CIRCULAR

PROVIDE GUIDANCE ON THE INTEGRATION OF NATURAL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS CONTENTS INTO SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PLANS AND INDUSTRY DISTRIBUTION AND DEVELOPMENT PLANS

Pursuant to the Law on natural disaster preparedness No. 33/2013/QH13;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 92/2006/ND-CP dated September 07, 2006 on the formulation, approval, and management of socio-economic development master plans.

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 04/2008/ND-CP dated November 01, 2008 on amending a number of articles of the Decree No. 92/2006/ND-CP dated September 07, 2006 on the formulation, approval, and management of socio-economic development master plans.

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 116/2008/ND-CP dated November 14, 2008 on defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 66/2014/ND-CP dated July 04, 2014 on detailing and guiding a number of articles of the law on natural disaster preparedness.

Pursuant to the Decision No. 44/2014/QD-TTg dated August 15, 2014 of the Prime Minister on detailed regulations on natural disaster risk levels.

The Minister of Planning and Investment promulgates the Circular providing guidance on the integration of natural disaster preparedness contents into socio-economic development plans and industry distribution and development plans.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope and Regulated entities

1. Scope

This Circular provides guidance on principles and contents of the integration of natural disaster preparedness into socio-economic development plans and industry distribution and development plans of the whole nation, ministries, and central-affiliated cities and provinces (below collectively referred to as “province”); provincial, district, town-affiliated cities (below collectively referred to as “district”); and industry distribution and development plans of communes, wards, towns (below collectively referred to as “commune”) .

2. Regulated entities

This Circular applies to organizations relating to the formulation, appraisal, approval, monitoring, and assessment of the integration of natural disaster preparedness contents into socio-economic development plans and industry distribution and development plans.

Article 2. Definitions

1. Vulnerable group means a group of people with characteristics and circumstances that make them more likely to be adversely affected by natural disasters than other groups in the community. Vulnerable groups include: children, elderly people, pregnant women, women nursing under-12-month children, people with disabilities, people suffering from dangerous diseases and poor people.

2. An industry distribution and development plan consists of reasoning and decision on long-term development and distribution of industries nationwide within each province.

3. Socio-economic development plan serves as an economic management tool of the state in line with the objectives, represented by socio-economic development orientation objectives required to achieve in a certain period of a nation or of a locality and the solutions and policies to gain the objective set out in the most efficient way.

4. The integration of natural disaster preparedness contents into industry distribution and development plans is a process that selectively integrates assessment of natural disaster impact, prioritized solutions to natural disaster risk mitigation and climate change adaptation into the formulation of socio-economic development plans and industry distribution and development plans.

Article 3. Rules for the integration of natural disaster preparedness contents

1. Natural disaster preparedness contents must be integrated into socio-economic development plans and industry distribution and development plans.

2. Integration of natural disaster preparedness shall be based on the results of assessment, types of natural disasters, natural disaster risk zoning corresponding to each type and level of natural disaster risks to each industry and/or each area.

3. Priority shall be given to multi-purpose projects, combination of structural and non-structural solutions towards sustainable development and vulnerable group in the integration of natural disaster preparedness contents.

4. Funding for natural disaster preparedness shall be estimated in the process of formulating outline and tasks of the plan; in the process of estimation of costs of socio-economic development plans and development investment plans.

Chapter II

INTEGRATION OF NATURAL DISASTER PREPAREDNESS CONTENTS INTO INDUSTRY DISTRIBUTION AND DEVELOPMENT PLANS

Article 4. Integration process

1. Review and assess the implementation of natural disaster preparedness contents in the implementation of plans of the previous period.

a) Review, research legal documents, and plans relating to natural disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation.

b) Review the researches, reports, forecasts on natural disaster and climate change trends that may have impact on socio-economic and industry distribution development;

c) Assess the seriousness of natural disasters and damage caused by natural disasters to the economy, society, and environment during planned period. Based on the annual and 5-year reports on natural disaster preparedness, ministries, local authorities shall forecast and identify types of natural disasters that frequently occur, including frequency, intensity and data on the damage of each type of natural disaster: identify the most dangerous, frequent and damaging type of natural disaster; analyze and assess the extent of damage that impacts each field.

