Environment experts on Thursday deplored the severe degrading of biodiversity of Vietnam, a country ranks 16th among the countries which have the richest biodiversity in the world and hosts one of the world's 12 plant breeding centers.

According to figures released, the area of natural forests and ecosystem of high biodiversity in Vietnam decreased from 72 percent in 1909 to 28 percent in 1995. In the past five decades, the area of mangrove forest declined by 80 percent and around 96 percent of coral reefs were affected.

The assessment was presented at the 4th Vietnam-Korea seminar held Thursday in Vietnamese capital Hanoi on environment planning and biodiversity preservation.

The seminar is set to bring together experts and scientists in the field to share experience on environmental impact assessment ( EIA), one of the major tools designed for environmental management.

Nguyen Ngoc Sinh, Chairman of Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment said EIA, including strategic environmental assessment, is an important issue that needs to be updated and exchanged regularly in both theory and practice.

Many changes and improvements have been made after 20 years of EIA works in Vietnam, Sinh said, adding that many important parts regarding EIA in the Environmental Protection Law have been reviewed and adjusted.

During the seminar, Korean experts shared experiences on environment planning and biodiversity preservation in projects of construction, transportation and industrial zones. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)