Âu Lạc’s (Vietnam) wetlands endangered by climate change.
At a recent forum about global warming effects on biodiversity, Dr. Hoàng Nghĩa Sơn, Director of the Institute of Tropical Biology of Âu Lạc warned of the threats facing the nation’s mangrove forests. With salt water already encroaching and sea levels expected to rise at least one meter by the end of this century, more than eight national parks and 11 nature reserves would be flooded, destroying many species of plant and animals.

At the same forum, Dr. Lê Anh Tuấn of Cần Thơ University's Natural Resources and Environment Department emphasized that other effects of climate change such as rising temperatures, irregular rainfall, and increasingly extreme weather is also negatively affecting wetland biodiversity. 

Many thanks, Dr. Lê Anh Tuấn, Dr. Hoàng Nghĩa Sơn and all associates for your voiced concern about this urgent situation.

Let us act now in treading more lightly on the planet so that the beautiful flora and fauna of Âu Lạc and the world may continue to flourish. In a July 2009 interview published in the Irish Sunday Independent, Supreme Master Ching Hai, as on previous occasions, likewise spoke of the critical need for action to preserve life in the Mekong Delta and the world.


International scientists announce top 10 new species.
In efforts to draw attention to the importance of biodiversity, a committee of international scientists have compiled a list of top 10 new species described in 2009, which includes a unique freshwater minnow, a two-inch mushroom named Small Favor, an edible yam with 5 lobes and a flat-faced Psychedelic frogfish, among others. The 10 species have been selected from Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Myanmar, New Zealand, the Philippines, Thailand, US, and Uruguay.

Quentin Wheeler, director of the International Institute for Species Exploration said, “Most people do not realize just how incomplete our knowledge of Earth's species is ... We are surrounded by such an exuberance of species diversity that we too often take it for granted.”

Our earnest appreciation, International Institute for Species Exploration and all scientists involved in the discovery of these unique life forms. Blessed be our world in appreciation of the myriad natural creations that grace our Earth.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7758656/Top-10-new-species-fanged-minnow-and-carnivorous-
sponge.html
http://www.tgdaily.com/general-sciences-features/49908-weird-and-wonderful-top-ten-new-species-announced

Extra News
Persistent rain combined with excessive runoff from degraded barren hillsides has caused the salt pads of Katwe Lake in Uganda’s Kasese District to become submerged, jeopardizing the livelihoods of thousands of people.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201005250567.html
http://www.topix.com/world/uganda/2010/05/uganda-floods-hit-katwe-salt-lake

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev calls for improved environmental protection standards, practices and legislation to ensure effective solutions to ecological concerns.
http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=15170735&PageNum=0
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90853/7003520.html
http://engforum.pravda.ru/showthread.php?286466-Russia-s-Medvedev-Has-Rift-With-Putin-
Over-Ecology&p=3132023

Insufficient winter snow and spring rains have caused levels of Canada’s St. Lawrence River to go down, with arriving cargo ships now having to reduce their tonnage to navigate the waters.  
http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2010/05/24/que-st-lawrence-water-level-low.html?ref=rss