Sustainable development and environmental protection in Vietnam

PREAMBLE

In the wake of the 1992 Earth Submit, the "Rio Spirit" has pervaded the action of Governments, international and regional organizations, and individuals thoughout the world.

Enrironmental problems have brought about difficult challenges fo Vietnam against the background of a poor country: serious degradation of environment, long-term harmful affects cause by many years of war on the environment and nature, urgent social problems like proverty, diseases, illiteracy , malnutrition etc ... all need to be addressed at the same time whereas investment sources are very limited.

After many years' implementing the policy of renovation, Vietnam has been forging ahead with industialization and modernization of the country with a view to a weathly and strong nation, a just and civilized society.

The GDP annual growth rate of 8-9% over the recent period will be maintained or even increased in the forthcoming years, wherein the share of industrial sector will rise by 1.5 to 2 folds in the next decate.

Foreign direct investments has been and will be on the rise, mainly in the industries, and the urban population is expected to by 50% against the country's still high population growth rate of 2 %.

Such socio-economic development endeavours are confronting of evironmental protection and sustainable development.

sustainable development and environmental protection in vietnam

I. In line with the sustainable development concept and the Rio- principles, the Government of Vietnam has adopted the following policies and guidelines in implementation of Agenda 21:

1- To meet the basic needs for material, spritual and cultural life of the country^,s present and future generations through judicious management of natural resources;

2- To develop and implement apporopriate policies, action plans institutional frameworks in order that sustainable untilination of natural resources be ensured and that sosio-economic development be undertaken in harmony with natural and environmenttal conditions;

3- To coordinate economic, social anf environmental objectives in naional, sectoral and local development planning, in order to come of wiht a harmonious solution of their inter-relationship; in so doing, inveronmental impacts should be assessed in a comprehensive manner;

4- To urgently improve the national accountingsystem so that it would be able to reflect accurately the economic values of resources and costs related to pollution control and, at the same time, to take apropriate incentive measures for more efficient utilization of natural and energy resources and for the application of environmentally friendly technologies;

5. To maintain a balanced development of urban and rural areas though planned constructions of great, medium and small urban centres and industrial zones in combination with rural development for, namely, diversifying rural economy, improving infrastructure facilities for production, service and the life in the countryside and retricting the gap between the rich and poor ...

6. To take necessary steps to protect and preserve the oil, forest and marine ecosystems and the biological diversity of wildlife and domesticated animals and plants.

7. To apply an ecologically sound agricultute with controlled use of chemicals and rational irrigation and drainage in oder to prevent soil degradation, water pollution and to ensure food hygiene and safety;

8. To undertake industrialization with the least possible impact on the environment by means of preventive measures against soil, water and air pollution, discharge and concentration of industrial wastes, though the use of clean technologies and appropriate wastes treatment and recycling technologies ...

9. To prevent and control the consequences of natural disasters as a talk of primary importance for safeguarding human lives, property and production facilities, since the country is under constant threat of typhoon, flood and drought;

10. To pay due attention to education, training and public awereness in environmental protection, involvement of the population in enviromental protection campaigns and commulity organizations

II. Institutional improvement for enviromental management

Following the Rio Conference, enviromental management activities has been institutionally strengthened by Government of Vietnam. By the end of 1992, on the basis of the former State Committee for Science and Technology, the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment was founded to include a department for the environment exercising the funtion of the state management in evironmental protection

A system of environmental management has been set up at the central down to the local levels. At the present,in each of the 61 provinces and cities directly un der the central goverment , a service of science , technololy and environment has been established with a specialized office for environmental manegement. the science and technology departments under different line ministries have been streamlined with additional functions of state management of invironmental protection in thier respective sectors.

To better meet the requirement for development and environmental protection, the government of vietnam has com to realize the importance of further strengthening the national authority for state management of environmental protection in terms of institutional arrangement , human and other resources in oder to able to harmonize the interrelationships betteen socio-economic development strategy.

At the rio conference and on other opportunities, the important role of NGO's in sustainable development and environmental protection has been highlighted.This is also the case with Vietnam where many NGO's have come into being to contribute to the country's sustainable development, among which particular mention should be made of the Vietnam society for Nature and Environmental Protection.

III. Environmental policy-making and legislation

One of the urgent tasks for every nation, as poited out at the Earth Summit, is to develop relevant statutory instruments and regulations to serve as legal bases for environmental management and protection.

