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VIETNAM
NATIONAL PLAN FOR

ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

1991 - 2000

FRAMEWORK FOR ACTION

Prepared

by

SRV STATE COMMITTEE FOR SCIENCES (SCS)

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME (UNDP)

SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY (SIDA)

UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME (UNEP)

INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR THE CONSERVATION OF NATURE (IUCN)

(PROJECT VIE/89/021)

PREFACE

The issue of natural resources and environmental protection is an important one in Vietnam. In September 1985 the
Council of Ministers of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam adopted Resolution NO. 246 under the title "Activities on
Basic Investigation, Rational Utilization of Natural Resources and Environmental Protection" which paved the way for
various other policies and directives for the protection of the environment.

Concerned about the future demands that economic development would place upon the environment, the
Government requested UNDP assistance for holding an international conference on Environment and Sustainable
Development. As a prelude to the conference, a preparatory meeting was held by the State Committee for Sciences
(SCS) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Hanoi in late 1988 which agreed that the
international conference should help formulate a National Environmental Action Plan.

During the preparatory discussions it was decided that UNDP assistance would be formalized in the form of a
project. Given the importance of the issue and their prior involvement in this area, the Swedish International
Development Authority (SIDA) expressed an interest in participating in the process, as did the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP). The project document VIE/89/021 National Environmental Action Plan and
Conference on Environment and Sustainable Development was signed on 5 September 1990 with the State
Committee for Sciences as the implementing body.
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The draft Environmental Action Plan was formulated under the overall guidance of the State Committee for Sciences
with assistance from UNEP and a SIDA-funded consultant provided by the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) and in association with relevant Government bodies.

The draft was presented for comments at the International Conference on Environment and Sustainable
Development held in Hanoi from 3-6 December 1990. Participants included national and international experts as well
as representatives of embassies, bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental organizations. The conference
approved the submission to the Council of Ministers of a National Plan for Environment and Sustainable
Development : A Framework for Action.

On 12 June 1991, the National Plan for Environment and Sustainable Development was approved by the Chairman
of the Council of Ministers. This decision is reflected in Document No. 187/CT.

The Chairman of the State Committee for Sciences has been entrusted with the responsibility for all activities
pertaining to the Implementation of the Plan.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 05-19

TABLE 1 TABLE OF HIGHEST PRIORITIES 20-22

CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION 23-27

1.1 Concept and Goals of NPESD 23

1.2 Environmental Situation and Current Activities 24

1.3 Obstacles to Conservation 25

CHAPTER 2 INSTITUTIONAL LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY FRAMEWORK 28-68

2.1 Establishment of Environmental Authority 28

2.1.1 Institutional Form of Environmental Authority 28

a. Central Environmental Organisation 28

b. Regional Environmental Organisation 32

c. Provincial Environmental Organisation 33

2.2 Development of Environmental Policy and Law 35

2.2.1 Development of Environmental Policies 35

2.2.2 Development of Environmental Legislation 35

a. Environmental Impact Assessment 35

b. Environmental Standards 36

c. Establishment of Protected Areas 36

d. Integrated Land Zoning 36

e. Action Plan Implementation 37

f. International Law 37

2.3 Data Collection, Information Management and Networking 37

2.4 Integrated Planning of Resource Development 40

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2.5 Sustainable Development Strategies at Sectoral Level 40

2.5.1 Agriculture 41

2.5.2 Forestry and Wildlife 42

2.5.3 Fisheries and Other Aquatic Resources 43

2.5.4 Water Resources 44

2.5.5 Mining 46

2.5.6 Energy 47

2.5.7 Transportation 50

2.5.8 Industry 52

2.5.9 Tourism and Recreation 53

2.5.10 Land Use Planning and Zoning 55

2.6 Environmental Impact Assessment Process 56

2.7 Environmental Disaster Management 58

2.7.1 Oil Spill Contingency Planning 61

2.7.2 Flood Control 62

2.7.3 Typhoon Damage Control 63

2.8 Monitoring Frameworks and Strategies 65

CHAPTER 3 ACTION PROGRAMS 69-105

3.1 Urban Development and Population 69

3.1.1 Urban Development 69

3.1.2 Population Stabilization 74

3.1.3 Quality of Life 78

3.2 Integrated Watershed Management 82

3.2.1 Current Developments regarding Land and Water Resources Management 82

3.2.2 Watershed Management Priorities 85

3.2.3 Management of Problems Soils of the Mekong Delta 89

3.2.4 Restoration of Degraded Lands 89

3.3 Pollution Control and Waste Management 90

3.3.1 Appropriate Technologies for Waste Reduction, Reuse and Recycling 90

3.3.2 Control and Treatment of Air, Water and Soil Pollution 91

a. Domestic 91

b. Transport-related 91

c. Industrial 92

d. Agricultural 92

3.3.3 Control of Toxic Chemicals and Hazardous Substances 92

3.4 Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Planning 93

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3.4.1 Coral Reefs 94

3.4.2 Mangrove and seagrass ecosystems 95

3.4.3 Estuarine and marine ecosystems 97

3.4.4 Coastal erosion control and coastal protection measures 99

3.5 Maintenance of Genetic Diversity 100

3.6 Protection of Wetlands 102

3.7 National Parks. Protected Areas and Wildlife Reserves 103

CHAPTER 4 PROGRAM SUPPORT ACTIVITIES 106-117

4.1 Education, Training, Extension and Awareness Program 106

4.1.1 Development of Formal Environmental Education 106

a. curricula, syllabi and textbooks 106

b. postgraduate courses 106

c. training of teachers 107

4.1.2 Technical Training 107

a. specialized training 107

b. overseas training and fellowships 108

c.. international exchange of expertise 108

4.1.3 Promotion of Environmental Awareness 109

a. development of environmental awareness tools, kits and packages 109

b. training of provincial & district-level officials & non-governmental organizations 109

(NGOs)

c. mass media campaigns 110

4.1.4 Extension Service Network and Training 110

a. establishment of extension service network 110

b. networking via specialised volunteer organizations 110

c. nationwide training program for extension workers 111

4.2 International Cooperation 111

4.2.1 Information Exchange 112

a. regional and international linkages 112

b. collaboration with international monitoring networks 114

4.2.2 International Implications 114

TABLE 2 PRIORITIES MATRIX 118-120

ANNEX I List of Environmental Research Priorities and Baseline Data Collection Priorities 121-123

ANNEX II Pilot Areas for Testing Feasibility of Action Plan before its application on a 124
national scale

ANNEX III Suggested Areas for Regional Cooperation in Environmental Management for 125
Sustainable Development
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REFERENCES 127-129

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Vietnam is a developing country with limited resources to address environmental concerns. Yet it has critical
environmental problems. Its forests, watersheds and waterways, marine resources, land and air are in a degraded
state due to years of war, and are currently experiencing severe pressure from a rapidly increasing population. Since
the majority of the population depends on these various resources for their livelihood it is imperative that actions be
undertaken to promote the sustainable development of the country. Through a creative framework which need not be
particularly elaborate or expensive, the additional institutional and technical expertise to address these problems can
be developed with a minimum level of resources. This document, outlining a national framework for action in the area
of Environmental and Sustainable Development for the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, provides the basis for
developing the required inputs that will enable Vietnam to address its environmental challenges.

The objectives of this plan, which has taken the issues raised in the National Conservation Strategy as its point of
departure, are to:

1) provide for the gradual development of a comprehensive framework for national and sub-national environmental
planning and management; and

2) lead to specific actions that are required in the short term to address priority problems at their very roots.

The overall framework is one which the Republic should strive to develop within the next ten years. This framework
ultimately would include a wide variety of components, including appropriate organizational structures, well-
integrated environmental policies at the sectoral level, environmental legislation, priority projects and programs,
improved methods of data collection and management, environmental impact assessment procedures and
monitoring systems. Priorities and an agenda have been identified for two five-year periods: 1990-1995, and 1996-
2000.

For 1990-95 high priority items include several management components, with highest priority being given to: the
establishment of a single environmental authority; the development of programs in population control; watershed
management programs, which include reforestation, control of soil erosion, management of problem soils, and
stabilization of shifting agriculture; agricultural pollution control; and estuary protection. From 1996 to 2000,
population control and watershed management should continue to be top priorities, along with the protection of reefs,
wetlands, and inland waters. Priority actions for the two time periods are summarized in the Matrix of Priority Actions,
below.

Sustainable development with equity is the major theme of this Environmental Action Plan upon which the plan's
goals and objectives are formulated. The goals are:

To satisfy the basic material, spiritual and cultural needs of all the people of Vietnam, both present and future
generations, through the wise management of natural resources.

To define and establish policies, action plans, and institutional structures to ensure that the sustainability of
natural resource use will be fully integrated into all aspects of Vietnam's social and economic development
process.

The specific objectives of the Plan are to:

maintain essential ecological processes and life-support systems upon which human welfare in Vietnam is
dependent;

maintain Vietnam's wealth of genetic diversity of both domesticated and wild species of current and potential
benefit;

ensure the sustainable use of Vietnam's natural resources by managing intensity and patterns of use;

maintain overall environmental quality, necessary for the well being of human existence.
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achieve a population level and distribution that is in balance with natural sustainable productivity at a dignified
standard of living.

Sustainable development requires that resources be developed and utilized in an integrated manner. This entails
taking into account broader national objectives, regional differences in income and endowment, the effects of one
sector, or industry on another, and the impacts of activities in one area on another location. In developing sustainable
development strategies it is necessary to ensure that a given strategy does not conflict with those of other sectors or
industries, and that development strategies serve to reinforce each other and form part of a broad, coordinated
program for sustainable development.

Strategies and recommendations which form the basis of this action plan are founded on the above premises. Draft
recommendations for action were discussed and finalized at the Conference on Environment and Sustainable
Development, held in Hanoi in from 3-6 December 1990. These include sectoral, industrial, human resource
development, and institutional/legal strategies which should be promoted more actively and effectively in all regions
of Vietnam. A summary of these strategies and recommendations are provided in the following pages.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDED ACTIONS BY SECTOR

Population Policy

Implementation of effective population stabilization programs, especially in the midlands.

Reinforcement of population policy by other sectoral policies, especially for rural areas.

Agriculture

Support of agricultural efficiency through the removal of market disincentives and the implementation of other
sectoral reforms such as maximizing benefits from multi-cropping, improving farmer incentives, and minimizing
post-harvest losses.

Development and promotion of sustainable cultivation and agronomic systems for hillside areas. Activities
should consider agro-forestry, contour planting, tree cropping and terracing, and be adapted to specific site
conditions, farmer preferences for crops, and feasible soil and water conservation technologies.

Agricultural practices should emphasize intensified cultivation to increase productivity, crop rotation, control of
agricultural chemicals, popularization of organic farming and irrigation practices to avoid water logging, and
soil salinization.

Research and extension work related to agro-forestry systems should receive top priority, with a view to future
replication in areas where shifting cultivators from the uplands are being resettled. In addition, men and
women should be involved in planning and implementing these activities and their individual needs should be
incorporated at all stages of project development.

Forestry

An intensified program of reforestation and afforestation should include the establishment of forest buffer
zones and economic forest plantations to provide both fuelwood and timber. Planting efforts should aim to
develop mixed forests of indigenous species most suitable to local conditions and climate, rather than
monocultures and the use of exotic species.

