Social News 28/6 KOICA helps Vietnam’s green urban planning project   KOICA helps Vietnam’s green urban planning project. Major products of the Technical Assistance Project for Establishment of Vietnam Green City Master Plan assisted by the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) of the Republic of Korea (RoK) were announced at a conference in Hanoi on June 27.  Addressing the event, Deputy Minister of Construction Phan Thi My Linh said after more than two years of implementation, with efforts of both Vietnamese and Korean experts, along with close coordination among the ministry, KOICA, and the authorities of Thai Nguyen and Kien Giang provinces - beneficiary localities, the project was finished with practical outcomes.  It focused on developing the Green City index of Vietnam and the Green City Urban Planning Decision Support System (GDSS); making pilot planning projects in Yen Binh urban area of Thai Nguyen and Rach Ra city of Kien Giang; and building a legal framework on green urban planning, she noted.  The Ministry and KOICE spent one year on preparing contents of the project before starting it, she said.  The project’s results are expected to significantly contribute to realising Vietnam’s national strategy on green growth, sustainable development, as well as help improve the country’s capacity in building and managing the green urban planning.  Products of the project will be useful documents for urban planning experts, thus supporting the management of urban development and planning in Vietnam in the future, Linh affirmed.  The Ministry expects that the project’s products, particularly GDSS, will be introduced to many localities throughout the country, towards enhancing the capacity of urban development and management and building the information system on planning management and urban development nationwide, she said.  Kim Jin-oh, Director of KOICA in Vietnam said with rapid economic growth and population expansion, Vietnam has been facing a serious of urban problems such as the lack of urban infrastructure facilities and environmental pollution. He said the Vietnamese Government has developed a Green Growth Strategy to balance economic development and environmental protection, while promoting efforts to devise relevant policies. Director of Thai Nguyen’s Department of Construction Hoang Duc Khanh said this is a practical project as it helps the State management agencies of Vietnam have a closer look at the planning-related issues. Thai Nguyen hopes to be selected for the project’s second phase, which will focus on green and smart urban development, he added.  Cooperation with KOICA in the project will be seen as a reference for the building of a project on smart urban development that will be submitted to the Government in the coming time, Deputy Minister Linh said.-VNA Viet Tri- Ba Vi bridge on Red River has last sections joined   The Viet Tri- Ba Vi bridge on Red River  The final segments of a bridge over the Red River connecting Viet Tri city of the northern province of Phu Tho with Hanoi’s Ba Vi district were joined on June 26, after three years of construction. Invested by the Phu My Group at an investment of more than VND1.46 trillion (US$63.64 million), the bridge was built under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) contract. The time of payback is expected to be about 20 years. The main bridge spans about 1.55 kilometres, plus 7.54km of approach road on the Hanoi side and 0.26km on the Phu Tho side, linking the National Road 32 in Hanoi with the National Road 32C in Phu Tho province. It is set to allow vehicles in late August and be put into commercial operation in October. A toll station will be located at Phu Cuong commune of Ba Vi district, with the fee starting from VND35,000 per car. Upon its completion, the bridge is expected to enhance connection of Hanoi with Phu Tho province and the north western region, creating synchronous traffic infrastructure in the area. Hanoi plans to build 14 bridges crossing the Red and Duong Rivers in the city by 2030, according to the municipal Department of Planning and Investment. 2 dead, 6 injured in tragic Nghe An accident   A passenger bus travelling on Highway 1A in the central province of Nghe An lost control and plunged into a paddy field, killing two people and seriously injuring six others on June 27. Six victims with serious injuries were sent to Nghe An General Hospital 115. The passenger bus was heavily damaged. 2 dead, 6 injured in tragic nghe an accident  hinh 1 After receiving notice of the accident, police in Hung Nguyen district, Nghe An province arrived at the scene to investigate the cause of the accident. ​Greenhouse cultivation warms Da Lat Once favored by holidaymakers in tropical Vietnam for its year-round temperate climate, Da Lat, the capital of the Central Highlands province of Lam Dong, is now warming at alarming rates due to the mushrooming of agricultural greenhouses on its outskirts and in nearby areas. ​The number of greenhouses in Da Lat and neighboring farming regions has grown by five times over the past five years, according to Dr. Vu Ngoc Long, former president of the South Institute of Ecology. Official reports put the total area of greenhouses in Da Lat and its proximity to around 5,600 hectares, but Dr. Long believes the actual number can be much higher. By the year 2020, Lam Dong looks to have over 17,500 hectares of ‘hi-tech’ farming land, meaning even more greenhouses will be built