanoi on July 5. Subjects of discussion included research and development of groundwater sources in Vietnam, northeast Thailand and Quebec (Canada), as well as management solutions to the exploitation of groundwater in the Mekong River area. Associate Professor Nguyen Ngoc Thanh, principal of the Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment - one of the seminar organisers, said the event was expected to garner experts’ opinions and measures to develop the valuable resource. Adichat Surinkum, head of the Co-ordinating Committee for the Geoscience Programme in East and Southeast Asia – another of the organisers, said his agency, which plays an important role in developing regional groundwater, looks to boost connection and experience exchanges among countries and organisations inside its network. Vincent Cloutier from the University of Quebec’s groundwater research institution noted stronger policies and mechanisms toward environmental protection is a key solution to sustain the resource. Vietnam is among the countries that rely heavily on groundwater and where exploitation is on the rise. Most provinces and cities nationwide exploit groundwater for both household and business use, with daily exploited groundwater reaching about five million cubic metres in total. The figure is predicted to rise to meet new demand pushed by urbanisation and development. 12 athletes head for Thai table tennis tourney Vietnam has fielded a team of 12 members, aged 14-18, and four coaches to compete at the 2016 Southeast Asian Junior Table Tennis Championships taking place on July 9-13 in Thailand. The young competitors are from clubs across the country including Hai Duong, T&T and Hanoi. The team recently received a three-year sponsorship from WorldSport Company to fund the purchase of their outfits. This is the first ever long-term sponsorship for the team.  VNA/VNS/VOV/SGT/SGGP/TT/TN/Dantri/VNE