In Vietnam, the Law on Environmental Protection was passed by the National Assembly on December 27 ^th , 1993 in conjuntion with the promulgation of or amendment to other legal texts relating to different components of the environment, namely the Land Law, Law on Forest conservation and Development, Law on Minerals, and the Ordinance on Aquatic Resources ets.

In order to ensure the effective enforcement of the Law on Environmental Protection, over the last three years a series of statutory instruments and regulations have been elaborated and promulgated, making ap a systematic body of legal texts from the central to the local levels which institutionalize and codify the state policies and principles provided under the Law on Environmental Protection and serve as effective tools of the government for environmental management and protection.

Since the issuance of the Law on Environmental Protection, efforts have been exerted in the following fields of activity on the basics of the National Plan for Environment and suitainable Development 1991-2000.

- Development of a Strategy for Environmental Protection, 2000-2020;

- Elaboration of an Action Plan for Environmental Protection, 2000-2010;

- Launching of the National Plan on Bio-diversity Conservation;

- Formulation of a National Plan for Oil- spill Contingency Rresponse;

- Issuance in 1995 of a system of Vietnam's environment standards; on the other hand, steps are being taken to establish national standards in conformity with ISO 9000 and ISO 14000;

- Launching and implementing the National Plan for Reducing Greenhouse Gases Emission;

- Launching and implementing the Tropical Forest Strategy with particular emphasis on forest conservation and development;

- Effective implememtation of the poverty alleviation and hunger elimination policy;

- Implementation of the policy to restrain population growth rate to under 1.7% per annum;

-Preparation of environmental current-status reports to the National Assembly. These documents, compiled on an annual basis, contain updated information and data on the environmental conditions and their forecasted evolution to help decision-makers in defining socio - economic development policies strategies and plans accordingly.

IV. The National Plan for Environmental Protection in Vietnam

1. Protection of the forest ecosystem

The forested area is under constant threat of reduction due to expanding agricultural land, grazing, slash-and-burn farming, logging, hunting and forest fire, which are also likely to lead to soil exhaustion, erosion and bio-diverity degration.

Over the past half century, as a result of protracted wars, over -exploitaion and fires, the forest area has decreased by almost a half, covering merely about 26-27 % of the country's total teritory in 1993, and deteriorated in quality.

The Government policy is aimed at better management and protection of existing primitive forests, rehabilitation and expansion of protective forests and special-use forests, allocation of forestland to household or community-based management

reforestation and greening of barren land and denuded hills order to raise the forest coverage to over 40% of the land area.

In 1997, Vietnam has put into practice the policy of "closure of natural forests" with a view to conserving the biologycal diversity, the gene pools of valuable and rare species and protecting the natural ecological processes in these areas.

2. Land resources

The 1993 landuse pattern is characterized by the following figures: 7,348,400 ha of farmland (or 22,2% of total land area); 9,641,200 ha of forestland (29.1% of land area); 1,117,700 ha of special-use land and 14,217,800 ha unused land (43% of total area). The per capita land availability is 0.46 ha for the whole country, but only 0.09 ha for the densely populated Red River Delta; the corresponding figures for farmland are 0.103 and 0.05 ha, respectively, with are very low as against the world averages.

As agriculture is still playing an important role in the country's economic development, accounting for over 30% of GDP and using over 22% of the total land area, the government policy is to encourage crop diversification, increased output through better use of the market mechanism and various economic incentives, application of advanced techniques, redution of post-harvest losses and development of agro-based industries for more value-added products.

In landuse planing for infrastructural, industrial and urban development, due attention must be paid to economical and rational use of land resources and restricting the loss of productive agricultural land.

3. Fresh-water ecosystems

Vietnam is rich in water resources with 15 rivers having over 3,000 km² of catchment area. The two largest, the Mekong and the Red River, have and annual flow of more than 500 bilion and 120 bilion cubic metres, respectively. Nevertheless, due to the uneven temporal and spatial distribution of rainfall, yearly floods and draughts may occur concurrently in different places. Water resources are playing and an increasingly important role in power generation. The Red River system (including the Da River) has a potential capacity of 96 bilion kW and Dong Nai River system - around 10 bilion kW.

Water resources management policies are formulated in the framework of integrated basin management which permits to resolve dissents and disputes on water utilization between different sector of provinces and environmental impact assessments are compulsory for water resources development projects, taking into overall consideration in ecological terms their water utilization schemes. Integrated basin management also deals with forest and forestland management, erosion control, land use planning and water pollution control.

