Central Coast Incident Not in Top 10 Events of 2016

Minister Tran Hong Ha has just signed a decision to announce the 10 outstanding events of the industry in 2016. However, the Central coastal pollution incident did not make the list of environmental events.

The decision signed by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) Tran Hong Ha was announced on January 4. Accordingly, the 10 events include:

1.Issue the Action Program of the Party Executive Committee, the Party Executive Committee of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to implement the Resolution of the 12th National Congress of the Party.

2.Government's online conference on environmental protection and issuance of Directive No. 25/CT-TTg dated August 31, 2016 on a number of urgent tasks and solutions on environmental protection.

3.For the first time, the master plan for the national natural resources and environmental monitoring network for the 2016-2025 period, with a vision to 2030, was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 90/QD-TTg dated January 12, 2016.

4.The planning of the network of public service units under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment until 2020, with a vision to 2030, was approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 2283/QD-TTg dated November 25, 2016.

5.Vietnam participates in the Global Green Growth Forum (3GF).

6. Adjustment of the Land Use Plan to 2020 and the final land use plan (2016 - 2020) at the national level was approved by the 13th National Assembly, 11th session in Resolution No. 134/2016/QH13 dated April 9, 2016.

7.Sign and ratify the Paris Agreement on climate change and issue a plan to implement the agreement.

8.New discovery of copper and uranium ore in Dak Ruong commune, Kon Plong district, Kon Tum province.

9.Complete the set of maps of the Vietnam - Laos national border at a scale of 1/50,000, attached with the protocol on the border and border markers between Vietnam - Laos, the agreement on border management regulations and border gates on land between Vietnam - Laos.

10.Implement management, direction and operation methods in an electronic environment through the use of document management systems, work records associated with digital signatures and information technology applications.

Meanwhile, the Formosa Ha Tinh incident that caused a marine environmental disaster in the Central region ranked second among the 10 outstanding environmental events of the year, voted by the Environmental News website and domestic environmental journalists.

Specifically, in early April, the phenomenon of mass fish deaths originating from the Vung Ang economic zone (Ky Anh town, Ha Tinh) spread throughout the central coast, stretching 200 km of coastline.

For the first time in history, Vietnam is facing an environmental disaster that affects the lives of millions of people. 39,000 fishermen in four provinces of Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien - Hue lost their jobs, and boats were grounded for 8 months. The fishing industry's output decreased by 20%, causing the country's GDP to grow by less than 6% after 9 months.

For more than 2 months, the entire political system has been searching for the cause of the destruction of the ecosystem of a seabed area. The culprit has been identified as the waste from Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation.

This is an event that has received special attention from the public nationwide. In 2016, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment also spent a lot of time directing its agencies to investigate the cause of the mass fish deaths.

The company's leaders bowed their heads to apologize to the Vietnamese people and paid 500 million USD in damages.

According to Vietnamnet.vn