This is activity within the framework of the sixth Global Environment Facility Assembly (GEF 6). The campaign saw the attendance of MONRE's Deputy Minister Vo Tuan Nhan, the UN Human Settlement Programme (UN Habitat)’s Under Secretary-General and Executive Director Maimunah Mohd Sharif.
Deputy Minister Vo Tuan Nhan and Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif planted trees on Da Nang beach. Photo: Thanh Tran.
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She informed that eight million tons of plastic waste are discharged into the ocean each year, while about three billion people depend on the sea for their livings.
Attention should be paid to raise public awareness of ocean waste and community responsibilities in the management and protection of the marine environment, stressed Maimunah Mohd Sharif.
The UN Habitat is willing to cooperate with Vietnam in urgent issues such as plastic waste and preservation of ancient cities, she added.
This meaningful activity attracted many international participants. Photo: Thanh Tran
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He also briefed his guest on UN Habitat’s projects to help Vietnam tackle challenges in urban areas, which focus on key determinants for sustainable urbanization and inclusive urban development.
Main fields of UN Habitat’s projects in Vietnam include land and housing, urban governance and planning, and environmentally sound urban infrastructure and services, among others.
The two sides took the occasion to put forward some cooperation possibilities in the coming time.
Accordingly, UN Habitat may send international experts from prestigious research institutes to assist Vietnam in land use planning, land management and supervision of sustainable land use and resettlement.
In addition, the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands will join hands with UN Habitat Vietnam to improve environment for human settlement and ecological system at the Mekong Delta, aiming to prevent risks of climate change impacts.
Following the launching ceremony, Deputy Minister Vo Tuan Nhan and his delegates and hundreds of officials came down to Nguyen Tat Thanh beach to collect rubbish and plant trees to protect the coast.
"This activity propagates and educates people to raise their awareness and responsibility for the maintenance of marine environmental sanitation, at the mean time contributing to spreading to other localities in the country. Vietnam will be ready to pioneer in the world to protect our ocean," said Deputy Minister Nhan.
