Cat Tien National Park in Dong Nai Province has won four international ecotourism awards at the AEN International Ecotourism Awards 2025 in India granted by the Asian Ecotourism Network (AEN).
According to sgtt.thesaigontimes.vn, Cat Tien National Park, a member of the Safe Destination Initiative, was honored in the Biodiversity Conservation category, the highest award for its tireless effort in conserving biodiversity and protecting tropical forest ecosystems that are home to hundreds of rare species.
Cat Tien was honored in the Ecotourism Promotion category, which acknowledges the national park’s responsible, nature-friendly and respectful ecotourism promotion. It also won the Destination Governance award, which honors its sustainable destination management model with effective coordination among management agencies, local communities and stakeholders in conservation and ecotourism development. Finally, it won the Community Champion award, which recognizes the active participation of local communities in preserving and spreading the spirit of living in harmony with nature.
Cat Tien National Park is one of Vietnam’s world biosphere reserves. It is home to 1,739 fauna species and 1,655 flora species, more than 100 species of which have been listed in Vietnam’s Red Data Book. In 2024, it won the Green List certification from the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Young crocodile found in a house in HCMC
On October 14, Nguyen Trung Thieu, a resident in Binh Tien Ward, HCMC, was shocked to see a small crocodile appearing in the yard of his house. Learning that the reptile was a rare species and might be dangerous, he managed to capture the crocodile and transferred it to the Binh Tien Ward police.
The local police received the crocodile, which weighed 1.8 kilograms, and immediately transferred it to the HCMC Forest Protection Department as regulated by law, laodong.vn reported.
In July this year, another crocodile weighing about two kilograms was also found by local residents in Nuoc Den Canal in Binh Hung Hoa Ward. The young reptile was also captured and transferred to the HCMC Forest Protection Department.
An octogenarian sells bun moc in town
Every day, rain or shine, Ly Ba, an 84-year-old Chinese Vietnamese woman living in Phu Tho Ward, HCMC, gets up at 3 a.m. to cook a big pot of broth and prepare ingredients in order to serve bowls of bun moc (rice vermicelli soup served with pork balls and mushrooms) for guests at 4 a.m.
The octogenarian told thanhnien.vn that the small eatery on Doi Cung Street (Phu Tho Ward) was opened 40 years ago and was run by her daughter. Four years ago, her daughter passed away because of a fatal disease. In loving memory of her daughter, Ba decided to continue cooking and serving bun moc to diners in spite of her old age.
Ba’s eatery opens to serve bowls of bun moc to guests at 4 a.m. until all is empty, usually before 11 a.m. Her son wants her to close the eatery to live the rest of her life comfortably but she refuses, saying that she loves to live her life independently. Moreover, she is happy to communicate with diners who used to be her late daughter’s guests.
Young man flies drone to help flood victims
Nguyen Dai Phat, 19, who lives in Quang Dong Commune, Nghe An Province, has used his DJI Agras T50 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as drone, to supply necessities to people in flood-affected areas in Bac Ninh Province.
Phat told thanhnien.vn that his drone, worth nearly VND400 million, has been used to spray insecticide for his family’s crops in his hometown. Learning that many people in Bac Ninh were stranded at their houses because of floods, he brought with him the drone, some clothes and a little money and went to the flood-affected locality to lend a hand.
When in Bac Ninh, Phat joined a group of volunteers, who are drone pilots coming from An Giang, Danang and Ha Tinh. From October 9, these pilots began to fly their drones from 7 a.m. to carry foods, potable water and necessities to flood victims until late into the night. They conducted 120-140 drone flights a day.
The young drone pilot said he would continue helping people in flood-affected areas until flood water receded and their life returned to normalcy.
