DECISION

APPROVING THE NATIONAL STRATEGY ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION TILL 2010 AND ORIENTATIONS TOWARDS 2020

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;
Pursuant to the Law on Environmental Protection dated December 27, 1993;
At the proposals of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the National Strategy on Environmental Protection till 2010 and orientations towards 2020 with the following major contents:

1. Viewpoints:

- The strategy on environmental protection is an integral part of the Strategy on socio-economic development and an important base for the national sustainable development. Economic development must be closely and harmoniously combined with social development and environmental protection. Investment in environmental protection means investment in sustainable development.

...

...

...

- Environmental protection must be based on the enhancement of the State management, institutions and laws, in parallel with the raising of the awareness of, and sense of responsibility for, environmental protection of all people and the entire society.

- Environmental protection is a regular and long-term task. Prevention is considered a main task, which is combined with pollution treatment and control, as well as the overcoming of deterioration and the improvement of environment quality; to carry out jobs with attention being paid to key points; and to consider science and technology as effective tools in environmental protection.

- As environmental protection is of national, regional and global magnitude, it is, therefore, necessary to combine the promotion of internal strengths with the enhancement of international cooperation in environmental protection and sustainable development.

2. Major orientations towards 2020:

a) To basically check in increasing pollution rate, overcome deterioration and raise the environment quality, thus ensuring the national sustainable development; to ensure that all people shall live in the environment of good quality regarding air, land, water, landscape and other natural environmental elements which are up to standards prescribed by the State.

b) To strive to reach some following major norms:

- 80% of the production and/or business establishments shall be granted the certificate of environmental standards or ISO 14001 certificate.

- 100% of the urban centers, industrial parks and export-processing zones shall have concentrated waste water-treating systems up to environmental standards.

- To form and develop the waste-recycling industry, striving for the target that 30% of gathered waste shall be recycled.

...

...

...

- To increase the forest coverage to 48% of the total land area of the country.

- 100% of the export products and goods and 50% of the domestically consumed goods shall be stuck with environmental labels according to ISO 14021 standard.

3. Objectives till 2010:

3.1. Overall objectives:

To check the increasing pollution rate, overcome the deterioration situation and improve the environment quality; to basically settle the situation of environmental deterioration in industrial parks and populous quarters in big cities and some rural areas; to redress and treat environmental pollution on rivers, lakes, ponds and canals. To raise the capacity of preventing and restricting adverse impacts of natural disasters as well as unfavorable climatic changes on the environment; to effectively cope with, and overcome environmental pollution incidents caused by natural disasters. To rationally exploit and use natural resources, ensure ecological balance at a high level, conserve the nature and preserve the bio-diversity. To take initiative in implementing and satisfying environmental requirements in international economic integration, to restrict adverse impacts of the globalization process on domestic environment, in order to boost economic growth, raise the quality of people's life and ensure the country's sustainable development.

3.2. Specific objectives:

a) To check the increasing pollution rate:

- 100% of the newly-built production establishments must apply clean technologies or be equipped with pollution-reducing and waste-treating devices, which are up to environmental standards.

- 50% of the production and/or business establishments shall be granted the certificate of environmental standards or ISO 14001 certificate.

...

...

...

- 40% of the urban centers and 70% of the industrial parks and export-processing zones shall have concentrated waste water-treating systems, which are up to environmental standards, 90% of the solid waste from daily-life, industrial and service activities shall be gathered while 60% of the hazardous waste and 100% of hospitals' waste shall be treated.

- To closely control chemical safety, especially chemicals of high toxicity; to minimize the production and use of plant protection drugs which cause environmental pollution; and to enhance the application of integrated pest management measures.

- To thoroughly handle establishments which cause serious environmental pollution according to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 64/2003/QD-TTg dated April 22, 2003.

b) To improve the environment quality:

- To basically complete the renovation and upgrading of rainwater and waste water drainage systems in urban centers and industrial parks. To strive for the target that 40% of urban centers shall have separate waste water drainage and treatment systems in strict compliance with prescribed standards.

