A series of whirlwinds hit several northwestern provinces over the past days, causing severe property damage.

The red-headed crane, a symbol of Tram Chim National Park in Tam Nong district, Mekong delta Dong Thap province, were spotted to have less visited the area than the previous years.

Local residents in villages to the north of Phong Binh commune, central Thua Thien-Hue province, have protected an ancient forest for hundreds of years through their village convention.

A project on improving the Vietnamese industry and trade sectors’ capacity to control greenhouse gas emissions and increase adaptation to climate change has been recently launched in Hanoi by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Vietnam ’s surface water is plagued by concerning problems including depletion and large scale pollution, according to Radio the Voice of Vietnam (VOV) website.

Hanoi will invest over 13 trillion VND (619 million USD) to tackle pollution in 44 craft villages specialising in food and agricultural product processing.

Local authorities nationwide are tightening measures to prevent and minimise the effects of avian influenza H5N1 and H7N9, on poultry and humans.

The department of forest management in the southern province of Binh Phuoc is coordinating with local national parks to protect two herds of 22 gayals which have gone out of the forest and destroyed crops, according to the Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper.

Vietnam is looking to the Internet for effective solutions to prevent wild animal trafficking as over 33 websites in the country are found to host the illegal trade of 108 wild animal species.

A seminar has been held in Hanoi to raise awareness on the effective use of resources and cleaner production to attain a sustainable consumption and production-based society.

Vietnam 's response to climate change will focus on adaptation, which will be mainly funded by State budget.

A project to increase Vietnamese industries' capacity to control greenhouse gas emissions and their ability to adapt to climate change was launched on April 17.

The national forest inventory project will be carried out across the country from June 1, 2013 to December 31, 2016 , according to the Office of Government.

Natural disasters economically cost 1.48 percent of Vietnam’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually during 2008-2012, an official has said.