Prone areas of flood in india

But every day, even in the cold of the northern winter, he stands by the front door of his house to gaze at the forest with pride and happiness. The trees were all planted by him and his family over 50 years, and his life has been dedicated to growing and protecting them. Cao belongs to the Dao ethnic group, and lives in Tan Dan Commune in Ha Long Town of Quang Ninh Province, home to the world-famous bay. Trieu Tai Cao at his home in Ha Long in Quang Ninh Province. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Cuong. The Dao used to be nomadic, felling forests to meet their temporary land needs for cattle and crops before moving on. It was not until 1968 that they started to settle. By then Cao had started thinking about growing trees. He began to look around for seedlings of valuable timber trees such as ironwood, shorea and apitong. Between 1970 and 1980 he and his family planted those and other trees on 32 hectares (80 acres). They faced a lot of challenges in protecting the forest initially because there were no regulations for transferring forest lands to local residents, meaning his family had no authority to manage the forest. In 1992 the government announced a policy of handing over forests for people to maintain and exploit sustainably. "I love our family’s forest," Cao says. "Thanks to that policy, I could continue growing timber while many people around us opted for growing wattle, also known as acacia." Growing acacia takes less time and effort and starts providing an income sooner than timber. Now the forest has around 600 ironwood trees aged 40-70 years besides hundreds of other timber trees. Trieu Tien Loc in his family’s forest in Ha Long in Quang Ninh Province. Photo by VnExpress/Minh Cuong. "I am close to death now and have fulfilled my wish to leave the future generations a forest with such valuable trees. "Forests are humans’ lungs and should not be treated as public property. So I also wish my children and …

[Read more...] about Man spends decades growing trees, says bequest to future generations

The minister made the remark at a launching ceremony of the New Year Tree Planting Festival and responding to the Government’s program of planting 1 billion trees during 2021-2025, held recently in Hanoi. The map’s database, including information about tree species, planting process and characteristics of trees during the growing process, was expected to improve the efficiency of managing and taking care of trees nationwide, he added. It would help State management agencies assess the current distribution of green trees, monitor the trees’ growing process and connect tree providers and growers, Ha noted. Besides, the digital map would also assist the agencies to identify areas in need of ecosystem restoration, prevention of salinity intrusion and anti-desertification. He also took the occasion to call upon every individual and organization in the country to participate in the festival and the program, contributing to the commitment and responsibility of protecting the environment and adapting to climate change from today’s generation to the next generations. More than 60 years ago, President Ho Chi Minh wrote an article which was published in Nhan dan (The People) newspaper, stressing the significance of tree planting to each person, each family and the entire nation. It has since become an annual Vietnamese custom each Lunar New Year. Under the directive No 45/CT-TTg on implementing the New Year Tree Planting Festival and improving forest protection and development, the country will plant 1 billion trees during 2021-2025, of which, nearly 700 million trees will be planted in urban and rural areas and more than 300 others in the forest. This year, the country will plant about 182 million trees. Source: VNA …

[Read more...] about Environment ministry builds digital tree map in Vietnam

At 6 a.m. Friday, the 15th day of the first lunar month, Ly A Ton, 62, woke early to prepare offerings, including fresh flowers, fruit, incense, boiled chicken and fried cakes ( jian dui ) in front of his house on Tran Hung Dao Street in District 5. Instead of flocking to a Chinese-built pagoda with his offerings and burning incense to the gods as in previous years, Ton stayed home and set up a table to worship the deities for fear of gathering in crowds amid the new Covid-19 outbreak that began in the country in late January. He then hung red pieces of paper bearing Chinese characters on his walls to pray for peace and good fortune. "This is the most important ritual during Tet Nguyen Tieu ," he said, referring to the Lantern Festival, known as the biggest and most important festival of the year for ethnic Chinese, marking the final day of the traditional Lunar New Year ( Tet ) celebration. It is observed on the 15th day of the first lunar month, the first Full Moon day of the Lunar New Year. " Tet Nguyen Tieu to us is even more important than Lunar New Year’s Eve and Chinese like us always light incense to deities at pagodas and temples to pray for the removal of bad luck and a year of peace and happiness," Ton noted. "But the Covid-19 outbreak forced us to celebrate on a smaller scale this year. I am old and scared of contracting the virus or spreading it to my family members. Therefore, I limit going out and gathering in crowds." He also had to cancel a reunion party with his relatives and could not visit his friends during the festival, which is an occasion for reunited families to eat dumplings and floating rice cakes made of glutinous rice flour wrapped around a sweet filling. Inside the 250-year-old Lady Thien Hau Temple, which is dedicated to worship the Goddess of the Sea, the devout convey their prayers by lighting spiral incense sticks that can burn for weeks. Photo by VnExpress/Phong Vinh. Ton is one of thousands …

[Read more...] about Covid-19 wave forces Chinese Vietnamese to celebrate Lantern Festival in silence