to realize this vision. “The statistics paint a gloomy picture of [the greenhouses’] impacts on Da Lat’s environment and landscape,” he said. “If you compare satellite photos of Da Lat in the old days and now, you would see green spaces being gradually replaced by vast swaths of white, the color of greenhouses. “The local agricultural industry is being dominated by greenhouses.” Greenhouses, despite their benefits, can have three major adverse effects on the environment -- raising air temperatures, reducing soil quality, and polluting the water system of an area, Dr. Long says. “The high density of greenhouses in Da Lat allows no room for ventilation, which leads to the build-up of hot air,” he explained The increase in outdoor temperature gives rise to a need for cooling systems inside the greenhouses, which emit hot air and other pollutants into the environment, worsening the situation. “The entire thing is a vicious cycle that only gets worse day by day,” Long said. According to the ecologist, the outskirts of Da Lat used to function as the city’s ‘air conditioner' that keeps its weather temperate throughout the year. As greenhouses begin to occupy this crucial space, coupled with increased construction in the city center, Da Lat is unsurprisingly getting warmer and warmer, he said. Readings show that the average yearly temperature in the Central Highlands city has climbed by 1-1.5 degrees Celsius over the past ten years. In areas with large numbers of greenhouses, this spike is even more noticeable, at around 3-5 degrees Celsius. Destruction of hillside forests to build greenhouses has also led to the degradation of soil quality, which is why there have been increased reports of landslides in the areas in recent years, Dr. Long explained. According to Dr. Vu Ngoc Long, the definition of hi-tech agriculture has not been fully understood by both policymakers and farmers in Vietnam. “The application of modern technology in farming is not all about greenhouses,” he said. “In fact, greenhouses are only a last resort when there is a need to grow crops in extreme weather conditions, while Da Lat’s climate is already ideal for growing greens and flowers.” According to Dr. Long, there is no reason to build greenhouses in Da Lat when they can be built basically anywhere else and still yield the same result, as the temperature inside such buildings can be monitored and adjusted. In European countries and the US, greenhouses are only constructed in locations where conservation is not as important as food production, he added. Lao students arrested for drug trafficking    Police in central Ha Tinh province have apprehended two Lao nationals who were trafficking a large amount of drugs into Vietnam's central province of Ha Tinh. The two suspects are identified as Phan Sai Lot Dala, born in 1993, residing in Laos's Kham Muon province, and Can, born in 1995, living in Bolykhamxay province, also in Laos. They are both final year students at Ha Tinh University. lao students arrested for drug trafficking hinh 1 They were caught red-handed at 8pm on June 25 at Ha Tinh City bus station while they were in the process of smuggling 200 amphetamine pills and 15 bricks of heroin from Laos to Ha Tinh province. Further investigation is still underway. Foreign organisations support children, disabled people in Thua Thien-Hue The central province of Thua Thien-Hue has received support from many foreign organisations in caring for children and people with disabilities in the forms of gifts and welfare projects. According to Head of the provincial People’s Committee Office Hoang Ngoc Khanh, the province has received 976 wheelchairs worth US$65,684 from the US-based Giving it Back to Kids organisation. Earlier in 2017, the Giving it Back to Kids organisation also presented people with disabilities in Thua Thien-Hue with 520 wheelchairs at total value of VND1.04 billion (US$45,760). Meanwhile, the Australian Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation provided nearly VND2.5 billion (US$111,364) as non-refundable aid to a project to prevent local children from migrating and falling victims to labour abuse. The project will be implemented by the provincial Women’s Union in two years from 2018. It aims to reduce the number of disadvantaged children in Phu Loc and Phu Vang districts who migrated in search for livelihood and became victims of labour abuse, and help such children return home. Major activities of the project include bringing children back to their family and help them re-integrate into the society, and assist women and children with high risks of labour abuse. The project will improve skills, capacity of leaders of the province and localities as well as community in preventing free migration and working at early age among children. The project also aims to create a safe and healthy environment for children who used to be children labourers and their families by supporting schools, building houses and raising awareness of relevant parties. Finland shares experience in smart city development with Binh Duong   Finland shares experience with the southern province of Binh Duong in developing a smart city and innovation ecosystem during a workshop on June 27. (Photo: baobinhduong.vn) Finland shared experience with the southern province of Binh Duong in developing a smart city and innovation ecosystem during a workshop in the provincial capital of Thu Dau Mot on June 27. The workshop aims to introduce Finland’s successful