Urgent plan for environmental protection

 

      The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha has recently signed the Decision No. 2807/QD-BTNMT to issuethe action plan for implementingthe Directive No.25/CT-TTg issued by the Prime Minister on a number of urgent missions and measures on environmental protection.

    After being issued, the Directive No.25/CT-TTg basically changes thinking on environmental protection such as: changing from awareness to action;investment on environmentmeaning investment for development; environmental protection should prioritize prevention; environmental management should take the inter-disciplinary and inter-regional approach andthinking of a market economy "Beneficiaries from environment should have financial obligationfor environmental protection; people causing environmental pollution, breakdownsand degradation must be responsible for environmental recovery and compensation".

* Reviewingregulations and standards

     According to this plan, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) will review and propose contents of the regulations and decrees specifying the implementation of the Law on Environmental Protection 2014 which need to be amended and supplemented inorder to solve the current shortcomings, especially the regulations on tools and measuresfor the State management, monitoring discharging activitiesof the enterprises. It should be completed in 2017 beforesubmitting to the Prime Minister for consideration and promulgation of the Regulation on environmental incident response.

      MONRE will also review and propose necessary adjustments for the national technical regulations on environment which taking into account local conditions, requirements of international integration, emissions of pollutants and loading capacity of local environment. It should be completed in 2017.

     In 2017, MONRE will build a set of environmental criteria for screening and selectingproduction typesand technologiesin attraction, consideration and approval of investment projects. Besides, the Ministry also compiles and issues a set of indicators toassess the results of implementation of environmental protection of the localities.

MONRE and relevant ministries will assess environmental impacts of the importedtechnologies, especially on waste treatment; propose technologies and testthe Vietnamese waste treatment technologies. It should be completed in 2017.

* Guiding localities instrict environmental management

     According to this plan, the Minister Tran Hong Ha requests the Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA)to guide relevant ministries, sectors and localities in reviewingapproved environmental impact assessmentreports, environmental protection works and measures of large projects, especially the ones with high environmental pollution risk which have been approved for timely adjustment. It should be completed in2017.

     It is also necessary to review and issueadditionally provisions on environmental protection towards preventing investment projects which are using out-of-date technology, fuel-consuming, high risk of environmental pollution; strengthen propaganda to raise community’s awareness on environmental protection, at source waste separationand collection; facilitate community in monitoring the environmental protection activities as well asencourage them to provideuseful information; promote the role of communication in environmental protection;

      VEA should instruct the People's Committee of the provinces or cities directly under the Central Government in early promulgation ofenvironmentally technical regulations; focusing on areas having high risk of environmental pollution such as urban areas, locations havingsensitive ecosystem; strictly handling withand movingfacilities causing serious environmental pollutioninto industrial parks; requiring all high-tech zones and industrial zones to buildits centralized wastewater treatment systems; forcinglarge-scaledfacilities to install immediately systems for controlling and monitoring dischargingthentransmit the monitoring data directlytoprovincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment; completingthe approval or approval competence for the planning of solid waste management in 2017; implementing immediately the approved planning; investigating, assessing, zoning and having plan for handling withthe existing pollution facilities;

     MONRE will check, inspect, guide, monitor and supervise the implementation of legislation on environmental protection of the ministries, sectors and localities. The Ministry willfocuses on inspecting facilities discharging more than 200 m3 wastewater per day nationwide.

     In 2018, MONRE willcomplete the general program ofinvestigation, assessment, classification of waste sources nationwide; build thenational waste source database system. At the same time, the Ministry also establish environmental monitoring and warning systems at the centralized economic zones, locations having manypollution sources andenvironmental sensitivity before 2020.

(Origin: Bao Chau - http://www.monre.gov.vn)