The involvement of local people, women, men and children must be incorporated into these activities as rural
employment and rural income generation projects; and the needs of the people for forest products must be
thoroughly assessed.

To reduce pressure on forest exploitation for rural firewood supply, community level fuelwood plantations
should be established, and more fuel efficient ovens must be popularized.

Stronger programs for forest area protection, both to conserve existing forest and reforested areas, and to
allow for natural regeneration of degraded areas. Where catchment protection is the primary objective,
passive use of natural reforestation is more efficient than plantations. Protected areas thus should include
forests set aside as hydrological reserves, national parks and nature reserves, cultural sites and recreation
areas.

Measures to control forest fires and disease and stricter enforcement of forest regulations. The success of
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such programs will likely be greater if land tenure systems are established to ensure that local communities
have a direct interest in protecting and managing forests on a sustainable basis.

The promotion of agro-forestry, as part of a joint program with the forestry and agricultural department staff.
This program could focus on adapting the traditional systems of agro-forestry which already exist in Vietnam.

A review of ail forest policies and laws should be undertaken to ascertain if current rules and regulations are
being enforced, if realized government revenues approach economic values, and to ensure that protection
and conservation measures are adequately secured within these policies. Issues to be reviewed include
allowable cuts, harvesting cycles, stumpage fees, etc.

The banning of large-scale commercial logging in the remaining areas of natural forest. A ban is needed both
for watershed conservation and for habitat protection. Commercial logging should be focused on plantation
forests that have been established for such use.

Development of an accurate inventory of Vietnam's forest resource base and development of forest land use
allocation programs based on this information.

Education, training and workforce development in a wide range of forest management and conservation
topics. To the extent possible, women should be encouraged to participate in these programs.

Development of programs to assist in the promotion, marketing and distribution of forest related products.
Emphasis should be placed on products grown by local people in agro-forestry systems or products that can
be harvested from the forest on a sustained yield basis without disturbing the natural vegetation.

Water Resources

Integrated watershed management should receive high priority.

Development of water pollution standards and controls on industrial effluent, integrated pest management
(IPM) in the agricultural sector, and proper systems of sewage treatment, solid waste management and
recycling. The strategy should also develop and adopt water quality standards in relation to particular uses
including drinking, recreation and industrial uses.

The development of new water supplies focusing on sources that are unlikely to become polluted in the future.

Watershed Rehabilitation and Management

Integrated watershed management should emphasize multi-purpose utilization of water resources, soil erosion
control through appropriate soil stabilization measures, forestry rehabilitation by large scale reforestation, land
use and human settlement planning, waste management, focused on recycling, and flood control measures.

Intensification of cultivation in areas that are in fact suited to sustainable agricultural use. Special attention
must be paid to improving and promoting techniques and systems, such as agro-forestry, aimed at
sustainable hillside cultivation.

Protection of existing forested watersheds and the rehabilitation of denuded watersheds. This will require a
system of protected areas, enforcement of forestry regulations, fire and disease protection measures, and
reforestation.

Development of alternative, non-agricultural means of employment for the Vietnamese people. Obviously, this
objective is already being pursued through ongoing national programs of economic restructuring and
modernization. Priority should be placed on creating such opportunities for groups that presently are inflicting
severe damage in a given forest or watershed area and shifting cultivators in resettlement schemes.

Coastal Zone Management

Sustainable coastal zone management should emphasize rational utilization of aquatic resources, coastal land
use zoning, beach stabilization by vegetation, establishment of wind-breaker forests, control of pollution from
both marine and land based sources, oil spill contingency planning and necessary coastal resource
conservation measures, including wetland protection.

Sustainable fisheries practices should promote environmentally sound fishing methods, cessation of
environmentally damaging methods such as dynamite fishing and poisons, prevention of over-fishing, mesh
size regulation, minimum size limitation, protection of breeding grounds & spawning areas and ecosystems,
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and fishing ban during breeding seasons.

Promotion of coastal aquaculture, without mangrove destruction, as a means to increase protein intake and
income. As a means to reducing fishing pressure, a wide variety of sea products such as shrimp can be
cultivated along the coastline. However, coastal aquaculture initiatives should be designed with an
understanding that destruction of mangroves to make fish and shrimp ponds results in a loss in marine fishery
approximately equivalent to the apparent gain in pond fishery.

Development of sustainable offshore fishery capabilities. This will require the development of new capabilities
among fishermen, backed up by investments in larger boats and new gear. This may need to be supported by
new or larger fisheries cooperatives.

Protection, conservation and rehabilitation of mangroves, estuaries, lagoons and reefs which are critical
spawning grounds for many commercial fish species. The mining of live coral for making lime and building
materials should be banned.

The drafting of guidelines which would provide the framework for assessment of seashore developments.

Emphasis should be placed on integrated disaster planning and mitigation: and the coordination of this
responsibility should be assigned to the Environmental Authority that is to be established.

Industry

The role of the people of Vietnam in choosing the type of desired socio economic development should be
emphasized; thus public awareness should be promoted to enhance value judgement capabilities.

If maximum economic growth is the goal of the Vietnamese people, pricing mechanisms should be introduced
to tackle environmental problems by making the polluter pay for the pollution, so that the cost of resources are
regulated by the market.

Integrated urban development strategies should be prepared in order to address waste management and
water supply issues, health and social impacts, and ensuring long-term urban sustainability.

Land use zoning should be developed immediately for new industries with the provision for pollution control,
rather than replacing, at great cost, existing polluting plants.

In planning for sustainable industrial development emphasize the development of light industry. Where
possible light industry should be located in areas where it will draw people away from areas where pressure
on the land by cultivators is excessive.

Transport

Minimization of the use of private motor vehicles and promotion of public transportation to avoid air pollution
(and a host of other critical problems). The existing reliance on bicycle transportation should also be
maintained and encouraged within all transportation policies.

Energy

All energy projects should undergo an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) during their planning stage: in
order to integrate environmental considerations into the engineering design of the projects and to ensure that
mitigation measures are employed.

The efficient use of energy should be established through the development of Energy Efficiency Standards for
all end uses of energy.

Maximization of energy use efficiency, and planning for expansion of electricity supply should be conducted
through integrated planning and policy development in all sectors. Energy efficiency and conservation can
help to reduce the need to expand energy supplies, a desirable objective as increases in energy consumption
can be accompanied by significant environmental costs.

Reliance should focus, to the extent feasible, on clean, renewable and decentralized energy sources. When
comparing the costs and benefits of these energy sources with the traditional, non renewable, and/or
centralized sources, it is important to ensure that the full environmental and social costs of the latter are given
the weight they deserve.
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All development projects including buildings, tourism, road building, industrial facilities and land use planning
should also be reviewed with an Energy Efficiency Assessment (EEA).

Pollution Control

The development of standards and systems for industrial pollution control and waste management. As
Vietnam is only now beginning to rebuild its industrial base it can develop these standards and systems up
front, avoiding the large environmental rehabilitation costs that many other countries will have to pay.

Standards for smokestack emissions and liquid effluent discharges for industry should be established and
enforced.

Priority should be laid on control of pollution from point sources, before tackling non-point source pollution, as
it is more difficult to manage.

Emphasize waste reduction, re-use, and recycling in pollution control. However, reduction, re-use, and
recycling alone will not solve the pollution problem. Strategies will be required to address the flow of wastes
from households, industries and farms.

The promotion of "waste exchange" or re-use in both formal and informal sectors. Efforts to create industrial
waste exchanges should be made between industries and an information centre could be created to support
this activity.

The proper treatment of household pollutants, primarily sewage and solid waste. This will require some form
of treatment system in the case of sewage, and, in the case of solid waste, incineration and/or disposal in a
suitably designed and located sanitary landfill.

Encouragement of the use of organic fertilizer to reduce agricultural pollution, mainly chemical fertilizers and
pesticides. Integrated pest management, a system which makes maximum use of intercropping, crop rotation,
natural pesticides, and other traditional pest control methods should be promoted. Regulations on the use,
handling and disposal of pesticides should also be developed, including restrictions on the types of pesticides
that can be used in Vietnam.

The enforcement of pollution measures to control the discharge of organic and industrial wastes into fresh
waters and into the sea. The use of potentially harmful agro-chemicals should be actively discouraged in
favour of other pest control systems, particularly in areas where freshwater fisheries are important.

A ban on the dumping of oil or radioactive wastes in Vietnamese waters. Measures should be taken to prevent
oil leaks from marine oil exploration platforms. Furthermore, Vietnam should adhere to international
conventions relating to the use of marine resources, for example the Law of the Sea, the International
Convention on Dumping of Wastes at Sea and the International Whaling Convention.

Hazardous Wastes

Regulations on the use, handling, and disposal of toxic and hazardous substances should be developed and
tightly enforced.

The development and promotion of alternative methods, or the use of non hazardous materials in industries
that presently employ or generate hazardous substances should be emphasized.

A special body should be formed to address problems relating to hazardous substances and to develop a
program for their management and disposal. Regulations should be developed pertaining to the use, storage,
handling, transport and disposal of hazardous substances.

Maintenance of Genetic Diversity

Necessary action should be undertaken to strengthen and maintain biodiversity and stimulate nature
conservation in the Country.

National Parks and Forest Reserves

The Division of Special Use Forests should be upgraded to a Division of Nature Conservation to manage a
National system of protected areas of all natural living communities of the country, not only forests. Such a
division should be enlarged and provided more independence.
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The costs of maintaining National Parks and Protected Areas should be reduced by the development of such
income generating projects as conducted wildlife safaris, both for tourism promotion and as a tool for
awareness raising.

In addition, the development of new skills for the management of such areas will have to be encouraged
among the staff of the Ministry of Forestry through an intensive training programme. Legislation for the
establishment and management of these reserves will need revision and enactment. Knowledge of such new
legislation will have to be disseminated among the regional judiciary and police authorities.

Involvement of local people at the design and planning stage and the distribution of various direct or indirect
benefits to local people through the establishment of such reserves. This involves considerable skill in socio-
economic evaluation and the development of extension services for the reserves.

Involvement of international assistance in the initial stages of planning and training for the management of a
few model reserves, since the establishment of nature reserves is a rather new idea in Vietnam and the
country has little experience in this field.

Development of practical programs to protect particular endangered species.

Development of hunting regulations. These may include a total ban on hunting in some critical areas. Vietnam
should implement measures to control trade in endangered species. These measures should include
becoming an active member of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and
establishing controls along Vietnam's borders.

Help rare populations to recover especially through in situ conservation; for plant species, initiate programs
aimed at ex situ conservation through seed banks and botanical gardens.

Protection of Wetlands

Focus should be placed on supporting and implementing objectives of the Ramsar, Convention on Wetlands,
by establishing and managing wetland protection areas.

A National Wetlands Conservation Programme for Vietnam should be developed within a coastal zone
management framework, along with a series of demonstration projects dealing with the sustainable utilization
and rehabilitation of critical wetland ecosystems.

Cooperative sub-regional projects and activities for the protection and development of such shared resources
as the watersheds of the Red River and of the Mekong River should be strengthened.

Environmental Education

Development of an integrated environmental and sustainable development curriculum. This curriculum should
specifically focus attention on the basic concepts of sustainable development. It should also establish the
need for specialized degree courses in the field of environmental sciences within a framework for sustainable
development and the training of teachers in this field. Both men and women should have equal access to all
training programs.

