On June 2nd, in Quang Tri, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, in collaboration with the People’s Committee of Quang Tri Province, organized a rally in support of World Environment Day (June 5th).
Attendees included Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Mai Ai Truc, leaders of Quang Tri Province, representatives from central ministries and agencies, UNDP in Vietnam, and international organizations operating in Quang Tri.
This year’s World Environment Day has the theme “Deserts and Desertification” with the slogan: “Don’t abandon dry lands”. Therefore, Vietnam has chosen Quang Tri Province—a locality significantly affected by natural disasters and the ravages of war—to hold the rally.
Currently, Quang Tri has over 166,000 hectares of unused mountainous land due to aridity, water scarcity, and poor nutrition, including over 17,000 hectares of coastal sandy land that is very difficult to rehabilitate and is at risk of desertification. For many years, Quang Tri Province has made efforts to clear landmines, rehabilitate land, invest in land improvement, and restore hundreds of thousands of hectares of forest, especially along the coastal sandy areas.
Globally, approximately 30% of the Earth’s surface is desert or undergoing desertification. The expansion of deserts is not only due to climate and climate change but also due to increasing population pressure and irresponsible human activities. Desertification is occurring worldwide, with increasingly severe ecological and environmental consequences, including in our country.
In Vietnam, the reduction of arable land and the decline in land quality due to erosion, runoff, drought, landslides, salinization, and desertification are causing about 50% of over 33 million hectares of natural land in our country to be at risk of desertification.
Immediately after the rally, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and Quang Tri Province inaugurated a clean water supply project with a total investment of 270 million VND benefiting 64 households in the resettlement area of Tan Hiep Hamlet, Cam Tuyen Commune, Cam Lo District—an area affected by recent land subsidence. On the same day, thousands of officials, workers, youth union members, and students participated in a supporting parade in Dong Ha Town.