- To renovate 50% of the seriously deteriorated canals, lakes and river sections flowing through urban centers.

- To basically handle hot spots of dioxin contamination.

- 95% of the urban population and 85% of the rural population shall have access to hygienic daily-life water.

- 90% of streets shall be planted with green trees; the urban land area for green parks shall be double the 2000's figure.

...

...

...

- To raise the quality of water in river basins to the standards of water used for agriculture and raising of some aquatic animals.

c) To ensure ecological balance at a high level:

- To restore 50% of the mineral-exploiting areas and 40% of the seriously deteriorated ecological systems.

- To raise the forest coverage to 43% of the total land area, to restore 50% of the deteriorated head-water forests and raise the quality of forests; to accelerate the scattered afforestation among people.

- To increase the percentage of used clean energy to 5% of the total energy volume annually consumed.

- To increase the total acreage of nature conservation zones by 1.5 times over the current figure, especially sea and submerged-land conservation zones.

- To restore the acreage of submerged forests to 80% of 1990's level.

d) To satisfy environmental requirements for international economic integration and restrict the negative impacts of the globalization process:

- 100% of the enterprises having export products shall apply the environmental management system according to ISO 14001.

...

...

...

- To completely stop the import of hazardous waste.

4. Basic tasks and solutions:

4.1. Basic tasks:

a) To prevent and control pollution:

- To synchronously apply measures to prevent environmental pollution.

- To formulate plans on pollution control of national, branch and local levels in order to check, handle and control sources causing environmental pollution and deterioration throughout the country as well as in each branch and locality.

- To apply technologies which are environmentally clean and friendly.

- To formulate and promulgate the national and branch environmental standards.

- To raise the capacity and efficiency of waste management activities.

...

...

...

- To thoroughly handle establishments which cause serious environmental pollution according to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 64/2003/QD-TTg dated April 22, 2003.

- To implement projects on overcoming and rehabilitating seriously deteriorated and polluted sites, areas and regions.

- To overcome the consequences of environmental deterioration caused by toxic chemicals used in the former war.

- To cope with environmental incidents and quickly overcome environmental pollution consequences.

c) To protect and sustainably exploit natural resources:

- To rationally exploit, economically, efficiently and sustainably use land and mineral resources.

- To rationally exploit, protect and develop the water resource.

- To protect the air resource.

d) To protect and improve the environment in key areas:

...

...

...

- Sea, coastal areas and off-shore islands.

- River basins and submerged land areas.

- Rural and mountainous areas.

- Natural heritages and cultural heritages.

e) To conserve nature and bio-diversity:

- To protect and develop nature conservation zones and national gardens.

- To develop forests and raise the greenery acreage.

- To protect bio-diversity.

4.2. Implementation solutions:

...

...

...

b) To enhance the State management, institutions and laws on environmental protection.

c) To step up the application of economic tools to environmental management.

d) To harmonize the relationship between economic development and social progress and justice as well as environmental protection.

e) To enhance and diversify investment in environmental protection.

f) To enhance the capacity of scientific research and technological development in environmental protection.

g) To boost the socialization of environmental protection activities.

h) To enhance international cooperation on environmental protection.

5. To approve in principle 36 national priority programs, plans, schemes and projects for the realization of major contents of the Strategy (detailed appendix enclosed herewith)

Article 2. Organization of the implementation of the Strategy:

...

...

...

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance shall apportion and allocate capital from the State budget and other sources for the efficient realization of the contents of the Strategy.

3. The ministries, branches and localities shall, according to their respective functions and tasks, organize the implementation of the Strategy's contents related to their branches and localities; and to formulate and implement their own environmental protection strategies.

Article 3. This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

The ministers, the heads of the ministerial-level agencies, the heads of agencies attached to the Government and the presidents of the provincial/municipal People's Committees shall have to implement this Decision.

FOR THE PRIME MINISTER
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER




Nguyen Tan Dung

APPENDIX

...

...

...