Development of curricula, syllabus and textbooks should be given high priority for the introduction of
environmental education at all levels and the establishment of specialized degree courses in various fields of
environmental sciences.

Training

Development of national expertise in the field of environmental management through specialized training on
the most urgent environmental issues in Vietnam.

International assistance should be sought and urgently utilized for training of educationalists, authors,
teachers and other resource persons for the establishment of an educational system in the field of
Environment: focus on overseas training and experience through fellowships, international conferences, and
professional exchange programs of experts for technology transfer and exchange of experience.

Environmental Awareness

Promotion of environmental awareness should be given high priority. Production of environmental awareness
materials should be stressed in order to provide the tools for extension work and the raising of awareness of
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the masses; the assistance of mass media, volunteer groups and NGOs should be sought for the widest
dissemination of these materials.

Extension Services

Sustainable rural development will require the establishment of an extension network with an appropriate pay
structure for the dissemination of environmentally sound practices.

Training of extension workers and NGO's involved in rural development and environmental protection
activities should be undertaken on a massive scale to enhance the acceleration of environmental protection
work as part of integrated rural development.

Development of a Central Environmental Authority

A single Environmental Authority should be established, on an urgent basis, at a supra-ministerial level. Its
mandate should include Policy Planning and Legislation, development of an Integrated Process of
Implementation, Environmental Standards and Impact Assessment, Pollution Control, Monitoring,
Coordination of Disaster Management, Information Management, Setting of Research Priorities, and
Environmental Awareness Promotion.

Local Environmental Organization

This Central Environmental Authority should be supported by an integrated institutional network at the
provincial, district and commune level.

Regional, provincial and district levels should develop appropriate environmental organizations and efficient
mechanisms to integrate national objectives on both the conservation and sustainable development of natural
resources. Central and grass-roots level planning has to be part of the consultative process that brings the two
levels of government together, and which will ensure both a global approach and grass-root implementation
and benefit from a more integrated sustainable development approach.

Development of Environmental Policy and Legislation

Development of appropriate environmental policies and legislation including regulations should be given
priority. Provisions should be implemented requiring consideration of environmental factors in laws governing
the planning of development projects in such sectors as transport, mining, energy, fisheries, development of
new settlements, and tourism.

Legislation and mechanisms which provide for integrated land use zoning should accompany all
industrialization. Such zoning should be developed to ensure that industrial, as well as other land uses, are
sited in a manner which helps to minimize impacts on sensitive environmental features and on adjacent land
uses.

The legislative framework that is developed should also provide the necessary legislative authority for the
implementation of this Action Plan, along with other action plans to be developed by the appropriate national
and sub-national authorities. The legislative framework should also make provisions for the establishment of
Protected Areas.

A training program in environmental law for Vietnamese lawyers, such as that being followed in Indonesia,
should be developed.

The Draft Environmental Law should be developed and related to other existing legislation dealing with
environmental matters, with provision for periodic updating of regulations. Parallel socio-economic policies
should be developed-for economically under-developed areas in order to facilitate the implementation of the
Environmental Law. Promulgation of the Law should be proceeded by a comprehensive public awareness
campaign.

Environmental Standards and Impact Assessment

The establishment of Environmental Standards should be initiated immediately.

A policy and set of procedures, including EIA regulations. should then be developed on an urgent basis to
screen and evaluate all public and private sector investment projects.

EIA should be undertaken during the planning phase.

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EIA should be incorporated into regional development planning.

EIA centres should be established in Universities for the development of national expertise in Vietnam.

Immediate priority areas to undergo EIA are water reservoirs and dams; oil refineries; and plantations.
Given that the development of a workable framework for EIA in Vietnam will likely take some time, the country
should immediately institute a requirement that all proposed foreign assistance projects be subject to an
environmental screening, and if warranted, to an EIA. The EIA would be conducted (or sponsored) by the
donor organization, but would require the involvement of local trainees, in order to help develop Vietnam's
capability in EIA.

Monitoring Frameworks and Strategies

A requirement should be instituted that a national monitoring system be designed and capabilities be
developed on the basis of guidelines to be established by the Central Environmental Authority.

The design of the monitoring system should focus on the end user and stress standardization of data
collection.

Roles of contracting agencies responsible for data analysis, and that of providers of services, or monitored
data, should be clearly separated.

As some types of monitoring will require access to equipment and/or laboratory facilities these should be
provided.

Research

Research in the field of Environmental Science should be developed as a basis for the establishment of
policies, strategies and legislation in the field of environmental protection; scientific and technological support
activities for the realization of environmental protection objectives in the various sectors should be
simultaneously developed down to the provincial, district and commune level to incorporate the grass roots
level.

Research activities as well as International Assistance & Cooperation must be properly planned and must
focus to address the most urgent problems of conservation, environmental protection, enhancement of natural
resources, and pollution control, particularly emphasizing inter-disciplinary problem areas concerning
sustainable development.

International Cooperation

Further action is needed to establish and/or strengthen linkages with international programs and activities
offered by the United Nations system and other multinational organizations.

Some international conservation aspects that Vietnam should consider are the management of migrant
species, shared transfrontier resources, resources of international concern, and transfrontier watersheds, the
control and organization of international trade, participation in international cooperative efforts, and
international measures to preserve Vietnam's cultural heritage.

Strong support should be given to Vietnam's contribution to international conventions such as RAMSAR
(Vietnam is the first South East Asian member country), Biodiversity, CITES, Migratory Species, etc.

TABLE 1: TABLE OF HIGHEST PRIORITIES

1991-1995 1996-2000

INSTITUTIONAL, LEGISLATIVE & POLICY FRAMEWORK

2.1 Establishment of Environmental Authority X

2.1.1 Central
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2.1.2 Regional

2.1.3 Provincial

2.2 Development of Environmental Policy & Law

2.2.1 Development of Environmental Policies X X

2.2.2 Development of Environmental Legislations X X

2.3 Data Collection, Information Management and Networking X

2.4 Integrated Planning of Resource Development X X

2.5 Sustainable Development Strategies at Sectoral level

2.5.1 Agriculture X X

2.5.2 Forestry and Wildlife X X

2.5.3 Fisheries & Other Aquatic Resources X X

2.5.4 Water Resources X X

2.5.5 Mining X

2.5.6 Energy X

2.5.7 Transportation X

2.5.8 Industry X

2.5.9 Tourism and Recreation Sectoral level X X

2.5.10 Land Use Planning & Zoning X X

2.6 Environmental Impact Assessment Process X X

2.7 Environmental Disaster Management Strategies

2.7.1 Oil Spill Contingency Planning X X

2.7.2 Flood Control X

2.7.3 Typhoon Damage Control X X

2.8 Monitoring Framework & Strategies

ACTION PROGRAMMES

3.1 Urban Development and Population Control

3.1.1 Urban Development X

3.1.2 Population Stabilization X X

3.1.3 Quality of Life X X

3.2 Integrated Watershed Management

3.2.1 Present Land and Water Management X X

3.2.2 Management of the River Catchment areas X X

3.2.3 Management of the specific kinds of soil in the Mekong Delta X X

3.3 Pollution Control & Waste Management

3.3.1 Appropriate Technologies for Waste Reduction, Reuse & X

Recycling
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3.3.2 Control & Treatment of Air, Water & Soil Pollution X X

3.3.3 Control of Toxic Chemical & Hazardous Substances X X

3.4 Integrated Coastal Zone Management & Planning

3.4.1 Coral Reefs X

3.4.2 Mangrove Forests & Seagrass ecosystems X

3.4.3 Estuarine Ecosystems X

3.4.4 Coastal Erosion Control and Coastal Protection Measures X

3.5 Maintenance of Genetic Diversity X X

3.6 Protection of Wetlands X

3.7 National Parks, Protected Areas & Wildlife Reserves X X

PROGRAMME SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

4.1 Education, Training, Extension & Awareness Promotion

4.1.1 Development of Formal Environmental Education X X

4.1.2 Technical Training X X

4.1.3 Promotion of Environmental Awareness X X

4.1.4 Extension Service Network and Training X

4.2 International Cooperation

4.2.1 Information Exchange X X

4.2.2 International Implications X X

CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND INFORMATION

1.1 Concepts and Goals of NPESD

This report outlines the framework of a National Plan for Environment and Sustainable Development (NPESD) for the
Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The broad objective of the plan is to further address the issues raised in the National
Conservation Strategy. This Plan will:

1) provide for the gradual development of a comprehensive framework for national and sub-national environmental
planning and management; and

2) lead to specific actions that are required in the short term to address priority problems at their very roots.

The overall framework mentioned in (1) above, is one which the Republic should, to the greatest degree possible,
strive to develop within the next ten years. As discussed in the following pages, such a framework ultimately would
include a wide variety of components, including appropriate organizational structures, well-integrated environmental
policies at the sectoral level, legislation, priority projects and programs, improved methods of data collection and
management, environmental impact assessment procedures, monitoring systems, etc.

Vietnam is a developing country with limited resources available to address environmental matters. It is therefore
important to emphasize that the framework outlined above does not need to be particularly elaborate and expensive
in order to be effective. Through the use of well-organized thought and creativity, and with a major emphasis on
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efficiency, a minimum level of resources can be utilized to develop the level of institutional and technical capability
that are needed to get the job done.

In addition, it will be imperative that priorities be identified and focussed upon. Funds and other scarce resources
should not be allocated to projects or programs that are not of utmost importance while other problems or needs are
virtually crying out for attention. In light of this fact, a schedule for developing the framework described is suggested,
and the more specific actions alluded to in (2) above, are emphasized.

The plan described in the following pages is not intended as a detailed blueprint for action, but more as a list of
activities that need to be attended to attain environmental sustainability. It is beyond the scope of this assignment to
provide details on budgetary requirements, staffing, site-specific land uses, etc. More work will be needed to develop
the specific components and actions identified. However, the plan can and should be used to channel and unify
subsequent work on environmental needs and problems carried out by both Vietnamese and international
organizations. And hopefully, it will serve to attract the latter's interest in specific initiatives that need to be carried
out.

If the program described is followed, the result will be a nation that possesses a more solid foundation for ensuring
that socio-economic changes are positive and desirable, that quality of life is improved, that the country's basic life
support systems are protected or enhanced, and thus that the transformations which occur in the society constitute
true `development' that can be sustained.

Although the situation regarding air and water pollution from industrial sources is still good as compared to some
other Asian countries, Vietnam is presently faced with serious environmental problems such as deforestation, soil
erosion, overexploitation of coastal resources, threats to ecosystems and depletion of genetic resources. This
Framework for action is therefore most timely as the country can now foresee the environmental problems
development will inevitably bring, and take the necessary precautions in advance to mitigate them by developing an
environmentally sustainable development strategy. The country can thus avoid the drastic mistakes been made by
many other nations.

1.2 Environmental Situation and Current Activities

A broad National Conservation Strategy was developed for Vietnam with the assistance of IUCN/WWF. The strategy
included an evaluation of national environmental conditions that led to the conclusion that "what Vietnam faces today
is a grave ecological crisis." Rapid population growth was identified as the greatest environmental threat. Vietnam
presently has one of the highest population densities (200 persons/sq. km) of any agricultural country.

The continuation of current trends in environmental degradation will lead to the total elimination of the nation's forests
by the early part of the next century. This, in turn, will intensify a variety of problems related to watershed
degradation, including soil erosion, siltation, seasonal water shortages, flooding and other natural disasters. It also
will destroy the wood fuel supply and contribute further, along with overhunting, to the already rapid decline in the
country's wildlife.

