“Wetlands – the heart of Asia” is the theme of the conference being held in Hanoi from June 22-25 to highlight the importance of wetlands in Asian people’s daily life.
In Asia, although wetlands are closely associated with rice production and are part of the cultural heritage, they are now becoming endangered. Therefore, the conference will also address issues facing Asian people in the process of conserving and managing wetland areas in Asia.
Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen said Vietnam is the first South East Asian country to join the Ramsar convention. So far, Vietnam has always made great efforts to use and manage wetland areas wisely and sustainably. He expressed the belief that the conference will make a positive contribution to the successful preparations for the upcoming 10th Conference of Parties to the Ramsar Convention to be held in the Republic of Korea in October this year.
Vietnam has 68 wetland areas, covering more than 10 million of hectares such as Ba Be National Park, Ca Mau, Con Dao, U Minh Thuong. These are wetlands of international importance.
The event was co-organised by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Ramsar Center Japan (RCJ).
Source: VOV
