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The boom in apartment buildings in HCM City is threatening the southern citys green spaces. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Ha
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In fact, under national standards, the per capita green tree area should be seven square metres per person, but this was just 0.92 square metres per person, they announced at a recent press conference.
The city’s Department of Transport said there had been a recent reduction in areas in the land available to plant trees and create green spaces as part of efforts to limit climate change impacts.
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Many land plots that had been set aside for planting trees have been taken for various infrastructure development projects, the department said.
For example, the green space of Dong Dieu Park in District 8, which has undergone several plan modifications, has now reduced by 50 per cent.
The area of a flower village in Go Vap District has reduced by 80 per cent, according to Hoang Minh Tri, head of the Institute of Planning and Architecture.
The problem was the result of poor land management by authorities at the district level, Tri said.
For the first urban planning project formulated in 1975, many consultants had asked local authorities to have solutions in place to retain land for public works, including the planting of trees, Tri noted.
Land earmarked under this plan for planting trees and creating green spaces had been used by district administrations to develop many urban development projects over the years. Now it was difficult to reclaim such land because the site clearance process would cost a lot of money, he added.
According to the Department of Transport, which is in charge of green space management in the city, many of its big parks like Tao Dan, Le Van Tam, September 23, Gia Dinh, Hoang Van Thu, Thao Cam Vien and others were established before 1975.
No big parks have been built since and the population of the city has soared to reach almost 10 million people now.
Recently, HCM City has planted many trees on many streets with large pavements, but these efforts fall short of what is needed to improve environmental conditions for the city as a whole.
The Department of Transport has initiated programmes to encourage residents to plant more trees at home.
"Trees play an important role in cooling the atmosphere, absorbing water to prevent floods and preserving underground water resources," said Dr Nguyen Trung Viet of the city’s Department of Natural Resources and Environment’s Solid Waste Management Department.
"Green spaces are needed to cope with the impacts of global warming in HCM City," Viet noted.
V.N.N