Additional problems highlighted include overfishing in inshore marine areas as well as the contamination of some
freshwater fisheries by agrochemicals and by the by-products of chemicals sprayed during the Second Indochina
War.

A variety of activities are being carried out in Vietnam in relation to the environment. However, these activities are
generally being conducted in a compartmentalised manner, that is, in isolation, rather than as part of a coordinated
program aimed at developing the informational and institutional base that is necessary to address the roots of the
prevailing problems. In short, there are few coordinated efforts in pursuit of specific goals.

In addition, much of the natural scientific and environmental research being conducted is not focused specifically on
environmental problems. Given the critical problems which do exist, the emphasis should be on research activities
that can contribute to addressing these in as practical a manner as possible. If such an emphasis is not achieved,
there probably will be no remaining `natural' environments to study that are not severely degraded.

1.3 Obstacles to Conservation

Although for a number of years, there has been tremendous awareness among governmental planners about the
environmental problems facing Vietnam, and although a good deal of information has been gathered and research
conducted, there has been little satisfactory improvement in the use of resources. This has been due to a number of
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obstacles that have severally handicapped our efforts, namely:

Lack of Environmental and Natural Resources Planning

Although the principles of rational use of resources have been included in sectoral policies and have been stated in
party decisions and directives, these principles have not been clearly incorporated into the development- process.
The emphasis of development in all sectors has been on trying to meet the production goals laid down by the
Government. There is need for better integrated land-use planning. Long-term consequences must be taken into
account when planning resource use and the principles of sustained yield must be observed in the future planning
process.

Lack of Integration between Conservation and Development

Conservation has been seen as necessary and is advocated in policy documents but there have been no clear
directives about how it is supposed to be applied. Too many sectors have failed to see the advantages of including
conservation as an integral part of sound development. Development has been measures in terms of production
levels achieved, with no attention being paid to costs in terms of resource depletion.

Lack of a Suitable Organization

Vietnam has no environmental ministry and no coordinating body to pay due attention to environmental affairs. As a
result, each sector has made its own plans for maximising production with no concern for the effects of such
utilization on other neighbouring or even distant sectors. Some sectors have paid due attention to their own depleting
resources but have only shown concern in so far as it affects their own sector. Much better integration of plans must
be achieved and this requires a new cross-sectoral coordinating agency.

Lack of Environmental Legislation

Although there are a number of sectoral laws and regulations and a number of directives from the party on
environmental issues, these laws are hardly known let alone implemented. There is still no overall law of the
environment (a draft of such law has been prepared and is still under consideration) and no legal requirement to
ensure that development is planned in a way that minimises or avoids doing damage to the environment or to other
production systems.

Lack of Reliable Information

Vietnam, a long narrow country with many remote regions, has a poorly developed communications system. It is
difficult to collect detailed information about the environmental conditions in many areas and to disseminate
information to remote places. There are insufficient financial resources to check on the accuracy of existing
information. Information on environmental conditions is not a luxury, but is a vital ingredient in sound resource-use
planning. Therefore, more effort must be put into the collection, storage, analysis and dissemination of relevant
information.

Lack of Conservation Awareness

As a result of difficulty of collecting environmental information from many parts of Vietnam and the inability to make
such information generally available, there is an overall lack of public awareness on environmental problems
confronting the country. Those scientists who are well aware of the environmental problems are not being adequately
heard by either the public or government planners. One of the main functions of the NCS is to tackle this lack of
conservation awareness.

Shortages of Experienced Manpower and Investment

Although the government has been aware for some years that the problem of increasing wastelands is a matter of
considerable concern, and that large-scale reforestation-must be carried out, the country is not well equipped to
tackle such an enormous task. This is not only because the country is poor and lacks the financial resources, but
also for want of experienced manpower in the environmental field. While considerable training investments and land
management changes will be difficult for Vietnam to finance, they are nevertheless vital to the restoration of a stable,
productive environment for the future welfare of the country.

Population Growth

In spite of the fact that the Government realises that the population is too large and has therefore introduced a major
birth control programme, population continues to rise rapidly. Producing food and fuel for this uncontrolled population
puts severs pressures on the resource bases. Every small improvement in land use is quickly overtaken by additional
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people to support.

Lack of Cultural Taboos

The people of Vietnam are not restrained in their consumption of natural resources for food and other purposes by
the dictates of religious, moral or traditional taboos. The great respect which previous generations showed for the
balance of natural forces and all living things including the forest spirits, has been lost or forgotten as a result of the
terrible social upheavals that took place during thirty years of war and because of the sheer demands of the growing
population for more immediate production.

CHAPTER II

INSTITUTIONAL, LEGISLATIVE AND POLICY FRAMEWORK

2.1. Establishment of Environmental Authority

All countries have to grapple sooner or later with the challenge of institutionalizing Environment under One Authority;
international experience suggests that this is the most effective way to ensure that environmental concerns are given
appropriate consideration in national planning for development. The objective is for this institution to have enough
power to realize the pursuit of national environmental goals, effect a horizontal integration of different relevant
sectors for the planning and management of natural resources, and monitor vertical implementation of environmental
legislation, without being too cumbersome.

2.1.1. Establishment of Environmental Authority

a Central Environmental Organisation

In parallel with the rise in value put on environmental quality, both as a long term economic guarantor, as a scientific,
aesthetic and spiritual focal point, and as a global necessity for survival, an appropriate central institutional form is
required.

In South East Asia, several institutional models have been tried for the environmental "cross-sector", and together
they offer valuable lessons: first of all, most fail in effectiveness because (i) the institution is not given enough power,
nor status; and/or (ii) it is too cumbersome and self-contained like a ministry or large department, with resulting
inability to effect a cross- sectoral mandate.

It is therefore recommended- that Vietnam establish a special administrative body at a supra-ministerial level (such
as a -State Committee for Environment and Sustainable Development) with full decision-making powers on all
environmental matters. However, the establishment of such a body will depend upon several factors which need to
be discussed in detail. This body should have an organizational set-up as outlined below:

Position & mandate of the State Committee for Environment and Sustainable Development (SCESD)

SCESD should be directly under the Council of Ministers, and be invested with full decision-making powers on all
environmental matters. The mandate of the SCESD should be to develop environmental policies and legislation; to
facilitate and monitor its implementation: to manage environmental information; to promote environmental
awareness; to establish research priorities; and to fund them.

Structure of SCESD

The Chairman of the SCESD should have ministerial status, and be a member of the Council of Ministers. The
membership of the SCESD should consist of ministers of relevant sectors and of professional staff selected from
both the main ministries involved, and from national experts in different fields of the environment.

The permanent staff of the SCESD should consist of around 32 professionals and 7 managers in the following
divisions: Integrated Planning and Policy Development; Legislation; Implementation, facilitation and monitoring;
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Information, Communication and Publication: and a Research Council.

The SCESD would also utilize, as required, any number of environmental experts from different disciplines via ad
hoc committees and working groups.

Furthermore, the SCESD should be supported by an Applied Environmental Research Unit (AERU), staffed with
around 5 managers and 50 professionals, with responsibility in five areas: Monitoring; Integrated Techniques for
Sustainable Development; Ecosystems Dynamics: Pollution Control & Waste Management; &
Education/Training/Awareness Raising.

Terms of Reference of SCESD

Integrated Planning and Policy Development Division:

Design and lead an integrated cross-sectoral horizontal planning process, via multi-sectoral planning committees,
for:

the sustainable development of natural resource sectors:

environmental land zoning at:

central
provincial
district

commune levels

Develop Environmental Policies that will aim at:

improving the quality of life of the people,

restoring and preserving natural ecosystems,

ensuring a sustainable development of the renewable resources

Environmental Legislation Division:

Develop environmental legislation, with guidelines and procedures regarding:

suitable environmental quality standards

environmental impact assessment procedures

protected areas and wildlife

land zoning

Implementation Division:

Design a vertical implementation process (to complement the bottom upwards planning) from the central government
to:

provinces

cities

districts

communes

Facilitate the initial implementation of the process;

Monitor the implementation on a regular basis.

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Information, Communication and Publication Division:

Design and coordinate a national information management system:

information network design and coordination

information storage and retrieval

Communicate & publish on environmental issues and initiatives:

national information exchange management

international information exchange management

Environmental Research Council:

Establish and fund research priorities (listed in Annex I) through direct contracts with various research centres and
institutes; the AERU should be funded separately.

Develop environmental research management guidelines to promote cooperation among researchers from different
centres and institutes, increase exchange of information, minimize duplication of effort, and increase interdisciplinary
integration by:

establishing of mandatory exchanges of Vietnamese researchers, for a few months to a year, between
Vietnam's research centres, institutes and universities;

providing multi-disciplinary research contracts that must be shared among a few research institutions;

organizing both uni-disciplinary and pluri-disciplinary regional and national workshops;

organizing international workshops;

fostering the utilization of the Environmental Information Centre for both national and international information
exchange;

Terms of reference of AERU:

Environmental Monitoring Section:

Design and manage a comprehensive national environmental monitoring system;

planning stage:

establishment of precise objectives

design of data collection and standardization

data collection:

GIS

remote sensing, etc.

data analysis:

translation. analysis & synthesis

Sustainable Development and EIA Section:

Develop appropriate technologies, based on sound environmental principles, for the sustainable development of all
sectors;
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Develop environmental guidelines for each development sector;

Develop, where necessary, integrated sustainable development plans for different regions:

Review EIA reports, recommend mitigation measures and provide guidelines and terms of reference for relevant EIA
studies and preparation of reports.

Pollution Control and Waste Management Section:

Develop appropriate techniques for solid waste collection and disposal or recycling/reuse;

Develop waste recycling and reuse techniques;

Develop pollution control technologies.

Ecosystems Dynamics Section:

Develop baseline data for terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems; such data should focus on the
most necessary information essential for management purposes;

Study ecosystems dynamics, and identify indicator species for monitoring purposes;

Develop rare, endangered and threatened species lists;

Recommend priority areas for habitat protection;

Education, Training. Extension and Awareness Raising Section:

Oversee Environmental Education, training and extension;

Promote and coordinate environmental awareness raising campaigns.

Condition of success of the Environmental Institution Proposed:

The success or failure of the recommended State Committee for Environment and Sustainable Development and of
its Applied Environmental Research Unit, depends entirely on the level of expertise and capability of the professional
and managerial staff assigned to it, not to mention the political will to follow its recommendations.

b. Regional Environmental Organization

Although there is no tradition in Vietnam of any regional government authority, it is strongly recommended that the
SESDC establish regional intersectoral advisory committees to coordinate and monitor the implementation of
environmental legislation by the provinces, for the proper implementation of EIA regulations, guidelines and
recommendations.

Regions should be delineated according to ecological and socio-economic areas; provinces that suffer from non-
sustainable development patterns of neighboring provinces would have a mechanism to attempt to solve a conflict of
interest;

Such regional committees would provide an early warning system to the SCESD.

c. Provincial Environmental Organization

At the provincial and district levels, an appropriate environmental organization will also have to be developed. Since
the provincial, district and city People's Committees are powerful and autonomous as implementation authorities,
they are the crucial focal point for the integration of the central top-down planning with the grass-root bottom-up
planning.

