VFF President Nhan: Environmental protection should be based on people

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front (VFF) Nguyen Thien Nhan has affirmed that environmental protection should be based on people in order to help them understand benefits of environmental protection.

President of the Vietnam Fatherland Front Nguyen Thien Nhan speaking at the meeting (Credit: VGP)

VFF President Nhan made the statement during the April 15 launch of a steering committee on a collaborative programme to protect the environment and cope with climate change and its 2016-2020 operations.

The meeting saw the presence of dignitaries from 14 religions across the country, leaders from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) and Director of the Nordic Assistance to Vietnam/ Norwegian Church Aid (NAV/NCA VN).

In order to elevate the roles, responsibilities and contributions of religious dignitaries in protecting the environment and coping with climate change, the VFF Central Committee decided to establish the steering committee with members who are representatives from the VFF, the MONRE, 14 religions, the NAV/NCA VN and the VFF’s branches in several provinces and cities in Vietnam.

Addressing the gathering, Nhan asked for studies of conditions and customs of each religion and locality to define specific tasks and plans in order to realise the collaborative programme.

Localities should devise flexible plans with a focus on creating conditions for religious followers to work with each other and nourish consensus in implementing the plans, Nhan said.

He urged the VFF and the MONRE to work with each other to communicate with religious communities and people in general on policies of the Party and the State; provide documents on the environment, climate change and environmental pollution situation; and boost the self-responsive capacity among religious communities and people in order to help them face and ease the consequences of natural disasters for local residents.

The official also asked the dignitaries to promote their roles in orientating local residents’ environmental protection behaviours while working closely with the VFF, the MONRE and other relevant agencies to practice oversight in environmental protection and climate change response in State agencies, businesses, organisations and individuals in order to ensure an effective implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection and the National Target Programme on Climate Change.

According to a report by the World Health Organisation, 88% of the population in 1,600 cities around the world is living with severely polluted air and is regularly infected with respiratory diseases and other fatal diseases. Research by international environmental experts said that Vietnam is one of five countries affected the most by the climate change and sea level rise, with an annual average of 457 casualties and injured people, and US$1.9 billion in damages.

(Source: NDO)