Ha Noi needs help from its community to protect the number of lakes and ponds from encroaching urbanisation. Many lakes have already been lost or reduced because of pollution, VietNamNet Bridge reports.
The ministry stated that this situation could get worse by 2020, when about 45% of Vietnam’s population was expected to be living in urban areas.
The remaining lakes need to be protected from pollution.
On Earth Day this year, the Ngoc Khanh Ward’s Women Union teamed up with the US Embassy and the centre and cleaned up Ngoc Khanh Lake.
However, people still continue to throw ash from burned votive paper products into the lakes. This has a negative impact on the lake ecosystem.
Vietnam now has 120 lakes covering about 6.2 square kilometres in six districts, and 70% of these are mainly heavily polluted.
Trying to control this situation, the city People’s Committee in 2009 started dredging works on Ba Mau, Bay Mau, Dong Da, Thien Quang and Truc Bach lakes.
Also last July the Government approved a master plan for the city setting aside 70% of total space as “green”.
Still this remains an enormous problem, and one of the steps to resolve it would be that each locality takes responsibly for the quality of lake water.
Deputy director of the Viet Nam Environment Administration Hoang Duong Tung stated: “ We have planned to launch programmes to provide full information about the value of lakes through the mass media and community associations .”
[mappress]
Dredging Today Staff, June 25, 2012