Vietnam not doing enough to protect environment around dams: experts
Authorities have been doing too little to regrow trees they felled to make way for hydropower projects, experts said.
Growing trees is the most effective way to control floods and prevent erosion in downstream areas, Dao Xuan Hoc, chairman of the Vietnam Water Resources Development Association, said at a conference in Hanoi on Wednesday.
Trieu Van Hung, chairman of the Vietnam Forest Science Technology Association, said it has been done in quantity rather than quality.
When trees are planted, they are not chosen well, he said, pointing to the fact that at some places trees that do not prevent erosion such as gum and acacia and those with short lifespans are grown.
“The forests that are cleared for dams are natural forests, and they took a long time to form those canopies and ecosystems.
Nguyen Xuan
