Following the reforestation in Vietnam, the AEON Environmental Foundation in collaboration with the People’s Committee of Hanoi Capital held a ceremony for cherry tree plantations (commonly known as Sakura) at Hoa Binh Park on the morning of March 18th, 2017. Attending the ceremony was the Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung; Mr. Takuya Okada, Honorary Chairman and Advisor, AEON Co., LTD, Chairman of the AEON Environmental Foundation; Mr. Jun Yanagi, Chargé d’Affaires of Japan in Vietnam; representatives from Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Socialist Republic of VIETNAM, Vietnam National University (VNU), and more than 100 volunteers from Japan and Vietnam. As a partner of the AEON Environmental Foundation in the field of afforestation and environmental education, Dr. Hoang Van Thang, Director General of CRES and Dr. Vo Thanh Son, Head of Cooperation and Development Department also attended the ceremony.
Photo 1. Mr. Takuya Okada, Honorary Chairman and Advisor, AEON Co., LTD and Chairman of the AEON Environmental Foundation, is giving a speech.
Photo 2. Mr. Nguyen Duc Chung, Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee, is giving a speech.
Throughout the event 200 cherry trees were planted. Then, based on the Foundation’s activities, AEON Environmental Foundation plans to support the plantation of 3,000 cherry trees for Hanoi in the future. This is among many activities that the Foundation would like to support in order to achieve 10 million tree plantations in Asian countries and the planting of 1 million trees in Hanoi from 2016 to 2020. In Vietnam, the Foundation has sponsored the planting of 90,000 trees, of which 75,000 are Acacia grown in Thua Thien Hue Porvince, and 15,000 indigenous species are grown in Ba Vi National Park. Central Institute of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies (CRES) and Ba Vi National Park are the main partners in organizing tree plantation to contribute to the enhancement of biodiversity values in this locality. The Institute has just been established by the Prime Minister in 2016 on the basis of upgrading the Centre for Natural Resources and Environmental Studies with the main functions of research, training and consultancy in resource management, environmental protection, biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Professor Vo Quy, founder and first director of the Centre, was awarded the MIDORI Prize for Biodiversity, an international prize granted by a partnership of the Secretariat of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and AEON Environmental Foundation. The MIDORI Prize honors three individuals who have made outstanding contributions to conservation and sustainable use at local and global levels, and who have influenced and strengthened various biodiversity-related efforts, as well as raised awareness about biodiversity.
Photo 3. View of tree planting in Hoa Binh Park
The Japanese Cherry Tree Ceremony (Sakura) in Hanoi is not only a wonderful symbol for friendship between Japan and Vietnam, but it also emphasizes the participation of businesses such as AEON Group and AEON Environmental Foundation in the cause of environmental protection and biodiversity conservation in Vietnam and in the world. CRES, VNU is a pioneering institution for research and training in this field and also contributing to the common sense of biodiversity conservation in Vietnam.
Photo 4. Mr. Takuya Okada was photographed with officials of CRES and Ba Vi National Park
Photo 5. Volunteers are guarding the newly planted Sakura