For more than 30 years, Le Thi Hoa, Chairwoman of the Cong Nong Transportation Co-operative, has been working on cleaning up HCM City and improving the waste disposal system of the co-operative.

Natural calamities, mainly hails, flash floods, floodings, whirlwinds and especially typhoons Chanchu, Xangsane and Durian, caused a total losses of over VND 18.7 trillion (US $1.168 billion) to Vietnam in 2006, reported the General Statistics Office (GSO).

The WU of Ho Chi Minh city in coordination with the Branch Office of Environmental Protection and Energy Saving Center have organized 15 advanced training courses on environmental protection and energy saving for over 1,000 WU staff, local motivators, core members of Women’s Club participating in environmental protection from 24 districts.

To echo the Month of Action for food hygiene and safety, Yen Bai Women’s Union actively cooperated with relevant agencies to prevent food poisoning and food transmitted diseases.

On 3rd June, at the 30 April Park, the HCM City Women’s Union in cooperation with the Environmental Natural Resources Department organized meeting and walking in celebration of the International Environment Day 5th June which attracted the participation of nearly 6,000 people included 3,000 WU members. This year, the major theme of the International Environment Day in Ho Chi Minh City was “For streets Free from garbage”

Once every a few days, Bettina Martin leaves Hanoi for Tam Dao National Park where she participates in the Project of Managing Tam Dao National Park and the Buffer Zone. For her, who lived for nearly five years in the remote forests in Tuyen Quang, the 70km ride from Hanoi to Tam Dao National Park is not a long distance to travel.

General of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) has said that Vietnam is showing progress in its efforts to preserve and protect the country's ecosystems and pledged to continue partnering with Government bodies in environmental management programmes.

In the morning of 12th Dec., the Conference on launching for the initiative of household energy saving models was held at the head office of the Vietnam Women’s Union.

The 2nd CIO Indochina conference and awards ceremony took place in Hanoi on Monday, August 28, with seven CIOs honoured.

On June 2006, Da Nang City Women’s Union has deployed the project “Revolving Loan Fund on sanitation and housing improvement”, phase 2 from 2005-2010

Responding to the Environmental Action Month and the World Environmental Day (June 5), Hai Phong City Women's Union launched a campaign in Kien An District, Hai Phong City, attracting thousands of women and Women’s Union members.

Air Force Col. Pamela Ann Melroy will become the second woman to command a space shuttle mission when her crew heads to the international space station next year, NASA announced.

In March 2006, under the direction of the Vietnam Women's Union Presidium, the Communication and Education Department organized a Conference on implementing clean water - environmental sanitation program year 2006 for the Women's Union staff at all levels of 64 provinces through out the country.

The Kovalevskaia Awards 2005 went to a doctor of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and a group of staff from the Viet Nam Institute of Science and Technology. The awards, made in recognition of females whose scientific studies are highly practically applicable, were presented to the recipients at a ceremony in Ha Noi on May 18.

On the morning of March 2nd 2006, the Women’s Union of Ward 11, district 5, Ho Chi Minh City held the Presenting Ceremony of 35-member “Women Participating in Environment Preservation” Club.

An exchange meeting between Vietnamese IT students with Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft and chief software architect, was held at the Hanoi University of Technology on April 22.

The Vietnam Scientific and Technology 2005 and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) awards ceremony for scientists will be held in Hanoi on April 12

On the morning of 28 March, at the Central Women’s Union (CWU) headquarters, a conference was taking place reviewing the Decree/Direction No 58 CT/TW of Politburo on application and development of information technology as well as giving suggestions and comments on the software development, testing and analysis project “Supporting systems for operational execution for ministerial level”.

A dry spring morning mingles with the crisp laughter of three young woman, Hao, Luong, and Huong talk about the choices that led them here, training to be pilots in a profession still dominated by men.

A group of Vietnamese female scientists developed a harmless preservative to replace borax, a toxin substance used to texturize a Vietnamese meatloaf dish