Districts are the prime tax recipients from grass-root revenues, which provides them with decision-making power for
selecting and funding land-use proposals submitted by the people. The province. on the other hand, has the power to
approve or reject the pre-selected proposals on technical basis; as technological guidelines are developed by the
research institutes, it is the responsibility of the central government to communicate them to the provinces. The
crucial issue at this level as well as for village/commune level is the promotion of environmental awareness, training
and a solid extension system (See Section 4.1.4 for recommendations on Extension).
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It is thus essential that at both the provincial and district levels, an appropriate environmental organization and
efficient mechanism be developed to integrate national objectives regarding the conservation and sustainable
development of natural resources, with the grass-root planning by individuals and communes.

ORGANIZAITON OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL AUTHORITY

2.2. Development of Environmental Policy and Law

2.2.1. Development of Environmental Policies

An important function of environmental policies is that they help stimulate political will in support of environmental
objectives. In doing so, they can pave the way for the integration of sustainable development objectives into the
strategies and programs of each sector and thereby serve to integrate the sectors themselves.

A general policy on the environment has already been framed.

Additional, more specific. policies will also be necessary, to provide guidance in preparing legislation and developing
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strategies, programs and standards for specific sectors or problem areas, e.g. agriculture, transportation, energy,
hazardous waste, etc.

Among other goals, these policies should seek to provide explicit direction on the relative weight to be placed on
environmental concerns when preparing strategies and programs within the sector in question.

2.2.2. Development of Environmental Legislation

A mission on environmental law in Vietnam was undertaken to study the status of legislation on the environment,
including its enforcement, and to prepare recommendations and assist the country in formulating a comprehensive
system of environmental legislation. The mission concluded that the existing legislation does not form a major
obstacle to promoting conservation for sustainable development; in fact, certain extant elements actually provide for
conservation, in particular by preventing the loss, damage or waste of land, vegetation and wildlife.

In addition, a draft Environmental Protection Law has been prepared which pertains directly to environmental
protection and which emphasises on conservation as an aid to development. More specifically, the proposed law
gives the Council of Ministers the right to require that environmental impact assessments be carried out on planned
development projects. However, several weaknesses can be identified in the proposed legislation.

a. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

The requirement for an EIA in relation to a given project remains entirely subject to the discretion of the Council of
Ministers. This likely will foster a situation in which the application of EIA is commonly disregarded when other
objectives are considered of higher priority.

There should instead be provisions requiring consideration of environmental factors in the laws that govern the
planning of development projects, for instance, in mining, energy, fisheries, development of new settlements, etc.
The Land Law of 1988, for example, could specifically require some degree of evaluation of the likely impacts of a
new factory prior to its approval.

Ideally, EIA also should be required in relation to broader, forward planning programs, such as five-year development
plans. This will help guard against the application of EIA on an ad hoc basis, as is so common elsewhere. Simplified
systems for EIA can and should be adopted.

b. Environmental Standards

The legislative framework which ultimately is developed also should address environmental standards, for example
on acceptable pollution loads. The level of environmental quality in Vietnam with respect to pollution is presently
good, primarily because little industrial development has occurred to date. However, there already are traces of
groundwater pollution in certain areas. Nevertheless, the country remains in a uniquely good position to learn from
experience elsewhere by ensuring that environmental standards be developed before rapid industrialization takes
place. This suggestion is particularly worthy of attention at this time because Vietnam is on the threshold of rapid
industrial development; it should actively prepare itself to manage the effects of such a process.

c. Establishment of Protected Areas

Legislation for the establishment and management of reserves will need revision and enactment. Knowledge of such
new legislation, well in advance of its enactment, will have to be disseminated not only among the regional judiciary
and police authorities, but a mass media campaign should also inform the public at large. Following the
recommendation of a FAO review (1990), the existing system of protected areas should be enlarged by the Ministry
of Forestry to 2.5 million ha. Priority for the selection of protected areas should be given to those areas containing a
concentration of endemic species, rare species and those habitats that are most seriously threatened by current
patterns of land use. There is a serious back-log in the production of feasibility studies which must be completed and
approved for each area before a development budget can be released by government, this planning process must be
accelerated. In addition, the development of new skills for the management of these areas will have to be
encouraged among the staff of the Ministry of Forestry through an intensive training programme.

d. Integrated Land Zoning

The development of an Environmental Law should incorporate provisions for enacting a National Land Zoning Plan
for specific types of targeted development, such as light and heavy industry, tourism, residential areas and nature
conservation. As it is essential to restrict polluting industries to a pre-determined site, development has to be
carefully controlled and regulated through the development and enforcement of such an integrated zoning plan. Such
regulations should be revised every three to five years.

e. Action Plan Implementation

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The legislative framework that is developed should also provide for legislative authority to implement the Action Plan
described within these pages, along with other plans as developed by appropriate national and sub-national
authorities.

f. International Law

In terms of international law, SRV should become party to some additional international conventions (See Section
4.2.2 for further details). These would provide some of the basic standards to be legislated.

A Working Group on Environmental Protection Law has been convened and is based in Hanoi. But in light of the
needs described above, an effort must be made to hasten the process of developing appropriate environmental
legislation, including regulations. A qualified lawyer should be hired as a full-time secretary to the Working Group. A
training program in environmental law for Vietnamese- lawyers, such as that being followed in Indonesia, would also
be useful in this regard.

2.3. Data Collection, Information Management & Networking

In an era of information explosion, comprehensive, reliable and timely information and database on environment and
its resources is crucial for establishing policies, decision making and planning of the development and management
of natural resources, and there is a great dearth of information in Vietnam which could be used for this purpose. Lack
of information and data also affect promotion of environmental awareness so that it becomes difficult to fully involve
and integrate the common man in environmental protection activities.

Even in those cases where information is available, such as in the case of forestry, there are serious questions
regarding the reliability and accuracy of the available data. This is caused partly for lack of accurate surveys, but
mainly because of the confusion about the exact definitions of the resource sub-classifications in question, e.g., the
types of forests. Before any attempts to improve the database, it is therefore very essential to give exact technical
definitions of the resource on which data is to be collected. Although more accurate techniques such as remote
sensing technologies have been introduced for resource evaluations, they have so far been tried mostly on a pilot
basis and are yet to be applied on a country-wide basis.

Information is even more important in the case of the environment, to estimate the gravity of the problems, to
forecast its trends, to plan mitigatory measures to tackle the same and last but not the least, to accurately estimate
the costs for environmental rehabilitation. Usually, it is the environment that suffers for lack of proper planning for this
reason. The need for information is also the greatest in this area.

Quality of the limited available data is another problem area, as it is almost impossible to check its accuracy in most
cases, because of the weak information collection system, which is mostly not standardised and systematic. The
mode of storage and retrieval of the available data also leaves much scope for improvement. The institutional set-up
for efficient dissemination of the data is also weak, to say the least, mainly for shortage of trained personnel in this
field. Altogether, there is a great need and scope for improvement in the field of environmental data collection,
storage and dissemination.

The National Information and Documentation Centre (NIDCST), as the main body of the national science and
technology information system, is one of the country's major information centres, and performs the functions of
coordinating and managing the country's science and technology information activities and information services.
NIDCST operates two special networks in the field of environmental information, namely, Vietnam INFOTERRA
Centre and ENSICNET -Vietnam, an information network on environmental sanitation and water supply.

NIDCST has two information centres at the national level, more than 40 information centres at the ministerial level,
about 40 provincial and city information organizations, more than 140 information units and more than 500 libraries
located at various research institutes, universities and colleges. Activities of this network cover all diverse aspects of
environmental information in Vietnam. The bibliographical database of many environmental and closely related areas
are also stored at NIDCST. The Vietnam INFOTERRA Centre was established over ten years ago and is presently
operating under the State Committee for Sciences. The Centre has recently been improving its capabilities for the
development of a national information database and enlargement of information network, as well as improvement of
the quality of data. Sixty three information sources have so far been developed throughout the country. The Centre is
expanding its information dissemination capabilities and two conferences on environmental information management
have been held so far.

NIDCST is also the national focal point of ENSICNET, which is a regional network for information exchange on
environmental sanitation and water supply. The network is composed of 20 participating institutions working in
related areas, such as water and wastewater treatment, waste management, reuse of domestic and industrial
wastes, biogas production, agriculture, irrigation etc.
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Considering the crucial importance of information to the entire development process, policies are needed to
strengthen the information collection and management system as a whole, including the following:

a. Establish a nation-wide comprehensive network of reliable environmental information and data sources, to
collect and relay qualified and quantified data on the present status of natural resources, their utilization trends
and its impacts, as well as its socio-economic significance to the local community;

b. Develop a standardised scientific methodology for the collection of environmental information suitable to the
situation and characteristics of the resources in the country and establish a training programme for the above
sources;

c. Develop a system for testing the accuracy and reliability of the collected information and data through ground
truth check etc., and adopt a standard database framework for processing and managing the same;

d. Improve the efficiency of the evaluation, assessment, analysis, storage and retrieval of the. information and
data by adopting appropriate and modern information technologies;

e. Improve the information dissemination system, particularly focusing on decision and policy makers, and
planners, to ensure that environmental concerns are given appropriate consideration in the development
process;

f. Develop environmental awareness promotion campaigns for the public to maximize the use of the collected
information, and to achieve the participation of the public in environmental protection;

g. Provide training to the national environmental information managers to improve upon their performance and
develop national expertise in this field;

h. Strengthen, reinforce and upgrade the existing environmental information networks so as to improve upon
their overall efficiency and performance; and

i. Strengthening of collaboration with international and regional environmental information networks and
activities to provide access to outside information sources and to facilitate free flow of environmental
information in both directions.

2.4. Integrated Planning of Resource Development

The system of resource (including land) planning and management in Vietnam is, in practice, strongly decentralized.
Provinces and District organizations maintain a substantial degree of authority over how resources are developed
and utilized, with little effective influence of the national government.

The current process of economic reform can be expected to further intensify such decentralization. Among other
initiatives the reform process has already involved the restoration of a system of `family farms' and will lead to
greater decision making power over production, as well as employment, by enterprises (in the state- owned industrial
sector) and households (in agriculture and private industry).

Decentralized management and planning in relation to resource use clearly offers some advantages. In particular, it
allows for decisions and strategies to be made on the basis of more direct, local familiarity with the constraints and
opportunities of a given area, as well as with the needs of the local population.

However, sustainable development requires that resources be developed and utilized in an integrated manner. This
entails taking into account broader national objectives, regional differences in income and endowment, the effects of
one sector on another, and the impacts of activities in one area on another area (e.g. upstream-downstream effects).
Some form and degree of effective centralized influence over resource use patterns is therefore needed. This need
will become increasingly important if privatization programs intensify; hopefully it can be met through development of
the planning and management framework proposed in the present document.

2.5. Sustainable Development Strategies at the Sector-al Level

Pursuant to the above-described need for an integrated approach to planning and management of resource use, this
section deals with how such integration can actually be achieved. Required in this regard are: (1) strategies within
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each sector that do not conflict with those of other sectors; and (2) sectoral strategies that serve to reinforce each
other and thereby form part of a broad, coordinated, program in pursuit of key objectives of sustainable development.

The following sub-sections contain guidelines for developing strategies in each sector which will meet these
requirements, and which should be promoted more actively and effectively in all regions of the country.

It is worth emphasizing at this juncture, however, that regardless of how well such resource management strategies
are formulated and implemented, the degree to which most of them can achieve positive results will depend
completely on whether population control programs are effective. If the latter remain ineffective, sustainable
development has little chance of taking place. This point is covered in greater detail in section 3.1.

