Ha Noi (VNA) - The effectiveness of Viet Nam's drive to protect biodiversity remains low despite the growing acreage of nature reserves, said international and local environmental experts at a recent conference in Ha Noi.
According to a joint survey conducted by the Viet Nam Department for Environmental Protection and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Viet Nam now boasts 126 nature reserves with a total area of 2.5 million hectares, a 28 percent increase since 1994 when the country signed the International Convention on Biodiversity.
However, despite the country's efforts, results remain unsatisfactory.
At the Ha Noi conference, which assessed Viet Nam's implementation of the convention, participants expressed growing concerns regarding increasing environmental pollution, forest destruction and the threat of extinction of rare animals.
Within the last 10 years, the number of animals and plants driven to the verge of extinction has alarmingly increased from 709 species to 857. Experts said that some species, including Ricerorhinus sumatrensis, tapirus indicus and cynogale bennettii, are already extinct.
Environmentalists called on relevant agencies and authorities, from central to grassroots level, to concert their efforts on nature conservation.-Enditem
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