1. The project on planting five million hectares of forests (to be implemented under the Resolution of the second session of the X^th National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam on the project on planting five million hectares of forests and the Prime Minister's Decision No. 661/QD-TTg dated July 29, 1998 on the objectives and tasks of, policies for, as well as implementation of, the project on planting five million hectares of forests).

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

2. The plan for thoroughly handling establishments which cause serious environmental pollution (to be implemented according to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 64/2003/QD-TTg dated April 22, 2003 approving the plan for thoroughly handling establishments which cause serious environmental pollution).

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

3. The program for overcoming the consequences of toxic chemicals used by the US during the Vietnam war (to be implemented according to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 33/1999/QD-TTg dated March 31, 1999 on the establishment of the Steering Committee for overcoming the consequences of toxic chemicals used by the US during the Vietnam war).

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

...

...

...

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

5. The national target program on rural clean water and environmental sanitation (to be implemented according to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 237/1998/QD-TTg dated December 3, 1998 of approving the national target program on rural clean water and environmental sanitation).

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

6. The program on treatment of hazardous waste.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

7. The program on treatment of hospitals' waste.

...

...

...

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

8. The program for renovating seriously-polluted and/or-deteriorated canals, rivers and lakes in urban areas.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Construction.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

9. The program for increasing the capacity of State management over environmental protection from the central to grassroots levels.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

10. The program for upgrading urban water drainage systems and building concentrated waste water-treating systems.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Construction

...

...

...

11. The program for enhancing the management, protection and development of nature conservation zones (to be implemented according to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 192/2003/QD-TTg dated September 17, 2003 approving the Strategy on management of Vietnam's conservation zone system till 2010).

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

- Coordinating agencies: The Ministry of Aquatic Resources, concerned ministries, branches and localities.

12. The program for perfecting and raising the effect of the system of legislation on environmental protection.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

13. The program for researching into, formulating and applying economic tools to environmental management.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

...

...

...

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

15. The program for protecting the environment in Nhue river and Day river basins.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

16. The program for protecting the environment in Saigon-Dong Nai river basin.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

17. The national plan on coping with oil-spills in the 2001-2010 period (to be implemented according to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 129/2001/QD-TTg dated August 29, 2001 approving the national plan on coping with oil-spills in the 2001-2010 period).

...

...

...

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

18. The program for protecting submerged-land areas of national and international importance.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

19. The scheme on incorporating environmental protection contents into the national education system (to be implemented according to the Prime Minister's Decision No. 1363/QD-TTg dated October 17, 2001 approving the scheme on incorporating environmental protection contents into the national education system).

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Education and Training.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

20. The program for integrating environmental elements into socio-economic development plannings and plans.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Planning and Investment.

...

...

...

21. The program on the entire people's participation in environmental protection.

- Sponsoring agency: Vietnam Fatherland Front.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

22. The program for raising the capacity and activities of managing solid waste in urban centers and industrial parks.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Construction.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

23. The program for improving air quality in urban centers.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Communications and Transport.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

...

...

...

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

25. The program for building concentrated waste water-treating systems up to environmental standards in all industrial parks.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Industry.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

26. The program for enhancing the role of mass media in raising the awareness of environmental protection.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Culture and Information.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

27. The program for socialization of the environmental protection work.

...

...

...

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

28. The program on application of environmentally clean and friendly production technologies.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Industry.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

29. The program for supporting enterprises in environmental protection and international economic integration.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Trade.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

30. The program for formulating and implementing the roadmap for technological renovation along the environmentally friendly direction.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Science and Technology.

...

...

...

31. The program for rehabilitating the environment on mineral-exploiting areas.

- Sponsoring agency: Ministry of Industry.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

32. The program for protecting and developing natural heritages and cultural heritages.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Culture and Information.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

33. The program for formulating and popularizing models of ecological-economic villages.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

...

...

...

. - Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

35. The program for enhancing the capacity of scientific research and technological development in service of environmental protection.

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Science and Technology.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.

36. The program for raising the capacity of environmental observation

- Sponsoring agency: The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

- Coordinating agencies: The concerned ministries, branches and localities.