VIETNAM ENVIRONMENT MONITOR 2003

“Water”

 HANOI, October 28, 2003 – In a new environment monitor report released today, the World Bank has reemphasized the importance of water as a key drive of economic growth and of a better life for millions of poor people in Vietnam.  The Vietnam Environment Monitor 2003 focuses on the environmental and water resources management in Vietnam, and calls for a move beyond ideological frontiers and mixed solutions involving all key stakeholders: government, civil society organizations, communities, private sector, and development institutions.

“Water lies at the center of all development.  Poverty reduction is not possible without delivery of clean water to 40% of Vietnam’s population who do not have yet access, and irrigating the remaining 16% of cropped lands” says Country Director Klaus Rohland. “The implications are far reaching. In Vietnam, at least VND 400 billion was spent over the last four years on water-borne diseases.  Each year natural disasters such as typhoons, storms, floods or drought have extreme effects on people, their livelihood, their agricultural lands, their livestock, and their infrastructure. The cost of natural disaster damage during 1995-2002 is estimated as 1.25 billion USD. The donor community is committed to support Vietnam to meet the demand for water supply and water resource conservation in achieving the country’s high quality of growth.

“Vietnam has a long history of water management but it is high time to reassess the effectiveness of our water resources management to find out optimal solutions, mitigate weaknesses and multiply its strengths towards the protection and sustainable development of our water resources,” says MONRE Minister Mai Ai Truc at the report launching ceremony.  “In the Draft National Strategy for Environment Protection up to year 2010 and Visions Towards 2020, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed to the Government highest priorities for three environment protection programs of the river basin of Nhue-Day Rivers, Cau River and Saigon- Dong nai Rivers but there are still a lot more to do in the near future.”

The Vietnam Environment Monitor 2003 consists of two main sections. The first section provides an overview of Vietnam’s water resources. Several sub-sections focus on different aspects such as surface water, groundwater and coastal resources including water resources availability, water utilization, aquatic biodiversity, water quality, vulnerability and economic costs. A discussion of water resources management that covers the legislative framework, institutions, expenditures and monitoring concludes the section. The second section of the Report provides detailed water resources profiles in the context of the socioeconomic development of the eight economic sub-regions. 

The report underscores the needs for improving the water sector in Vietnam. This includes strengthening policy and institutional framework, expanding and diversifying investment, improving compliance and enforcement, and deepening public participation.

”Working towards integrated and efficient water resources development and management that contribute to long-term environmentally sustainable economic and social development is one of the most important challenges for Vietnam. There is a great potential for building partnerships between government, private sector, non-governmental organizations, universities and research institutions in water management and with the involvement of major water users, planners and policy-makers at national and local levels. For integrated water resources management it is also important to ensure the right of access to water resources for the poor and other vulnerable groups and empower them to improve their livelihood“ says Danish Ambassador to Vietnam Bjarne H. Sørensen.

“The core issues for the Vietnam water sector as identified by the Vietnam Environment Monitor 2003 are adopting an integrated river basin approach, greater and more sufficient adaptation to the water-related vulnerability and susceptibility, expanded and more efficient service for irrigation and domestic water supply, and curbing water pollution and its health impacts on the poor” adds Tran Thi Thanh Phuong, World Bank Environment Specialist who lead the production of the report. “The preparation of the report has proven the need for good policy works in the decision making and that requires improved data management and information sharing among the stakeholders”.

More proactive engagement in regional riparian cooperation, improving information management, complete separation of the water management and service functions, further decentralization of management authorities, and strengthening of institutional capacity would provide Vietnam with the required management tools that will address equity, efficiency and environmental sustainability of Vietnam’s water resources.

The Vietnam Environment Monitor series, initiated in 2002, presents a snapshot of key environmental trends in the country. The Monitor 2003 is the second publication of the series as an outcome of a joint exercise that involved national agencies, civil society, academia and researchers, and donor agencies. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment served as the lead government agency in the preparation of this report and coordinated the data collection and cooperation among government agencies. The Danish International Development Assistance (DANIDA) provided part of technical consultancy and financial support. The World Bank staff were responsible for data analysis and writing the report.

You can download Vietnam Environment Monitor 2003 here (pdf - 9.12Mb)

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For more information about the World Bank’s activities in Vietnam, please visit our Website at http://www.worldbank.org.vn