2.5.1. Agriculture

The need for improvement in the agricultural sector cannot be overemphasized, for a variety of reasons. First, the
importance of the sector is such that it accounts for 49% of national income and 62% of employment. Increased food
production therefore is critical as a means to improving presently inadequate nutritional levels and overgwl quality of
life.

Second, current cultivation practices in many areas are destroying the resource base on which agricultural
development depends. In part this stems from the policy of encouraging the migration of Kinh people (the ethnic
Vietnamese majority) from lowlands, to "new economic zones" in the highlands, but without an effective shift in the
cultivation systems used.

In addition, agricultural improvement is needed to relieve pressure on upland areas; essentially, it forms a
prerequisite to sustainable rehabilitation and protection of the -country's watersheds and forest lands.

The strategies in the agricultural sector should be based on the following primary objectives: 1) The intensification of
agriculture in lowland areas and other prime lands; and 2) the development of sustainable hillside cultivation
systems.

Agricultural Intensification

Agricultural intensification will help reduce the need to cultivate in areas less suited to such use and thus more prone
to degradation. There is room for substantial increases in production through removal of disincentives, along with
other mechanisms and reforms, as proposed by a variety of agencies. Land tenure reforms that have been
implemented since early 1980's have already helped to stimulate production.

However, efforts to increase production should, to the greatest degree possible, avoid the use of harmful
agrochemicals and other inputs (See Section 3.3.2). Among other effects, chemical use in lowland areas poses a
considerable risk to freshwater and coastal fisheries and to aquaculture. Other approaches clearly exist, where
sectoral rehabilitation, rather than expansion is clearly the priority need. These alternative approaches would seek to
maximize benefits of multicropping and other such techniques to improve farmer incentives, and to minimize post-
harvest losses and other structural inefficiencies. According to the World Bank, for example, "attention to small-scale
processing promises the greatest overall improvements in productivity."

Sustainable Hillside Cultivation

Given the high capita/land ratio in Vietnam, the low level of industrialization, and the rapid population growth, the
need to cultivate in hillside areas is not going to entirely disappear, even with substantial production increases on
prime lands. A great deal of attention therefore must be paid to developing and promoting sustainable cultivation
systems for hillside areas. Some combination of agroforestry, contour planting, tree cropping, and terracing will be
involved, depending on the prevailing specific conditions.

Traditional systems of agroforestry already exist in Vietnam, such as the Taungya system and the gardening
component of the VAC land use system which involves the integration of gardens, fish ponds, and cattle rearing
(vuon, ao, chuong). These and other traditional methods can be transformed with a view to increasing their
productivity. Among other functions, the systems developed and promoted must serve to accommodate some of the
groups involved in resettlement programs by offering them a better and more sustainable alternative to returning to
shifting cultivation and other destructive practices.

2.5.2. Forestry and Wildlife

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Forests of Vietnam have suffered severe damage over the last 50 or so years. According to one account, some 60%
of Vietnam's total land base was covered with forest in 1943, while this figure had dropped to well below 30% in
1987. Clearing occurred first in coastal and lowland areas and then progressively extended into the hills and
mountains. The process has been accelerated as a result of war damage to both agricultural and forest areas, and
by rapid population growth. At present, only about 9.6 million ha of the total of 19 million ha classified as forest
actually remain under forest cover. A description of the country's natural vegetation types and of the extent of
deforestation in different areas is provided in the National Conservation Strategy Report.

The current loss of forests is estimated at about 200,000 ha per year. Some 50,000 ha of this deforestation stems
from unplanned agricultural clearance. Another 50,000 ha is lost to forest fires, while the remainder is destroyed
through the collection of both fuelwood and timber. Current reforestation efforts of 50,000 to 100,000 ha per year are
not keeping pace with the rate of deforestation.

It is clear from the above that in order to improve this situation, a variety of measures are required, only some of
which pertain directly to forest management per se. For example, population control is a critical requirement to
relieve pressure on the forest resources, as is the intensification and improvement of agriculture, and the
development of alternative energy sources and improved energy efficiency.

But in terms of forestry measures, the following sectoral strategy objectives are critical and thus in need of further
attention:

An intensified program of reforestation and afforestation, including the establishment of forest plantations to
provide both fuelwood and timber. For environmental reasons, planting efforts should aim for the development
of mixed forests of indigenous species, rather than monocultures and the use of exotic species. Experience in
Vietnam indicates that a number of local species are well suited for reforestation, plantation, and agroforestry
programs.

Stronger programs for forest area protection, both to conserve existing forest and reforested areas, and to
allow for natural regeneration of degraded areas. In many cases, the success of such programs will depend
on the establishment of tenure systems which ensure that communities have a direct interest in protecting and
managing forests on a sustainable basis.

The promotion of agroforestry, as part of a joint program with agricultural Staff.

The discouragement of large-scale commercial logging in remaining areas of natural forest; commercial
logging should be focused only in plantation forests that have been established for such use.

Ministry of Forestry has begun a program to allocate the country's forest lands on the basis of the following
classifications : Special Use Forest (including national parks, conservation areas, etc.), Protection Forest, and
Production Forest (for commercial logging purposes). The production forest classification has been applied to 64% of
the country's total area of forest land, but only about half of it is actually forest-covered at present. In the interest of
watershed conservation and habitat protection, no commercial logging should be permitted in this zone, until such
time that the area of forest within it has been expanded significantly through reforestation efforts.

2.5.3. Fisheries and Other Aquatic Resources

Vietnam has an extensive and well-distributed system of rivers, streams, lakes, and ponds with great potential for
fishery development, estimated at 20-30 thousand tonnes per year. Given the significant potential for increased
production and thus dietary (protein) improvements, freshwater fish culture is being encouraged, particularly in the
midland and mountain regions where no seafish are available. Inland fisheries presently are closely integrated with
rice and other farming systems. Unfortunately this has led to adverse effects on some of the fisheries from
agrochemical use. The by-products of herbicide spraying during the war has also resulted in negative impacts.

Marine fish production currently stands at about one million tonnes annually while that of shrimp at 40-50 thousand
tonnes. However, inshore fisheries in the north and south are likely being overfished as the catch per unit effort is
decreasing. Some of the fishing techniques employed are extremely damaging to the resource base, e.g. dynamiting
of reefs.

In light of the above, the following are suggested as key elements of the strategy in the fisheries sector:

Expand efforts aimed at promoting freshwater fish culture, as a means to increase protein intake and income.

The use of potentially harmful agrochemicals should be actively discouraged in favour of other pest control
systems, particularly in areas where freshwater fisheries are important.
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Implement measures to prevent the use of destructive fishing techniques and to reduce fishing pressure
where it is excessive.

As a means to reducing fishing pressure in inshore areas in the north and south, develop the capability among
fishermen (e.g. gear, navigation skills, fishing technology) to harvest the relatively unexploited deep sea
fisheries and those of the reefs further offshore. In doing so, it should however be ensured that the level of
such exploitation will be sustainable, based on reasonable stock assessments, which are yet to be made. The
presence of several zones of water (and thus nutrient) upwelling suggests the existence of several areas with
high fishery potential.

As another means to reducing fishing-pressure, develop the significant potential which exists to culture a wide
variety of sea products along the coastline. Conservation of mangroves, estuaries, lagoons and reefs will be
important in this regard, as well as in protecting the country's natural marine fisheries (See Section 3.4 on
coastal zone management).

2.5.4. Water Resources

A reliable supply of freshwater is a critical factor in relation to human health and overall quality of life, particularly for
domestic use, agriculture, industry, transportation, hydro-energy and the supply of edible aquatic products. The
country's hydrological regime is dependent upon all other life support forms. Development of water supplies is thus
an ongoing effort in Vietnam, and one which has made significant progress, both in urban and rural areas.

However, several trends in the country manifest a growing risk to the supply of reliable and safe water in certain
areas. These include, in particular: watershed degradation from deforestation and unsuitable cultivation practices;
and the pollution of surface and ground water resources from sewage, industries, and agrochemical use.

Current use of water resources is often inefficient and many water resources have been allowed to dry up owing to
mismanagement of the catchment areas. For example, high levels of sedimentation reduce the efficiency of irrigation
canals and shorten the lifespan of dams and reservoirs. Thac Ba reservoir receives about 2.5 million tons of silt per
year. Da Nhim reservoir has recently dried up with not enough water in the dry season to produce electricity. The
reservoirs of Cam Son, Song Hieu and Boc Nguyen dried up within ten years of their construction. Water levels of
many rivers and streams in Diliuh, Tay Nguyen and Vinh Phu have markedly decreased against their former levels
and water tables have dropped steeply in many areas. The investment for tapping the large hydro-electric potential in
the country is thus being wasted by poor management of the catchment areas.

Water pollution from biological wastes is a very serious problem in some areas. For instance, Hanoi city releases
several thousand cubic metres of untreated sewage, containing organic toxins. bacteria and parasites directly into
sewage and ponds every day. Ho Chi Minh city discharges hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of sewage into
the Mekong river and canals system. It is estimated that as population and industries develop in these cities over the
next 15 years, the water demand will rise to 8 thousand million cubic metres per year and the amount of wastewater
will rise to 5 -6 thousand million cubic metres per year.

The strategy in the water resources sector should therefore seek to:

Ensure that a high priority is placed on integrated watershed management (See Section 3.2 for details).

Promote the prevention of water pollution via standards and controls on industrial effluents, proper systems of
sewage treatment, (See Section 3.3 for details).

Adopt water quality standards in relation to particular uses, e.g. drinking, recreation and fishing etc.

Ensure that water resources planners remain informed about future land use plans (e.g. for industrial
development, mining, etc.) so that the development of new water supplies can focus on sources that are least
likely to become polluted in the future.

2.5.5. Mining

Due to it's geological and geographical position, Vietnam has a wide range of minerals, including many rare and
valuable deposits. More than 80 mineral types have been evaluated and classified at different levels.

ENERGY MINERALS:
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Athracite coal has the reserve of milliards of tons

Brown coal in the Red River basin has reserves of a hundred million tons.

Fat coal and peat have reserves of a hundred thousand tons.

Uranium Ore has good prospects

Oil and Natural gas have been found and should be given appropriate investment for exploration and
exploitation

METAL MINERALS:

Iron Ore has reserves greater than one milliard tons, Thach Khe is the largest deposit site.
Coastal titanium placer has deposits of ten million tons.
Manganese Ore in Cao Bang, Ha Tuyen has reserves of a million tons.
Chromite Ore in Thanh Hoa, has reserves of ten million tons.
Copper Ore in Hoang Lien Son, Son La has reserves of one hundred thousand tons.
Tin and Wolfram Ore in Cao Bang, Ha Tuyen, Bac Thai, Nghe Tinh, Lam Dong has reserves of one hundred
thousand tons.
Bauxite Ore in the South Plateau has the reserve of milliards of tons.
Rare Metal Ore in Hoang Lien Son, Lai Chau has the reserve of about ten million tons

In addition there are also deposits of Mercury, Molybdenum, Gold and Silver. Non-metal minerals are diverse. There
are more than one milliard tons of Apatite in Lao Cai, ten million tons of Quartzite, and Graphite etc. Construction
materials have good prospects, especially5 clay for brick making, porcelain, sand for glass making and limestone for
cement making. Decorative stones and fire resistant material have further potential.

