Vietnam on Saturday launched a national campaign on cleaning up the sea this year, according to the Vietnam Youth Union, one of the organizers.

The campaign, launched in the southernmost province of Kien Giang, is mainly aimed at raising public awareness about the sea's importance to human life, reducing use of plastic and nylon bags, encouraging abstention of discharging rubbish in undesignated places, and cleansing polluted areas.

Youths from 28 coastal cities and provinces nationwide have mapped out specific plans to effectively protect the sea environment, said the union.