The World Environment Day (June 5), launched by the UN Environment Programme, has been celebrated in Vietnam since 1982 and become a nationwide movement, helping raise public awareness of environmental protection, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and climate change response. This year, the day is themed "Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience”. All-level Party Committees and administrations in Hoa Binh province continue to view improving awareness, restoring land, and fighting drought and desertification as an indispensable part of the socio-economic development plan and an important task during the sustainable development process.
Young people in Chieng Chau commune, Mai Chau district, clean up a road to Lac village.
According to the provincial People’s Committee, natural disasters caused losses worth over 129 billion VND (5 million USD) in Hoa Binh in 2023. In particular, prolonged and widespread heat last year resulted in water levels of many local rivers and springs falling down to below the dead level. This situation may repeat in 2024 as the province’s hydro-meteorological station forecast strong heats will continue this summer, posing risk of widespread drought and water shortage.
Pham Thi Hoa, head of the environmental protection division, said risks of land erosion, drought, and desertification have never been so obvious like at present. This year’s World Environment Day is themed "Land restoration, desertification and drought resilience” to appeal to countries around the globe to work together to restore land, fight desertification, and improve drought resilience, thus slowing down climate change, protecting the nature, and improving livelihoods and food security for billions of people worldwide.
Viewing environmental protection as a foundation, focal factor, and prerequisite for sustainable economic development, Hoa Binh is pressing on with comprehensive solutions to protect the environment and cope with climate change.
In particular, it is stepping up the implementation of the 2020 Law on Environmental Protection and the document guiding the implementation of the law; the Government and the province’s programmes, resolutions, decisions, and directives on active response to climate change, environmental protection, and greenhouse gas emission reduction; measures for responding to heat, drought, water shortages, and saltwater intrusion; along with carbon credit management.
Local authorities are reviewing and monitoring the land environment quality; building and implementing plans to treat and restore polluted land areas; and devising measures for prenventing and minimising drought and desertification.
Coordination is being enhanced among all-level authorities, sectors, and localities while conditions are created for locals to access anti-drought and desertification information and techniques.
Efforts are being stepped up to protect and develop forests, efficiently use land resources, develop livelihoods for residents in desertifying areas and those at risk of desertification. Advanced solutions are also being considered and applied to efficiently use water resources and protect land surface.
Besides, Hoa Binh is working to improve public awareness. It identifies land restoration and drought and desertification prevention as an indispensable part of the socio-economic development plan and also an important task during the sustainable development process.
The province will also expand effective models of land restoration and drought and desertification prevention, especially in the areas directly affected by natural phenomena.
The National Science and Engineering Fair for secondary and high school students was held at Ton Duc Thang University in Ho Chi Minh City from March 19-21 by the Ministry of Education and Training.
As women's participation in key leadership positions of Hoa Binh province is still modest while some women in rural and mountainous areas or from ethnic minorities face limited access to policies, the provincial Party Committee's Organisation Board has advised the provincial Party Committee's Standing Board to direct Party committees at all levels and localities to pay more attention to training female personnel and creating favourable conditions for women to take over leadership and management roles, thus addressing a shortage in the number of female cadres.
The Department of Education and Training of Hoa Binh province held a conference on March 18 to review the performance of the "Safe and Happy School" Project and set out tasks for 2025. The project, funded by the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF), aims to create a safe, inclusive, and supportive learning environment for students. The event saw the attendance of representatives from the TFCF and 26 beneficiary schools.
With over 70% of their workers being women, trade unions across industrial parks (IPs) in Hoa Binh have been actively safeguarding their legal rights and interests while implementing initiatives to improve their income and well-being.
In recent years, the Hoa Binh provincial General Hospital has continuously innovated itself and improved the quality of medical services to meet the increasing needs of local people. With substantial investments in infrastructure and modern equipment, along with a team of highly qualified doctors and nurses, the hospital has gradually established itself as one of the leading medical units in the Northwestern region and a trusted destination for healthcare for people inside and outside the province.
From mastering the fundamentals of programming to achieving national recognition, the Programming Club of the Le Van Tam Primary School (STAR LVT28) in Hoa Binh city has made remarkable strides in the field of robotics.