models in developing smart cities and innovation ecosystems, particularly in terms of smart operation and infrastructure. Furthermore, through the workshop, Finnish experts will identify key elements for the adoption of proper solutions to support the province in this matter. Speaking at the event, Vice Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee Mai Hung Dung lauded Finland as a global leader in innovation. The country has been in the Top 10 performers on the Global Innovation Index (GII) and the Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) for years, he said, adding that the Finnish success in economic growth and fostering sustainable development through innovation is a valuable example for Binh Duong. Dung also spoke highly of the long-standing friendship between the two countries, which would aid cooperation between Binh Duong and Finland. During the workshop, speakers shared experience in developing a smart city and innovation ecosystem with a focus on innovating the industry for economic growth, delivering friendly and convenient services to people and enterprises and building a city of innovation. Quang Nam’s tourism village pursues green tourism   A corner of Triem Tay community-based tourism village A green tourism week was launched in Triem Tay community-based tourism village, a major destination in the central province of Quang Nam, on June 27 with an aim to raise public awareness of ecological environment protection. A project launched in 2015 has given the Triem Tay community-based tourism village a facelift, helping it earn the certificate “ASEAN Community-based Tourism 2017-2019” in March 2017. Thanks to funding from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), UNESCO and local budget, many facilities such as community cultural house, piers and reception houses at Triem Tay wharf have been built over the past three years. Ancient houses in the village are preserved, while residents’ homes have been repaired and upgraded and roads and dykes built. Under the project, local residents have been involved in selecting outstanding local features and developing them into tourism sites, such as the Triem Tay orchard, the traditional mat weaving hamlet, the ancient houses of Mr Pho Ba and Mr Nghe Phung, and the uninhabited Triem Tay islet. Triem Tay village is located near the well-known Hoi An World Heritage Site and surrounded by several tourist attractions, such as Kim Bong wood carving and Phuoc Kieu bronze casting villages. It takes about 10 minutes to go to Triem Tay village from Thanh Ha pottery village by boats or just 5 minutes from Cam Kim and Kim Bong carpentry village (Hoi An city) by roads. It is an ideal place for walking, sailing, flying kites, and trying hands at weaving sedge mats and planting vegetables. More than 30 households voluntarily set up their own organisation called Triem Tay agricultural cooperative, including 7 service groups of food, art performances, gardening, sailing, craft village, accommodation and tour guide. Last year, the village welcomed nearly 10,000 visitors. Gala Vgong’s Got Talent marks Vietnam-Australia ties   A performance at the event  Hundreds of audiences were impressed by stellar performances staged by Vietnamese students in Wollongong (Vgong) at the Gala Vgong’s Got Talent event held in New South Wales, Australia, on June 16. The event was part of the activities to mark 45th anniversary of the Vietnam-Australia bilateral ties and cherish the establishment of the United Association of Vietnamese Students in New South Wales (UAVS) with the participation of Vgong as a member. It drew the participation of the Consul General of Vietnam in Sydney as special guest, students and guests from major universities in New South Wales such as the University of Wollongong (UoW), Sydney University, University of New South Wales, University of Technology of Sydney and Macquarie University. Vietnamese Consul General in Sydney Trinh Duc Hai stressed that education and training is among four pillars in bilateral cooperation under the agreement between the two countries to lift up ties to strategic partnership, which was reached during Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc’s visit to Australia in March. He expressed his hope that the UoW will play an important role in the bilateral education collaboration. After the establishment of the UAVS, the association of the Vietnamese intellectuals in New South Wales was set up, whose president and members are professors and researchers at the UoW. Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Wollongong Paul Gollan, for his part, highlighted that the university is proud of activities of the Vgong, one of the most active and effective clubs in connecting Vietnamese students in Australia. The UoW has long-standing relations with Vietnamese partners and universities, he said, adding that Vietnam is in top five countries with the most students pursuing study at the university, mostly in engineering, information and technology and business. The university also welcomes a line-up of leading researchers and scholars from Vietnam and last year many Vietnamese students received major awards and scholarships of the university, he underlined. Before the gala night, Hai had a meeting with the university’s executive board to discuss measures to foster education cooperation between the UoW and the Vietnamese universities and institutions in the fields of science and technology and business. VNN