For years, on the annual 23^rd day of the twelfth lunar month (Vietnamese three kitchen gods worship), along with the traditional carp release, locals in Lang Son City has also dropped plastic bags waste into Ky Cung river in the locality. In addition, they have also thrown away some old worshiping items such as altars, incense sticks, gold trees, money trees, etc. into this river during last days of a lunar year, harming the natural landscape causing water pollution.  

Since 2011, Senior Venerable Thích Quảng Truyền, Standing Vice Chairman of the VBS executive committee in the province has directly recorded and played loudspeakers at Thanh pagoda located in Chi Lang ward to communicate and call on people to join hands in protecting the environment.

Besides, on the Vietnamese kitchen-god worshipping day, the VBS executive committee in collaboration with the municipal authority to hold a Buddhist a ceremony for release of carp fish and old worshipping objects.

During the event, locals have brought carp to the pagoda and put them in plastic trays, then released them into the Ky Cung river while plastic bags retained by lay Buddhists and volunteers for proper disposal. 

People in Lang Son City no longer  release fish with plastic bags for many years now.

As a result, this initiative of the VBS executive committee has been actively responded by lay Buddhists, local authorities and people. Tens of tons of waste have been collected and properly treated each year, helping to reduce adverse impacts on the natural environment.

According to Senior Venerable Thích Quảng Truyền, most locals in the province have a habit of holding funerals with a lot of votive items, and burning torches and scatter votive paper on roads during mourning which cause environmental pollutions.

Since 2007, the VBS executive committee has promoted the communication work for eliminating backward customs that waste money and pollute the environment during funerals, and encouraged the cremation.

In addition, monks and nuns actively mobilized lay Buddhists not to burn incense and votive papers in Buddhist worshipping places, contributing to reduce environmental pollution and ensure fire prevention.

Green, clean and beautiful landscape around Thanh pagoda.

These contributions made by the VBS executive committee to the environmental protection have been highly appreciated and honored with many certificates of recommendation by the provincial Fatherland Front Committee and the municipal People’s Committee over the past years.

NL