The recognition of the Non Nuoc Cao Bang Geopark in Cao Bang province as a UNESCO Global Geopark is among the outstanding events in 2018 selected by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment 

Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) hasselected 10 top events in fields under its management in 2018.

Thefollowing are the events:

1. The8th plenum of the 12th Party Central Committee issuedResolution 36-NQ-TW dated October 22, 2018 on the Strategy on SustainableDevelopment of the Marine Economy to 2030 with a vision to 2045. The resolutionoutlines five major policies on developing the marine and coastal economy alongwith three breakthroughs and seven key groups of solutions.

2. The14th National Assembly adopted the Law on Measurement and Map. Thisis the first time Vietnam has had a law regulating professional activities inthe field of measurement and mapping, which is significant in the context ofthe Fourth Industrial Revolution.

3. Manypolicies of the Party regarding the management of land and natural resources,environmental protection and response to climate change have been reviewed andassessed in a comprehensive manner. The policies included the 11th Party Central committee’s Resolution 19-NQ/TW dated October 31, 2012 oncontinuing to reform land-related policies and law, and Resolution 24-NQ/TW onmaking proactive response to climate change, strengthening the management ofnatural resources and environmental protection. The assessment helped pinpointoutstanding problems and shortcomings which must be addressed in the timeahead.

4. ThePrime Minister issued Directive 27/CT-TTg dated September 17, 2018 on urgentmeasures to tighten management of the import of waste and use of imported wasteas production materials amid the piling up of imported waste at sea ports. TheMoNRE also promulgated circulars on national environmental standards for sixtypes of imported waste in high demand which are scrap iron, steel; plastics;paper; glass; non-ferrous metals; and slag.

5. The sixth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) took place inVietnam with the participation of nearly 1,500 delegates, including heads ofState, Government leaders, ministers, heads of environmental agencies of 183countries, UN agencies, non-governmental organisations, international financialinstitutes, and experts. The same year, Vietnam successfully organized severalkey international events in the field of natural resource and environment, suchas the 50th session of the Typhoon Committee, the 15th Regional Congress on Geology, Mineral and Energy Resources of Southeast Asia,and the 25th meeting of the Mekong River Commission Council.

6. The initiatives on forming a global cooperation mechanism for reducing plasticwaste and building a regional partnership in management of plastic waste inSoutheast Asia proposed by Vietnam at the expanded Group of Seven (G7) Summitin Canada and the 6th GEF Assembly won appreciation of theinternational community. In implementing the initiatives, the MoNRE launched alarge-scale campaign to reduce plastic waste and the use of disposable plasticgoods, which received warm response from agencies, organisations and thecommunity.

7.The Non Nuoc Cao Bang Geopark in the northern province of Cao Bang wasrecognised as a UNESCO Global Geopark at the 204th session of theUNESCO Consecutive Council in April. It is the second UNESCO-recognised Global Geopark in Vietnamafter Dong Van Karst Plateau, which was accredited in 2010. The park is alsothe eight of its kind in Southeast Asia to receive the status. The Non Nuoc CaoBang Global Geopark covers more than 3,000 sq.km. spreading across nine districts.

8. Hanoibecomes the first city in the country to invest in an air monitoring systemmeeting national standards, with 10 automatic air monitoring stations put intouse in 2018, a mobile air monitoring vehicle, six water surface monitoringstations and an information and operation centre. Data on air quality areupdated around the clock and publicised using various media for the public tokeep check of the air quality where they live.

9. Speedingup the implementation of the e-Government, IT application, administrative reformand streamlining of business conditions and commodities subject to specialisedinspection in the field of natural resources and environment. An interactivenetwork has been completed connecting the MoNRE, the departments of naturalresources and the environment of 63 provinces, the People’s Committees ofprovinces and centrally-run cities, and governmental agencies, allowing them tocontact, send and receive documents. A total of 102 out of 163 business conditionswere abolished (62.6 percent, surpassing the Government’s target of 12.6percent), and the number of commodities subject to specialised inspection wasreduced by 38, from 74 to 36 (51.3 percent).

🌃 10. Freshwaterwas found at a depth of 80m on Bach Long Vi Island, an offshore district of thenorthern city of Hai Phong. The island, which is 100km from the mainland, oftensuffers from water shortage. The two drilled wells have a combined flow of 75cubic metres per day.-VNA