Prospects for mining precious and semi - precious stones especially Sapphire and Ruby should also been given
appropriate investment.

There are hundreds of sources of thermal and mineralized waters. At present, there are only 300 deposits of more
than 30 mineral types which have been exploited or introduced into exploitation projects. During the past 30 years,
there has been more than 100 million tons of minerals of different types which have been exploited (excluding
ground water and construction materials).

In the process of exploration, exploitation, processing and consumption, the losses of minerals have exceeded the
permitted norms: Tin: 22% - 24%, Cromite: 46% - 48%, Iron: 16% - 24%. Many mines of gold, wolframite, tin, and
coal are being exploited illegally. Many rare minerals are used wastefully. The sites for discharged rocks are
unsuitably located and have caused modification of reliefs, natural landscapes and pollution of the water sources. An
example is the mining of tin and coal deposits. Inefficient processing of minerals, pollutes the environment, as well as
wastes many accompanied elements.

ACTION PLAN

1. Development and promulgation of a Mining Law.

2. High priority should be given to develop the mineral exploitation and processing sectors.
3. Selection and application of the appropriate mining technology, diversification, of the modes and forms of
mining and mineral processing in order to rationally utilize mineral resources and protect the entrails.
4. Promotion of the fundamental principals and application of the mining economic science according to the
market economy.
5. All mining projects should include environmental protection policies.

2.5.6. Energy

The energy use patterns have substantial implications for the environment. A key broad objective for a sustainable
energy policy is efficiency maximization or energy conservation e.g. maximization of benefits derived from a given
unit or source of energy. In a large measure the achievement of energy efficiency is a function of the degree to which
it is considered in the planning and policy development of all sectors such as transportation, community planning,
industry, and tourism. Through an integrated approach to `energy planning, the need to expand energy supply can
be reduced, which is very desirable because an increase in energy consumption tends to carry with it the potential
for significant environmental costs. Hydro projects, coal or oil-fired generating plants, nuclear power stations, and
increased fossil fuel use, are all cases in point. Thus the key is to minimize the need for such projects and trends in
the first place.
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At present, Vietnam is among the world's smallest consumers of energy on a per capita basis compared to countries
at a similar stage of development. Seventy (70) per cent of the Vietnamese population living in the rural areas suffer
from chronic problems of development caused by shortage of energy supplies. Fuelwood harvested from natural
forests is the main source of rural energy (60% of total) which brings about environmental destruction. This harvest
is, however, only a small percent of the bio energy that could potentially be exploited. Domestic fuel needs in areas
with no access to forests are met largely through burning rice stubble and other agricultural wastes, a process which
removes a potential source of minerals from the soil.

The major sources of energy in Vietnam are oil, coal, hydro-power and timber (charcoal). Wood and charcoal are
important sources of fuel for the vast majority of the rural population, as mentioned above, and for much of the urban
population. For the urban industrial sector, coal is the dominant source of energy at present. Since 1975, electricity
generation has received a high priority.

Vietnam's energy reserves consist of (1) the extensive coal reserves located in Quan Nghi in the north-east; (2) the
offshore oil and gas field located approximately 200 km off the south-east coast; as well as a small gas field of
indeterminate size in the province of Thai Binh, 80 km south of Hanoi; (3) considerable and widespread hydro power
sources; and (4) fuelwood.

Coal is the main mineral being exploited currently, of which Vietnam has proven reserves of between 3 and 3.5
billion tons and potentially larger total reserves. The output is sufficient to meet domestic demand and leave a
surplus of between 500,000 and 700,000 tons for export.

Offshore oil was found in 1983 and exploitation began in 1986 with production of 40,000 tons. There are also
deposits of oil and natural gas to be explored in the Mekong Delta and the continental shelf of Nam Bo. Production
rose to 280,000 tons in 1987 and 680,000 tons in 1988. Outputs in 1989 was 1.5 million tons, or around 30,000
barrels per day, and the 1990 target of 2.5 million tons has already been achieved. Vietnam imports about 2.5 million
tons of oil products annually. Consumption is around 50,000 barrels per day.

Vietnam has a large, albeit largely untapped, hydro-power potential. This potential derives essentially from the water
resources of the two river delta systems which dominate the country's hydrology; the Red River Delta in the north
and the Mekong Delta in the south. Power potential from hydro-energy in Vietnam is estimated at 260 billion kWh per
year. The Red river system has the highest proportion of this total (37 per cent), followed by the Da river system (19
per cent) and Dong Nai river system (14 per cent). This potential is mostly under-developed and is in fact decreasing
owing to problems caused from unplanned exploitation of forests. Many of these existing reservoirs now run dry as a
result of failure of water sources while other reservoirs have their life spans shortened because of heavy siltation
resulting from deforestation in catchment areas. Wind energy is used to a very limited extent in the Mekong delta and
in some coastal areas of Vietnam.

Extraction of firewood in recent years has been estimated at 30 million tons per year, two-thirds in the north. The
sustainable yield from various sources, including forests, woods, brush and grass lands, garden trees and
agricultural wastes, is estimated at over 80 million tons per year. Nevertheless, since fuelwood collection has
contributed to serious deforestation, it is recommended that only fuelwood plantations be utilized for this source of
energy.

Energy planning in Vietnam has focused primarily on expanding conventional energy supplies rather than on
improving energy efficiency. With some help from the industrialized world: however, Vietnam should apply technical
energy-efficiency solutions to promote economic growth while keeping energy demand relatively low. This will mean
adopting a host of energy-efficient technologies that are either already available commercially or could be
commercialized in the near future.

As a rule, planning for expansion of electric supply should be conducted through an integrated resource planning
process. This process will require an analysis of all potential sources of efficient use of electricity. New investments
should follow the following general list of priorities: (i) conservation through efficiency of use such as more efficient
cooking stoves; (ii) renewable resources; (iii) cogeneration; and (iv) thermal power stations. In comparing the costs
and benefits of clean, renewable and decentralized energy sources with the traditional, non renewable, and/or
centralized sources, it is important to ensure that the full environmental and social costs of the latter be given due
consideration.

A key objective for a sustainable energy policy must be maximization of efficiency. The efficient use of energy should
be established through the development of energy efficiency standards for all end uses of energy. Efficiency
standards should be applied to all equipment which uses electricity, and fuel economy standards should be
established for all vehicles, such as, for example, the Corporate Average Fuel Economy Standards (CAFE) for the
U.S. vehicles.

During the planning stage, all development projects including buildings, tourism, road construction, industrial facilities
and land use planning should undergo an Energy Efficiency Assessment (EEA). EEA will determine the energy
related impacts of projects and analyze the potential for increasing the efficiency of energy use in the proposed
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project.

Finally, all energy projects must also incorporate an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) during their planning
stage, in order to integrate environmental considerations into the engineering design of the projects and to ensure
that mitigation measures are employed. Failure to do so will not only lead to negative effects, but will also undermine
the feasibility of the project. The Hoa Binh Hydro project on the Da river is a case in point.

The existing thermal plants are also major sources of pollution. The plants are polluting the surrounding countryside
to the extent that agriculture is suffering. The only plans for the thermal stations in the north are to upgrade their
performance and attempt to overcome some of the infrastructure and pollution problems. It is also hoped to upgrade
the gas turbine and diesel facilities in the north.

The coal-fired power plants throughout the country contribute considerable quantities of ash and sulfur dioxide into
the air surrounding the plants. Even the plants constructed within the last twenty years have only minimal pollution
control facilities. In addition to air pollution, no measures have been taken to properly dispose of the waste coal and
ash from the burners.

The incidence of nose, throat and lung diseases is significantly higher in the affected communities. In the past, the
Government provided a 10 per cent bonus to the workers and farmers in the vicinity of the plants as compensation
for their hardships. Higher smoke stacks need to be built, electrostatic precipitators or scrubbers need to be installed,
and other investments in pollution control equipment are required.

The existing and proposed hydro-power projects are located in watersheds which are deforested or inadequately
forested. This is a problem because soil erosion which silts up the reservoirs reduces their generating capacity, to
control floods, and to- provide irrigation water. Reforesting the watersheds of major hydro-electric projects will
therefore extend their useful life significantly by reducing the rate of sedimentation.

Regarding oil and gas exploration and exploitation projects, it is essential that an EIA be carried out during their
planning stage to ensure adequate protection of commercially important and endangered ecosystems. Furthermore,
an oil spill contingency plan should be in place to look after emergencies of oil well blow ups.

2.5.7. Transportation

An environmentally sound management of transportation is a precondition for development. Environmental impacts

of transportation, besides its energy consumption, are related to air pollution by exhaust emissions, noise pollution,
impacts on land consumption, effects on water quality, soil contamination, deterioration of built environment and
visual intrusions, which affect human health, senses and comfort, natural ecosystems and quality of life. Appropriate
policies, formulated on a sectoral basis, such as industrial, energy, regional development and land use, financial and
fiscal policies should thus all be integrated with transportation policies.

The transport system consists of about 105,500 km of roads, 2,630 km of railroads, 19,500 km of navigable inland
waters, seven main ports, two international airports and several smaller domestic airports.

It is estimated that the country has about 74,000 motor vehicles and about 350,000 motor cycles (mid-1989). Bicycle
is the main mode of passenger and goods transport. About one million bicycles ply in Hanoi alone contributing to
over 90% of the total traffic and causing traffic congestion in some areas. Use of motor and rail transport is
remarkably low because of low personal mobility. The transportation system in the country is presently in a poor
state. Roads, railroads and bridges need to be upgraded in order to provide a more integrated transport system to
link the urban centres more efficiently with their hinterlands.

The main inland waterways comprise about 2,500 km in the north mainly in the Red river system and 4,500 km in the
south mainly in the Mekong river system. The major constraints are siltation and seasonal fluctuations in depth.

The major sea and river ports in the country are in a poor condition because of heavy siltation, antiquated equipment,
outmoded management information systems and poor operational handling and warehousing facilities. The major
sea port of Hai Phong requires about 7 million cubic metres of dredging. The expansion of ports are also constrained
by the surrounding high density urban development.

Water transport causes problems of water pollution in the rivers, estuaries and coastal areas, and is most severe in
the harbour areas where traffic is densest. Polluted water often contributes to loss of productivity in aquaculture
farms. In addition, there is a constant threat of oil pollution caused by collisions and oil spills, especially in the
harbours and narrow navigation channels. Details of oil spill contingency planning is described under section 2.7.1.

The problem of increasing siltation is becoming serious in the rivers and coastal areas, and particularly in harbour
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entrances and navigation channels. This area needs urgent attention and large investments for dredging, considering
the fact that maintenance and development of maritime navigation is crucial as a relatively cheap mode of goods
transport for sustaining the commerce and economics of the country.

The transportation sector is one of the propellants of industrialisation. But without carefully integrated planning, it can
lead to environmentally destructive and economically non-sustainable development. A strategy for the sector should
therefore include the development of an integrated set of national policies; these should incorporate, among other
things, enforcement of emission standards for vehicles and management of transportation demand, as well as land
use zoning plans and environmental guidelines specifically developed for this sector. Socio-economic criteria should
also be applied to all decisions regarding the modes of transport, considering the types of fuel, improved energy
efficiency, propagation of environment-friendly substitutes for gasoline and diesel gas, adjustment of traffic density
and efficiency to an acceptable loading capacity of the environment, generation of funds for the development of
environment-compatible transportation systems etc. As land transportation is an integral part of urban development
and planning, the problems caused by noise and particulate air pollution (dust) also need to be taken into
consideration. Research and development efforts for finding new energy to substitute petroleum fuels and reduce the
level of pollutant emissions should also be enhanced.

