LookAtVietnam – Hoang Thi Minh Hong, the first Vietnamese women to visit the North Pole in 1997, will pay a second visit to the Arctic this November.

Hoang Thi Minh Hong in the North Pole in 1997.

Minh Hong is among 15 former members of exploration groups of 2041, a North Pole protection orgnisation, who have been to the North Pole, chosen for the upcoming visit. This trip is being held to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the signature of the International Convention on the North Pole.

This year’s journey to the Arctic will see 50 new members, besides 15 former members, who are students, educators and businessmen.

The adventure will take place over two weeks on the Clipper Adventurer ship. During the trip, members will learn about the significance of the North Pole Convention, take part in a training course on sustainable development and leadership skills entitled “Leadership on the Edge”.

Minh Hong said: “Vietnam is among the five countries that are most affected by the sea rise level and climate change. We often sit there and think that preventing the impacts of climate change is not the job of each individual or Vietnam has no connection to the distant North Pole. But in fact, our planet is suffering from serious impacts of the global warming phenomenon. Iceberg rivers and iceberg blocks in the North Pole are reducing and melting at a faster speed that we expected.”

She said that she is seeking one or two new representatives from Vietnam for 2041 for this adventure and also a sponsor for the trip. Due to limited budget, 2041 will subsidise up to 50 percent of the cost for Vietnamese representatives to take part in the upcoming trip. Participants will have to seek funding for the remaining part, which is around $15,000.

Minh Hong was the only Vietnamese representative on the first adventure to the North Pole for international youth, led by Robert Swan. Hong is the first Vietnamese to pitch the Vietnamese flag in the Arctic.

Minh Hong has participated in many environmental projects in Vietnam and worked for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for nearly seven years.

The North Pole is defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth’s axis of rotation meets the Earth’s surface. It has 14 million sq.km of ice, equivalent to 91 percent of the total volume of ice in the world and contains up to 70 percent of the world’s total fresh water volume.

If ice in the North Pole melts, it can make the sea level rise throughout the whole world and flood low areas, including coastal areas of Vietnam.

The International North Pole Convention was signed in 1959 in the US by 12 countries. This convention’s Environmental Protection Protocol can be amended in 2041.

2041 organisation’s activities aim to promote awareness of the significance of the above convention and protect the effectiveness of the convention so that the North Pole will not be exploited by man forever.

VietNamNet/VNE