A primary concern for environmental management managers and policy-makers is to elaborate appropriate standards for combatting water pollution, controlling the use of agro-chemicals ... and water quality standards for different purposes.

4. Marine and estuary ecosystems

Vietnam has about 1 milion km2 of exclusive economic zone (three times larger than its land area) along with a 3,260 lm-long coastline, 100,000ha of lagoons and closed bays, 290000 ha of tidal marsh and forestland and more than 100 estuaries.

Vietnam's sea areas abound in marine life of which about 100 species are of high economic value. Sea fish accounts for 30% of animal protein supply to the pollution. Annual catch of marine products reaches 600-800 thousand tons, but 80-90% of the harvest is from in-shore fishing.

Overfishing and the use of destructive fishing tools, especially in coastal and in-shore zones, have greatly degrates marine life resources, resulting in declined catch over the last five years and putting about 70 species under the threat of extinction, many of which are of high economic value.

Wastes and effluents discharged from urban and industrial areas and from agricultural production are carried by rivers to the sea, which in conjunction with wastes from ships and oil drilling rigs constitute an increasing polluting source for the marine environment and ecosystem.

In the East Sea, close to Vietnam's territorial wastes, there is an important international maritime line trafficked by hundreds of oil tankers with a total shipment of about 200 million tons of oil a year.

The sea being of high importance for socio-economic development and for national defense and security, Vietnam attention to an overall strategy for the sea.

As a signatory to the United Nations Convention or the Law of the Sea Vietnam is adopting national policies in an attempt to resolve a series of problems related to the sea :

- Harmful impacts of sea-based activities on the marine ecosystem and their preventive measure in conformity with government regulations;

- Strengthening national capacities for a strict control of such activities, including control of pollution from land-based activities;

- Inshore fishing within the threshold of sustainable productivity and without resort to destructive means;

- Encounragement of offshore fishing in the forthcoming years;

- Restoration, protection and rational utilization ao mangrove forest and coastal lagoons; prevention of coral exploitaition for use as a building material or for commercial purpose;

- Launching and implementing a National Oil-spill Contingency Response Plan;

- Formulation of plans for coastal area protection in geomorphological and ecological aspects with due consideration of such activities as exploitation of submerged areas, sand mining, construction of protective works etc.

5. Protection of biological resources

Vietnam is one of the countries in the world with high bio-diverity and rich biological resources including quite a few andemic species.

The Vietnamese floro contains an estimated 12,000 species, of which 7,000 have been indentified as vascular plants and 2,300 put to use for timber or fodder.

The fauna includes 276 mammals (3 among which are new endemic species discovered within the past 4 years), 828 bird species, 180 reptiles, 80 amphibians, 472 freshwater fishes, 2,038 sea fishes and thousands of invertebrates.

Such rich biological resources are being threatened of serious degradation, with 350 endangered animal and plant species listed in Vietnam Red Book.

The trespass on, and overexploitation of resources -rich areas, the gradual loss of animal habittats and the uncountrolled illegal trade in wild animals are the main causes that threaten Vietnam's biological diversity.

The government has taken numerous approaches to nature conservation and bio-diversity protection, particularli in the framework of a comprehensive programme on forest restoration and development andestablishment of protected areas.

Threre are now 87 protected sites covering a total area of 1,169,000ha (equal to 5,7 % of forestland or 3.3 % of te country' territory), of which 58 are national parks or nature reserves and historical and cultural vestiges.

Vietnam is a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity and is implememting a number of GEF-funded projects under the Conservation Training and Bio-diversity Action Plan.

A naional programme for bio-diverity is aimed at the long-term objectives of the National Programme for Biological Resourses Protection and, more specifically, at the following immediate objectives :

- Protecting the country's endemic ecosystem, specially vulerable ones being in danger of degradation or destruction due to human activities;

- Protecting bio-diversity components being under overexpoitation;

- Determining the ultility valies of different components of bio-diversity based on sustainable development of natural resourses for the cuontry's economic purpose;

The National Plan also sets forth priority activities to be undertaken in the 1996-2000 period :

- Development of a complete statutory system as a legal framework for the implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection and international arrangements related to bio-diversity; the system shall include legal regulations on the conservation, utilization and exchange of genetic resources varieties or species ... in oder to ensure long-term ultilization of biological resources on the basis of a sustainable approach to development, and to prevent the degradation and destruction of sensitive and vulnerable ecosystem by negative environmental impact caused by industrial development endeavuors;

