Water of life in gaelic

Growing vegetables in Tiền Giang Province’s Gò Công Tây District. – VNA/VNS Photo Minh Hưng TIỀN GIANG – The Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta province of Tiền Giang has invested in 70 in-field irrigation projects on 27,000ha of farming land in the coastal districts of Gò Công Đông and Gò Công Tây during the 2020 - 21 dry season. The projects, which cost a total of VNĐ15 billion (US$650,000), include building or upgrading in-field irrigation canals and ditches that ensure water and help to prevent saltwater intrusion in the dry season. The projects have protected more than 18,000ha of rice, 6,000ha of vegetables and 3,000ha of other crops from water shortage and saltwater intrusion in the winter – spring crop. They have also helped to secure daily-use water for 38,000 households in coastal areas. In Gò Công Đông, besides investing in in-field irrigation canals and ditches, local authorities have built four new sluices for taking irrigation water since the beginning of the dry season. The district has organised the collection of rubbish and water hyacinths on in-field irrigation canals and ditches so that irrigation water can flow easily into each field. The district has taken measures to restructure agricultural production to suit each area, according to local authorities. In the winter – spring crop, farmers in Gò Công Đông have expanded cultivation of vegetables and other crops on 1,500ha. Gò Công Đông and Gò Công Tây districts normally face severe saltwater intrusion in the dry season and face shortage of irrigation water at the end of the winter – spring crop. The two districts have also expanded advocacy activities about the impact of saltwater intrusion to the public. Local authorities in the two districts have encouraged farmers to dredge irrigation ditches in orchards to preserve fresh water for irrigation. Ngô Văn Dũng, head of the Gò Công Tây Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the district has invested …

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A woman of La Hủ ethnic minority group in the northern mountainous province of Lai Châu gave her thumbprint signature to receive her shares from the forest environmental services collected in 2020. — VNA/VNS Photo Quý Châu HÀ NỘI — The Việt Nam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST) aims to collect VNĐ2.8 trillion (US$121.7 million) from forest environmental services this year. Under this policy, forest service users like tourism businesses or hydropower plants will have to pay according to their use of forest resources to forest owners, who are local individuals, households, organisations or communities. According to VNFOREST Deputy Director Phạm Văn Điển, forest carbon sequestration and emission reduction services, a new feature of 2021, will add between VNĐ300 to 500 billion to the sector’s annual income from environmental services. Last year, the revenue from those services stood at VNĐ2.56 trillion, meeting 91 per cent of the yearly target. The number fell short of expectations due largely to severe water shortages at large hydropower reservoirs in the north like Hoà Bình, Sơn La, and Lai Châu between the fourth quarter of 2019 and the second quarter of 2020, said the Việt Nam Forest Protection and Development Fund (VNFF). The shortage affected the performance of hydropower companies. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the production and operations of businesses employing these services. The fund said revenues from forest environment services supported 226 forest management boards and 138,000 forest owners, while creating incomes for 81 forestry companies and livelihoods for more than 172,000 families in mountainous areas, helping lift their living standards. Revenues from forest environmental services have become a sustainable source of finance that helps to increase the value of the forestry sector as well as contributes to GDP growth, according to the fund. Điển said the revenues come from exploiting the forests so …

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Volunteers and the young clean the beach in Khánh Hoà Province. — Photo tinhdoankhanhhoa.org.vn HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam will join the ASEAN Working Group on Climate Change (AWGCC), as well as continue its coordinating role in performing activities in 2021, according to the ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment (ASOEN)’s office in Việt Nam (ASOEN Vietnam Office). This year, within ASOEN cooperation, Việt Nam will promote cooperation and sharing of information, data and experiences, and perform its role as the host country of the 11th AWGCC Meeting, the 5th ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable City (ESC) Award, the 4th ceremony to award the potential ESC certificate. Việt Nam will proactively participate in and cooperate closely with Japan and other ASEAN member countries in implementing the ASEAN-Japan cooperation project on environment, climate change and marine waste, while maintaining close cooperation with the Republic of Korea and other member states to carry out cooperation programmes and projects on the environment and climate change. It will work with partner countries and international organisations to implement ASEAN cooperation activities, including Norway, Germany, the European Union (EU), and the German Development Cooperation Agency (GIZ). As a responsible member of the ASEAN Community, in 2020, Việt Nam demonstrated its efforts and determination to successfully fulfil responsibilities, contributing to the regional integration process in terms of natural resources and the environment, as well as playing a crucial role in expanding environmental cooperation. Marine plastic debris, and marine and coastal environmental problems are seen as the biggest environmental challenges facing ASEAN countries, the office said. Việt Nam strongly supports the building of an ASEAN action plan on marine plastic waste prevention, said Nguyễn Quế Lâm, Deputy Director-General of the Việt Nam Administration of Seas and Islands and head of the ASEAN …

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