Eight provinces have been warned that conditions in their localities were ripe
for forest fires.

The warning comes from
the Department of Forest Management under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development.

Most of the provinces
warned are in the southeast.

Bac Giang, Binh Phuoc,
Dong Nai, Ha Nam, Kon Tum, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa and Tay Ninh provinces are said
to be “extremely dangerous” because of the dry conditions they are experiencing.

National Steering
Committee for Fire Prevention and Fighting has asked the areas’ People
Committees at all levels to take immediate measures to prevent potential fires.

According to Tay Ninh
People’s Committee, authorities have asked the Forest Project Management,
militia force and provincial police to work together to help prevent fires.

Seven other provinces
are also rated as being “dangerous”.

The affected areas
have been suffering from prolonged, severe droughts.

Statistics from the
Department of Forest Management show that in the first two months of last year,
there were 150 reported fires that burnt 1,600 hectares.

* Rare
snakes rediscovered in Lao Cai

Specimens of two rare
snake species, the la koroa snake (Oligodon lacroixi bellus) and the bella rat
snake (Maculophis bellus chapaensis) have been found in Hoang Lien mountainous
area in the northwestern province of Lao Cai.

In early January, the
research department from the Viet Nam National Museum of Nature, the Saint
Petersburg Zoology Institute and the Tu-la Amphibian and Reptile Taming Centre
(Russia) jointly surveyed the area.

The two rare snakes
were discovered for the first time in the 1980s by French scientists.

The la koroa snake is
recognisable through its brown with yellow spotted back and black stripes along
its length. Its orange belly also has black stripes. The species is acknowledged
to exist in Lao Cai of Viet Nam, and Yunnan and Sichuan provinces of China.

The bella rat snake
has a red-orange back with yellow and black stripes, and an orange belly with
purple veins.

It has two subspecies
including the Maculphis bellus bellus populating southern China and the
Maculophis bellus chapaensis which is recorded as being unique in Viet Nam.

VietNamNet/Viet
Nam News