- Establishment and management of protected areas; consolidating those of high biological values, important wetland, significant marine life reserve; building and strengthening protection centers for rate genetic resources with high economic values;

- Promotion of environmental education and public awareness; dissemination of necessary information on bio-diversity and its values to policy-makers and among the public;

- Upgrading the qualification of the technical and managetial staff; setting-up a national network of bio-diversity data bases;

- Undertaking scientific research and technological development in the service of suistainable ultilization of bio-diversity values particulary in the agricultural and heslth sectors;

- Intergrating the National Bio-diversity Programme into Socio-economic development programmes;

-Strengthening international and regional cooperation in this domain.

6. Industrial and urban pollution control:

The economy of Vietnam is undergoing a fundamental change in the course of the present renovation process and is embarking industrialization and modernization. Since 1993, industrial output has increased by 13% annually and is expected to have quadrupled by 2000, accounting for about 35% of GDP. In addition, rapid urbanization in concurrence with industrial development has contributed to aggravating the problems of air pollution industrial and municipal wastes, effluents, dust, environmental sanitation and traffic jams.

Given a rather high economic growth rate, Vietnam is now faced with the challenge of how to strike a balance between industrial development and environmental protection in line with its sustainable development strategy. For this purpose, the Government is trying to give an impetus to industrialization prosess while adopting an industrial pollution prevention policy as an intergral part of sustainable development strategy, which includes the following :

- Further buiding-up of institutional capacities to strengthen the system of environmental monitoring, data collection and analysis;

- Continued application of economic instruments to environmental management and protection in conformity with Vietnam's specific conditions;

- Definition of requirments of E.I.A for use in zonal planing, paricularly for major economic triangle zones;

- Implementation of pilot project on industrial pollution prevention covering, inter alia, wastes reduction auditing for certain enterprises, training in economic effectivness evaluation and techlnology applications;

7. The population issue

Population growth has become a great concern for almost all countries in the world, a problem of global dimension that urges mankind to stick together for joint actions to control growth rate with a wiew to a stabilized population in order to ensure sustainable development.

Vietnam's population growth rate is still high. In demographic term, with 76 million inhabitants in 1996, it ranks 2^nd in South East Asia and 7 ^th among the 42 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The Government has defined population planing as a primary socio-economic task that constitues an important part of the country's development strategy, closely lingking it to environmental protection and economic development.

Efforts are being made to gradually reduce population growth rate which was brought down from 2.2% in 1990 to 1.9% in 1996 for which year the economic growth rate was 8-2%. The government policy is to confine the annual population growth rate to 1.7% by the year 2000. The attainment of such a policy objective would present an opportunity for the country to stabilize its population, contributing to the achivement of its sustainable development strategy with a view to a strong nation, a wealthy population and a just society.

8.Clean water supply and environmental sanitation in rural areas

The Vietnamese government has come to realize the importance of safe drinking water and environmental sanitaion for rural communities, a nation programme for which has been under way with active participation of the population under the guidance of the government at difference levels. At present over 30 % of the rural population has got acess to clean water supply and the planned figure for 200 is 80%.

By ppointment of the Prime Minister, a National Steering Commitee for the Clean Water and Environmental Sanitaion Programme has been set up to coorinate different activities in this domain across the country.

A harmonious cost-sharing scheme with contributions from the population, the government budget and external funding, especially from UNICEF, has made important financial facilities available for the supply of standard cean water to large rural areas.

Starting in 1997, a National Clean Water and Environmental Sanitaion Week (from 29 April to 6 May) is to be help annually, which promises to bring abot numerous positive and environment impacts.

9. Environmental education and public awareness

The Government of Vietjnam holds that environmantal protection is the commom cause of the whole people and has, tnameore, paid constant attention to environmental education and community awareness as one of the country's central, priority tasks. Since the promulgation of the Law on Environmental Protection, the population's participation in environmental protection has become a widespread activity throughout the country. Such mass organizations as the Youth League , the Women's Union and other NGO's have held hundreds of environmental courses , workshops and conferences; produced numerous TV programme on environmental protection issues; organized environmental drawing contests for children and launched diffrent community-based campaigns for environmental activities testify to a growing awareness and regular involment for the local communities in environmental protection.

10. International cooperation

Environmental issues are those of an interdiscilinary, interregional and international character. Watershed management river and marine resources development being a shared concern of countries in the region, Vietnam attaches great importance to cooperration with its neighbours in environmental protection and improvement.

