The seminar was organised by the People and Nature Reconciliation, a Vietnamese not-for-profit organisation which was established in 2004 with an aim to protect and conserve diversity of life and improve human well-being in Viet Nam.
As Mekong ministers meet for the 20th Meeting of the Mekong River Commission Council in Bangkok tomorrow, the Save the Mekong coalition has issued a statement calling upon the Prime Ministers of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam to work together to address the threat posed by a proposed cascade of eleven Mekong mainstream dams to the region’s food security and people. The coalition requests that immediate action be taken to cancel the planned mainstream dams, including the Xayaburi and Don Sahong dams, which are already under construction. And to ensure that future decisions over the shared river are based on scientific knowledge, transboundary impact assessment, robust consultations, and respect for the rights of all riparian nations and the public to a transparent and participatory decision-making process.
Laos is continuing to build Don Sahong dam in the mainstream Mekong River regardless of objections and consultation requests from neighboring countries, the International Rivers Network said in a statement.
Between June 2-7, the Country Representative and National Project Manager of ADDA, accompanied by Mr. Hoang Xuan Thuy, the Deputy Director of the partner NGO, PanNature, travelled to Son La, Dien Bien and Lai Chau to orient the Provincial Farmers’ Unions of the three provinces and other local representatives on the new project, ‘Climate Change and Ethnic Minorities in Northern Vietnam’.
Laos promises to consult with experts and consider the construction of hydropower dams on Mekong River is the good news for Vietnam. However, scientists say Vietnam needs to act promptly to take full advantage of its opportunities.
On the occasion of the 2nd Mekong River Commission (MRC) Summit, on 3rd April 2014, the Save the Mekong Coalition (StM) sent a letter to four Prime Ministers of MRC member states to express their concerns over impacts of existing and planned hydropower projects.
On 28 March 2014, Sustainable Rural Development (SRD) and Center for Sustainable Development in Mountainous Areas (CSDM) - two interim representatives of CSO and EM - co-hosted the meeting on electing civil society organizations (CSO) and ethnic minorities (EM) representatives for Programme Executive Board (PEB) of UN-REDD Viet Nam Phase II Programme.
A large group of Vietnamese attended the ASEAN Civil Society Conference/ASEAN People’s Forum 2014 held in Yangon on March 21st-23rd, where they took an active part in various plenaries, workshops and side events.
Six non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Vietnam are carrying out four UK-funded projects this year in a joint effort to manage and use forest resources in a sustainable manner, according to the People and Nature Reconciliation (PanNature).
On March 3, the U.S. Embassy’s American Center Hanoi organized an event to celebrate the first globally recognized World Wildlife Day. More than sixty Vietnamese youth attended the program that began with a short, thought-provoking film on wildlife conservation practices in the United States. The film is the fifth, and final, part of a series on environmental issues, produced by Vietnamese broadcast journalists through the PAS-sponsored TV Coop program. The series was aired on national TV and is scheduled to be aired again soon.