Da Nang is still on right track to implement a project of turning itself into an environmentally-friendly city’ in the 2021 - 2030 period. After a period of actively implementing environmental protection and raising awareness about environmental protection, the city has achieved highly-encouraging results, kicking off a new stage in building Da Nang into an environmentally-friendly city.

Many models and activities have been organised to respond to environmental protection, including preserving the marine environment. Youth union members are pictured picking up trash and preserving the marine environment. Photo: THU HA

Lots of good models get into reality

One of the highlights recognising the city's results during the journey to develop itself into an environmentally- friendly city is that, in early 2023, Da Nang nationally led in the implementation of the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment- released Environmental Protection Performance Indicators (PEPI) with 79.82 points.

It can be seen that great efforts made by local authorities, agencies and city-dwellers have been paid off with a wide array of specific and highly-practical activities. Typically, right after the traditional Vietnamese Lunar New Year (Tet), people in Hoa Vang District simultaneously went out to streets to clean up the environment, collect recyclable waste after sorting garbage at the source, planting and taking care of trees, responding to the movement ‘Green, Clean and Beautiful Sunday’.

This movement is, in particular, maintained by localities in the district at the weekend and is identified as one of the main operational models to implement the project ‘Building Da Nang into Environmentally-friendly City’ in the 2021 - 2030 period in this suburb district.  Every year, a volume of more than 2,000m³ of waste is collected across the district through this campaign.

Strongly determined to build environmentally-friendly city

In 2021, the project ‘Building Da Nang into Environmentally-friendly City’ for the 2021 - 2030 was issued by the Da Nang People's Committee. Over the past two years, the city has effectively implemented environmental protection activities such as ensuring pollution prevention, improving the environment, resolving key pollution hotspots, the conservation of nature and biodiversity and raising public awareness of environmental protection.

For the main task of pollution prevention and control, the Da Nang Department of Natural Resources and Environment conducted oil spill response drills in 2022 at the Tho Quang Fishing Wharf, inspected the observance of legal regulations on environmental protection at 24 projects, resolved public complaints about environmental pollution.

In the group of environmental improvement tasks, functional units have patrolled, inspected and sanctioned violations, installed 74 cameras, handled acts of littering and discharging wastewater into the wharf and the fish market, removed 829 cages for illegally raised fish and clams, operating newly-completed facilities at the Khanh Son Solid Waste Treatment Complex, synchronously invested in waste collection and treatment works.

In addition, special attention was given to organising exhibitions on the conservation of biodiversity and wild animals and providing additional means and equipment for forest protection and biodiversity conservation activities for special-use forest management units.

With regard to strengthening capacity, raising public awareness on environmental protection, the Department organised more than 15 international and national webinars, promoted 10 projects of technical assistance on environment, climate change, solid waste management, domestic solid waste classification at source and plastic waste management with more than VND 83 billion earmarked for the 2021 - 2024 period.

As many as more than 100,000 people are mobilised every year to participate in environmental sanitation and environmental protection activities across the city. More than 37 environmental protection models have been built up and replicated city-wide.

It is known that more than VND 3,418 billion which was calculated in 2022 and not including internationally- funded projects will be poured into the ‘Building Da Nang into Environmentally-friendly City’ project in the 2021 - 2030 period.

For the rest of 2023, the city will continue to implement the project with a focus on environmental pollution prevention, environmental improvement, solving key and urgent environmental problems, protecting nature conservation, biodiversity, enhancing capacity and raising public awareness of environmental protection, and at the same time, maximising resources to build Da Nang into an environmentally-friendly city.

Reporting by HA KHUE - Translating by A.THU