Aware of the fact that environmental protection in Vietnam can not be separated from the protection of the regional and global environment, that nation preventive and protection mesures are interrelated to those undertaken at the global level, the Government of Vietnam has ratified, signed and participated in many international agreements related to the environment, namely the RAMSAR, CITES, Basel and Vienna convention and those on biological diversity and climate change.

Over the past few years, international cooporation activities have been strengthened in both bilateral and multilateral arrangements and at the regional and global levels.

Cooporative relationships between Vietnam and such intrenational organization as UNEP, UNIDO, UNDP, UNICEF, WWF, IUNC, WB, ADB, GEF etc are developing with every passing day and playing an important part in the country's environment protection andeavours.

A new stage of strengthened and expanded partnership with other countries in the region has been ushered in with Vietnam's full membership of the Asean Senior Officials on Environment (ASOEN).

Bilateral government links have been developed and promoted between Vietnam and Sweden, Canada, Australia, Denmark, Holland, Japan, France etc., to put into effect the commitments of the Government of Vietnam and its counterparts to environmental protection, providing the country with necessary financial assistance and technical experience.

Many projects related to the environment have been sucessfully implemented, of which special mention should be made to the SIDA/IUNC- assisted project on strengthening environmental management capacities, the Vietnam-Canada Environmental Programme, the GEF-funded project on bio-diverity conservation and UNEP/COBSEA project on marine environment etc.

Cooporative efforts and joint actions with other countries and international organizations have made considerable contributions to environmental management in Vietnam.

Principal solution and recommendations

1. "For life on Earth", Vietnam undertakes to implement Agenda 21 and is supportive of concerted efforts aimed at ensuring a safer and better future for every country, every nation.

2. Step by step Vietnam shall apply a comprehensive system of national environmental standards in compatibility with international standards in order to achieve the objective of sustainable development.

3. Vietnam supports the principles of cooperation that help develop an open world economic system based on mutual assistance, especially with ragard to hazadours wastes management, technology transfer, utilization of biological resources, global trade policies etc. Developed countries and international organizations should adopt preferential policies vis-a-vis developing countries with respect to financial and technical assistance, technology transfer, managerial capacity-building in sustainable development.

4. With a view to a civilezed and sustainably developed 21^st century, Vietnam attaches great importance to, and strives for the successfull implemention of relevant national plans and programmes in the spirit of Agenda 21, namely:

- The Plan for Industrial and Urban Pollution Control;

- The Action Plan for Bio-diversity Conservation;

- The Country Programme for Changing Consumption Patterns in favour of the Environment;

- The Country Programme to Phase out Ozone-depleting Substances;

- The Programme of Education, Training and Public Awareness in Environmental protection;

- The Programme of Clean Water Supply and Environmental Sanitation in Rural Areas;

- Measures to bring into play the roles of mass organizations, youngsters, women, local communities and business establishments in environments in environmental protection and sustainable development;

- The Poverty Elimination Programme;

- The Population Planning Programme.

5. In order to resolve problems related to environmental protection and sustainable development at the national and global levels, its is necessary for every nation and the world community to make joint efforts to come up with a new world economic order with a view to the integration and mutual support of actions in the domains of trade, environment and sustainable development; any problem arising therefrom should be resolved on the basis of equality and respect for every nation's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

6. The reform and reorganization process of international organizations, in particular UNEP, is an objective development requirement and should be further promoted and geared to problems of high priority, namely the establishment of an institutional arrangement that facilitates a closer coordination between the international organizations of the United Nations system, the stepped-up implementation of adoted international standards and policies, the follow-up on and compulsory observation of environmental principles and related international agreements; and the encouragement of joint actions to cope with emerging challenges to the environment.

7. Vietnam undertakes to implement the first global agreement on forests through national action plans for greening barren land and denuded hills, and closing of natural forests. International organizations should allocate necessary funds to assist developing countries in setting up forest protection programmes.

8. Vietnam has established a National GEF Steering Commitee (known as GEF-Vietnam). In order to effectively implement the sustainable development programme in each country, international funding institutions like the International Development Association, the regional development banks and particulary the United Nations GEF should take necessary effective measures to carry out, in conjunction with developing countries, enviromental protection projects in line with the idea and substance of Agenda 21.

Source :http://www.nea.gov.vn/html/kehoach/nghisu_21/VN5nam_english.htm