A seminar took place on Monday when Da Nang shared experiences in environmental protection with Luang Prabang City in Laos.  The event was jointly organised by the Da Nang Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, a group of representatives from the Lao locality, and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), whose headquarters are in Japan.  

The seminar was part of the ASEAN Environmentally Sustainable Cities (ESC) Model Cities Programme.  This is a regional initiative which is funded by the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) and its purpose is to promote the development of ESC across ASEAN countries. 

The Director of the Department, Mr Nguyen Dieu, remarked that Da Nang has gained positive results from the implementation of the “Building Da Nang into an Environmentally-friendly City” project over the past 5 years.  This has been mainly attributed to the great efforts of the city’s authorities and the active involvement of local residents, as well as the significant support from international organisations like the IGES.

Despite some differences in their environmental problems and protection plans, Da Nang and Luang Prabang are now focussing on developing into environmentally friendly cities aiming towards sustainable development in the future.

Also at the event, representatives from the two localities stressed the need for them to increase experience exchanges in environmental protection with international organisations, scientists and those involving in environmental management.