Air pollution will get more serious in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi if 6,700 aged trees in 190 streets are cut down as requested by local authorities, said Professor Dr. Dang Huy Huynh, vice chairman of the Vietnam Association of Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE). The professor has called on the authorities to seek opinions from local people before chopping these trees down. The city is now being polluted with noise and emission, a shortage of green trees will make the matter worse and worse, he said. Hanoi People’s Committee early this year gave the green light to the Department of Construction to chop down trees with rotten bark and roots which are in danger of falling in ten districts and replace them with new ones. Many of them are xa cu (khaya senegalensis) planted more than 60 years ago, or even 100 years. Other trees facing the axe were said to be bent or stunted. (VietnamPlus Mar 19)