2. Analyze the situation and economic, social and environmental adaptability to natural disasters of the vulnerable groups in the future:

a) Differences in vulnerability by sex: between men and women; by income level: between rich and poor people; by age: between elderly and young people; by knowledge, awareness, and population density;

b) Vulnerable groups include: poor people, children, lonely elderly people, female householders, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities;

c) Residents in areas vulnerable to natural disasters, such as islands, coastal areas, frequently inundated lowlands, areas along rivers, canals where flashflood and landslides frequently occur, or occupation groups vulnerable to natural disasters such as extraction of aquatic and marine resources, aquaculture on rivers, canals, lagoons and yards; waterway transport, tourist destinations, households that do not have a stable occupation and frequently move to make a living.

3. Identify reasons, including objective and subjective ones that cause damage to each field (economy, society and environment):

a) The accuracy of information on meteorological-hydrological forecasts and warnings; the promptness and accessibility of forecasts and warnings to the people, especially vulnerable groups;

b) Proactive implementation of natural disaster preparedness plans;

c) The suitability for the master plans relating to natural disaster preparedness; standards and technical regulations on natural disaster preparedness of construction works;

d) Availability of equipment for communication and rescue;

e) Conformance to regulations on safety of the vehicles and traffic thereof in natural disasters;

f) The availability of safe places for boats and ships to take shelter, emergency stations at areas frequently affected by natural disasters;

g) Rescue of people, boats and ships, construction works that are directly affected by natural disasters;

h) Availability of forces, vehicles, equipment and logistics services.

i) Inspection and supervision capacity of the local government.

4. Identify measures for natural disaster preparedness in order of preference in conformity with types of natural disasters that frequently occurs.

5. Supervise, assess the integration<0

Assessment criteria:

a) The level of integration of natural disaster preparedness contents (including structural and non-structural solutions) and climate change adaptation into the socio-economic development targets set out in the plan;

Actual investment in natural disaster preparedness and climate change adaptation;

The efficiency of the programmes, schemes, projects on natural disaster preparedness and climate change in the fields and areas under the local government’s management.

Comparison between damage caused by natural disasters and climate change and gross regional domestic product (GRDP) or production value of each field and area before and after the integration;

Comparison of the impact of natural disasters and climate change on social issues, such as loss of life and property; housing problems of families affected by natural disasters; poverty; people's livelihood; epidemics; health services; the extent to which the student's academic performance is affected; necessary contributions by the people to the repair of the damaged schools or medical stations before and after the integration;

Comparison of negative environmental impacts caused by natural disasters and climate change before and after the integration;

Communities’ awareness of natural disaster preparedness and climate change;

The number of master plans, programmes, projects integrated and not integrated with the contents of natural disaster preparedness and climate change.

Time for assessing integration results

A master plan shall be divided into 4 quarters and periodically reviewed at the end of each quarter and at the end of its entire duration.

A plan shall be reviewed annually in combination with review of the previous year’s results and development of the next year’s plans. A 5-year plan shall be reviewed at the end of the 5-year period in combination with review of the previous 5-year plan and development of the next 5-year plan.

Article 5. Integration of natural disaster preparedness contents into socio-economic development plans and industry distribution and development plans

1. For the available master plans: Review and make amendments to natural disaster preparedness contents that are omitted or unconformable with plans and standards in natural disaster preparedness or may threaten the works dedicated to natural disaster preparedness.

2. For the newly-made master plans: the process of integrating natural disaster preparedness contents must be followed since the master plan is made.

3. Integrating natural disaster preparedness contents into the assessment of implementation, particular targets, tasks and solutions of each master plan.

