ENV

News Brief (E172, 1st - 7th July, 2006)

Management Board of Phong Dien Nature Reserve officially inaugurated
Thua Thien Hue Province - On July 4, 2006, Phong Dien Nature Reserve was officially established.
The Nature Reserve encompasses an area of 41,433 ha which is bordered by the Dakrong Nature Reserve of Quang Tri province. This forest of Phong Dien is home to many rare species including the sao la (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), red-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix nemaeus nemaeus), and yellow-cheeked gibbon (Hylobates gabriellae).

(Website www.thanhniennews.com.vn dated July 4, 2006; Pioneer Issue No.134 dated July 5, 2006; Law Issue 160 dated July 5, 2006)

Elephant tusk traders go to court
Hanoi City - On June 30, 2006, the man accused of involvement in the trade of 276 kg elephant tusks and 400 kg of hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricata) shells was sentenced to three years imprisonment and fined 20 million VND. Additionally, two custom officers from Hai Phong city were sentenced to thirty months probation for dereliction of duty resulting in serious consequences.  

In 2004, police discovered the tusks and turtle shell hidden in a container of salted dry fish in Hanoi’s Phu Thuy Industrial Zone of Gia Lam district. The contraband reportedly originated in Africa.

(Website www.vov.org.vn dated June 30, 2006; People Police issue 418 dated July 1, 2006; Vietnam News issue 5339 dated July 1, 2006)

Photograph of the tiger when it was alive Source: nhandan.com.vn

Pet tiger killed
Tien Giang Province – A pet tiger weighing nearly 200 kg was discovered by a staff of the Research and Aquaculture Center of Medicine facility run by National Defense Ministry to have been stolen on June 29 at 0500 hrs. The three-year-old tiger was purchased from a local resident for 350 million VND six months ago. According to information on the website nhan dan, the initial investigation showed that the violators were most probably professional thieves who knew what they were doing. The tiger was reportedly drugged before being slaughtered in its cage. News reports indicate that the thieves disemboweled the tiger at the research center before escaping with the body across a river on a raft.

(Website www.nhandan.com.vn issue 162 dated July 4, 2006; tuoitre issue 62 dated June 30, 2006; www.thanhnien.com.vn dated July 1, 2006)  

New stamps commemorate wildlife at Ben En National Park’s animals
On July 1, 2006, the Ministry of Postal and Telecommunications released a new set of stamps commemorating wildlife at Ben En National Park. The five-stamp set includes the northern white-cheeked gibbon (Hylobates concolor eucogennys), clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa), dhole (Cuon alpinus), common slow loris (Nycticebus coucang) and Chinese water dragon (Physignathus cocincinus). The stamps will be in circulation until June 30, 2008. 

(People issue 18587 dated July 1, 2006, website www.vietnamstamp.com.vn)

The five-stamp depicts historic wildlife of Ben En National Park in Thanh Hoa Province. Source: www.vietnamstamp.com.vn

Alcohol plant closed

Source: www.thanhniennews.com

Binh Dinh Province - On July 3, hundreds of local residents gathered outside a wine production plant demanding that the plant be closed. According to the local residents, wastewater released from the plant has polluted the local rivers, killing fish, poultry and causing negative impacts upon people’s health living nearby. Consequently, on the same day the Binh Dinh Provincial People’s Committee issued an official document suspending operation of the plant until it has completed installation of a wastewater treatment system.

(Website www.intellasia.com dated July 5, 2006)

Announcement

Survey on fish and butterfly faunas at Chu Yang Sin National Park
Birdlife International carried out a biodiversity survey in two main streams of Dak Tour and Krong K’Mar inside the core zone of Chu Yang Sin National Park, focusing on fish and butterfly faunas in April and June this year.
According to survey results, a total of 81 and 244 species of fish and butterfly were recorded respectively. The fish fauna is characteristic of fish fauna of the Mekong River with 76 species found in the river. Also through the survey, 10 butterfly species that had never been found before in the Lam Dong central highlands were recorded.

For further information, please visit the website: http://www.birdlifeindochina.org/report_pdfs/pr_second_survey_cys.pdf

or contact  Ms. Dang Nguyen Hong Hanh, tel. 84 – 4 -722 3864 or email: hanh@birdlife.netnam.vn

Links to environmental articles (Vietnamese and English)

Some high radioactive residency discovered
http://www.khoahoc.com.vn/view.asp?Cat_ID=7&Cat_Sub_ID=4&news_id=6679

Successful multiplication of the rare birch in Quang Binh province
http://www.vtv.vn/vi-vn/khoahoc/2006/6/96718.vtv

Endangered rhinoceros in Cat Tien National Park
http://www.tuoitre.com.vn/Tianyon/Index.aspx?ArticleID=147929&ChannelID=17

Grassland recorved in Tram Chim National Park
http://vietnamnet.vn/khoahoc/moitruong/2006/06/584753

Farmer cross breeds mutant gerbera
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2006/06/585828

Vietnam produces mining disaster warning system
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/tech/2006/07/586786/

For more information, please contact:

Nguyen Phuong Dung
Education for Nature - Vietnam (ENV)
No.2/C5 tap the Dai hoc Ngoai Thuong, pho Chua Lang, Ha Noi.
Tel/Fax: 04-775 3685
env@fpt.vn or communication.env@fpt.vn