~ Le Viêt Nam, aujourd'hui. ~
The Vietnam News

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[Year 1998]
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[Year 2001]
[Year 2002]

Hanoi pleases nature lovers

Vietnam's environment could be the big winner in an upcoming cabinet reshuffle. Word has leaked out that Hanoi may set up a new Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to focus responsibility and end the struggle over various environmental projects now scattered among several ministries. Both local and foreign environmentalists are cheered by the news, which is expected to be confirmed on August 5 by the national assembly, Vietnam's highest legislative body.

"We're all pretty ecstatic about it," says Craig Leisher, programme director in Vietnam for the World Wide Fund for Nature. "It will help improve the balance between protecting and exploiting resources," adds Tran Van Nhan, director of the Vietnam Cleaner Production Centre in Hanoi. With foreign donors shifting their focus to protection of marine resources, it's worth noting that the front runner for the new ministerial post is Mai Ai Truc, Communist Party secretary of the central coastal province of Binh Dinh, where new efforts are under way to guard precious coral reefs and other sea life.

The Far Eastern Economic Review - July 25, 2002.