4. The integration process shall be followed as prescribed in Article 4 of this Circular.

Article 6. Integration of natural disaster preparedness contents into national socio-economic development plans and industry distribution and development plans.

1. Integrate the contents of assessment of seriousness of natural disaster into basic surveying steps, assess advantages, disadvantages, challenges; identify the planned period’s needs for socio-economic development or ministries, and local authorities’ needs for amendments.

2. Take into account impacts of natural disasters and climate change and solutions for prevention, response, restoration, reconstruction when establishing criteria for socio-economic development.

3. When working out solutions to national socio-economic development plans and industry distribution and development plans, solutions that have been researched, proposed in strategies, programmes, schemes relating to natural disaster preparedness and mitigation must be selected to get the most reasonable solution.

4. The integration process shall be followed as prescribed in Article 4 of this Circular.

Article 7. Integration of natural disaster preparedness contents into socio-economic development plans of provinces/districts/communes

1. Collect information and prepare for the implementation:

a) People’s Committees of communes, districts, or provincial cities promulgate the document directing the formulation of socio-economic development plans integrated with natural disaster preparedness contents to local boards, regulatory agencies, relevant unions and units;

b) Disseminate natural disaster preparedness contents to the officials who are responsible for making plans:

Basic knowledge about natural disasters in the locality and appropriate solutions to natural disaster preparedness;

Natural disaster preparedness plans and other relevant plans;

Rules and contents of the integration of natural disaster preparedness into socio-economic development plans

2. The integration process shall be followed as prescribed in Article 4 of this Circular.

Article 8. Sources of funding for the integration of natural disaster preparedness contents

Based on the funding provided in the medium-term and annual plans, ministries and local authorities shall integrate natural disaster preparedness contents into their socio-economic development plans and industry distribution and development plans, including:

1. Funding from state budget: funding from central government budget that is given to central ministries; dedicated additional funding from central government budget that is given to local governments; funding from local government budgets.

2. Funding from Government bonds and local government bonds.

3. Natural disaster preparedness funds.

4. Official development assistance (ODA) and concessional loans granted by foreign sponsors.

5. The State's development investment credit capital (credit extended by the Vietnam Development Bank and Vietnam Bank for Social Policies)

6. Funding sources for recurrent expenditures on the formulation and adjustment of master plans, and formulation of socio-economic development plans and industry distribution and development plans.

7. Other legal sources of funding as prescribed by law.

Ministries, People’s Committees at all levels are responsible for giving priority to the investment capital for medium-term and annual plans in order to carry out natural disaster preparedness works in service of local socio-economic development.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 9. Responsibilities of regulatory agencies, levels

1. The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall:

a) Take charge of inspecting, supervising the implementation of this Circular;

b) Summarize the contents of the integration of natural disaster preparedness from local and industry distribution and development plans into national socio-economic development plans.

2. Ministries, ministerial agencies are responsible for integrating natural disaster preparedness contents into the formulation of industry distribution and development plans under their management;

3. People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities:

a) Direct the Department of Planning and Investment to take charge of summarizing, integrating natural disaster preparedness contents into socio-economic development plans of districts/cities; monitor, inspect and assess the integration of natural disaster preparedness contents into socio-economic development plans of local authorities at all levels.

b) Direct the Department of Planning and Investment to take charge and coordinate with Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and relevant agencies/units in appraising the contents of integration of natural disaster preparedness into the formulation of socio-economic development plans and industry distribution and development plans.

c) Direct the Department of Planning and Investment to give priority to allocation of capital in annual cost estimate in order to take solutions for socio-economic development that is integrated with natural disaster preparedness contents.

Article 10. Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from July 20, 2016.

2. Ministries, ministerial agencies, People’s Committees at all levels, relevant organizations are responsible for implementing this Circular. Difficulties that arise during the implementation of this Circular should be promptly reported to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.