Although aquatic pollution in Vietnam is mainly caused by land-based sources, pollution from water transport
activities exacerbates the problem. This would best be tackled by the prevention of dumping of wastes (including soil
wastes and engine oil) from the water craft and the construction of receiving and treating facilities for such wastes on
land. Various actions and regulations to prevent water pollution from maritime activities have been detailed in the
Conventions of the Inter-Governmental Maritime Organization, and the Government of Vietnam should become a
signatory to these Conventions.

The problem of siltation in the rivers and coastal waters is getting worse mainly because of increasing deforestation
and non-sustainable agricultural practices. This problem could therefore not be solved by periodic dredging only, but
should be tackled through long-range integrated multi-sectoral action, involving oceanography, forestry, agriculture,
energy and construction sectors, including, among other things, a detailed survey of siltation and current flow
patterns, prevention of onshore constructions that could alter the natural current flow, stabilization of river banks and
beaches with plant cover, massive reforestation especially in the upper watershed areas, soil conservation and
stabilization through substitution of shifting cultivation with sustainable agricultural practices, etc.

2.5.8. Industry

In 1988 industry accounted for 30% of Vietnam's GDP and 14% of employment. The sector consists of centrally
owned state enterprises, locally-owned (provincial) state enterprises, and the non-state sector made up of
cooperatives and private firms. The emphasis of industrial development generally has favoured heavy industry. In the
first half of the 1980's, about 80% of public investment in industry went to the heavy sector (including energy).
Nevertheless, light industry continues to dominate. For example, textiles and food processing alone together account
for about half of total industrial output and employment.

Information on industrial pollution has not been identified, but for several reasons it can be assumed that, in general,
little attention is paid to pollution control. For one thing, it is noted that the industrial development focus has been on
large, new projects, while little investment has gone to replacement and maintenance of equipment. This in turn
would imply the existence of leaky systems and an absence of pollution control devices.

The following are strategy priorities suggested for Vietnam's industrial sector, as a means to contributing to
sustainable and integrated development:

Emphasize the development of light industry. According to the World Bank, past investment in heavy industry
has been uneconomic and a higher return, particularly in the near term, will be achieved through light industry
and export industries. Furthermore, light industry tends to be less polluting as well as more conducive to
employment generation.

In planning for the development of light industries, make an effort to locate such industries in areas where
pressure on the land by cultivators is excessive and is thus resulting in land degradation. Such land pressure
frequently results from population densities which exceed the land's carrying capacity (See Section 3.1), thus
an important means of relieving this pressure is the creation of alternative employment opportunities for those
who presently have no choice but to rely solely on cultivation for their subsistence.

Develop legislation and mechanisms which provide for integrated land use zoning. Carry out such zoning to
ensure that industrial, as well as other land uses, are sited in a pattern which helps to minimize impacts on
sensitive environmental features and on adjacent land uses (e.g. residential areas, recreation areas, etc.).
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Develop standards and systems for industrial pollution control and waste management (See Sections 2.2.2
and 3.3). As noted earlier, since SRV is not yet too industrialized relative to many other countries, it is in the
fortunate position of being able to develop such standards and systems before it is too late. This is a unique
opportunity which should not be neglected, particularly because the country may well be on the threshold of a
period of rapid industrialization, a process which must be managed in order for it to be non-destructive and
thus sustainable.

2.5.9. Tourism and Recreation

The Government has, in its Law on Foreign Investment promulgated in 1988, designated five sectors of the national
economy as having high priority with respect to foreign capital. Among them is the foreign exchange-earning service
sector including tourism.

The State Committee for Co-operation and Investment (SCCI) was established in 1989, which is responsible for the
management and administration of Direct Foreign Investments (DFI) in Vietnam. The functions of the SCCI are to
provide guidance to foreign investors concerning laws and regulations, to examine and evaluate proposals, to
determine investment priorities, to monitor and supervise the operations of enterprises with foreign capital
involvement, and to analyse the economic consequences of DFI. During the first half of 1990, the SCCI received a
number of foreign investment proposals for hotels, which, together with transportation, constitute the beginnings of a
tourism infrastructure.

Tourism in Vietnam presently has a low profile and is mainly confined to conducted tours for foreigners as well as
visits by home-coming Vietnamese living abroad. Domestic tourism for nationals is virtually non-existent mainly
because of tight financial situation. Despite recent efforts by the Vietnam National Tourism Corporation (of the
Ministry of Culture, Information, Tourism and Sports), the support services of the tourism sector still needs to be
improved considerably. UNDP is presently developing a master plan for tourism development.

Tourist attractions in Vietnam are numerous, the most popular being Ha Long bay, Hue, and Nha Trang, where
tourist development plans have been made. Other potential tourist areas are quite various and hold high potential for
development in the future.

The tourist sector strategy should incorporate environmental standards, especially anti-pollution and sewerage/waste
treatment guidelines, as well as land-use zoning and regulations regarding building constructions such as minimum
distances from the water line; the latter is particularly essential in coastal areas where tourism can have a serious
impact on commercially important and environmentally vulnerable coastal resources such as mangroves and sand
dunes, as well as aquatic resources such as coral reefs and associated marine life. In order to ensure protection of
all important resources, appropriate tourism management plans should be drafted for each targeted area which
should particularly set maximum limits to tourism growth considering the carrying capacity of the coastal environment
in question. They should also incorporate effective environmental awareness raising strategies. For example, in
coastal area tourism, an environmental awareness raising strategy is essential in order to control the artifact and
souvenir industry which is traditionally associated.

Finally, for a country like Vietnam, with its richness in endemic species of fauna and flora, and as a supporting
mechanism for the maintenance of National Parks and Protected Areas, "ecological tourism" could be developed and
become a key strategy for the tourism sector, as is being done in Madagascar. The strategy entails the following:

a. Identification and evaluation of potential tourist sites associated with existing and/or new National Parks and
Protected Areas, as well as the associated necessary investments (transport, communication and
accommodations);

b. Integration of provisions for ecological tourism in the legislation covering the protected areas;

c. Combining foreign investments of hotel groups with local entrepreneurs; a foreign hotel operator could let
franchises with local entrepreneurs in order to develop more modest and original accommodations associated
with parks or reserves;

d. Environmental impact assessment of all proposals for ecological tourism ; and sharing of management costs
of parks and/or reserves with the potential investors;

e. Enhancement of awareness and appreciation of the country's cultural wealth together with the ecological
heritage;

f. Progressive development of national tourism;

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g. Increase, through training, of the negotiation capabilities of the Vietnamese with international groups; and

h. Development of training capabilities for the hotel industry and tourism in general.

2.5.10. Land Use Planning and Zoning

Integrated planning of land use to achieve optimization rather than maximization of their utility, and zoning of land
use to develop focal areas based on the type of intended use could basically solve many of the problem areas of
current development approaches. Land-use planning should integrate the following components: (i) land capability
and -use; (ii) environmental value, vulnerability, and carrying capacity; (iii) land and resource development goals; (iv)
distribution policies regarding the uses of land; (v) the traditional skills, interests and development aspirations of the
local residents; and [vi] population migration policies to prevent migration of labour from other areas to the focal
areas of development attracted by the new employment opportunities. By integrating these components, land zoning
for specific types. of development should be established such as for residential areas, agriculture, tourism, industries,
nature reserves, etc.; and the "carrying capacity" of a specific area for a specific use should then be determined, i.e.
the optimal number of families that can be settled without threatening the environmental and economic sustainability
of the area.

Considering the above, the following strategy is recommended:

a. It is essential that land-use zoning be given high priority, especially for sectors such as light and heavy
industry, tourism, residential areas and nature conservation. It is essential to restrict polluting industries to a
pre determined site. Thus, development needs to be controlled and regulated through the establishment of a
national land zoning plan for the specific types of targeted development;

b. An integration mechanism for regional and local planning needs to be developed on an urgent basis. As
referred to in section 2.1.3., there is a vacuum between central and district level planning; land-use policies
pertaining to resource rehabilitation lack the mechanism to transmit them to the district level, which is the
major tax recipient, and thus controls all land development. It is thus essential to develop appropriate
mechanisms and an institutional framework to integrate the central with the local level planning. This will,
however, take some time to establish, and it is recommended that the development of a National Land Zoning
Plan be accelerated through the following steps:

c. Central planning should establish the most vulnerable and commercially important environmental resource
areas for each ecological and socio economic zone;
d. A multi-sectoral central planning team, assisted by an environmental planner. should then work out a land
zoning plan with the chosen provinces and districts for the pre-selected areas;
e. The most important land zones such as those for light and heavy industry, and areas for environmental
protection should be enacted through legislation;

f. The experience from (b) above in selected pilot areas should be utilized to develop and institutionalize a
mechanism for district-level; and

g. Initiate land zoning plans for areas of a second order of vulnerability.

As regards specific initiatives, Export Processing Zones (EPZ) are now being established in Ho Chi Minh City, and
another one is planned in Da Nang, to attract export-oriented direct foreign investment. These EPZs will offer cheap
land, guarantees against nationalisation, zero taxes and duties on imports and exports, and cheap labour supplies,
but no environmental aspects have so far been considered in the establishment of these EPZs.

2.6. Environmental Impact Assessment Process

Environmental Impact Assessment (ETA) is a study process used to predict the consequences of a development
project or program for the natural and social environment, and to prevent, mitigate and monitor any environmental
deterioration that may result. EIA has most often been applied in relation to proposals for large scale development
projects such as dams, bridges, industrial complexes, harbours, etc. However, it is increasingly being used in relation
to broader programs, for instance, those of a particular government ministry, as a means to ensure that such
programs are well integrated and do not lead to negative environmental impacts. Some efforts are also being made
to develop EIA procedures that are applicable to policy proposals. These attempts to broaden the scope of EIA will
make it an even more effective agent for sustainable development.
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EIA is, first and foremost, a planning tool, designed to ensure that development projects or programs have minimum
adverse impact on natural and social environments. The EIA process that is developed or adopted by Vietnam must
therefore be practical in its ability to provide useful information to planners and decision makers at just the right time
in the project or program cycle. A key requirement in this respect is that certain elements of the EIA be initiated at the
earliest phases of a project or program, i.e. even before pre-feasibility studies are conducted. This will allow the EIA
to have a useful effect on matters such as feasibility studies, cost-benefit analysis, site selection, project design and
engineering, mitigation measures, and monitoring requirements.

The following are some of key questions which EIA should address in relation to a major project:

to what extent will the project affect the local natural environment and any critical ecosystems in the vicinity?

can the local environment cope with the additional pollution or waste that will be produced?

will the proposed location of the project create conflict with nearby land uses, or preclude later developments
in the area?

how will it affect local communities, farms, fisheries, or industries?

can the project operate safely without risk of dangerous accidents or health effects?

how much water, energy and other resources will it consume, and are these in sufficient supply?

is there sufficient infrastructure, such as roads and sewers, to support it?

what human resources will the project require or replace, and what social effects might this have on the
community?

what damage may be caused to national assets such as forests, recreation areas, or cultural and historic
sites?

In terms of resources needed to perform EIA, among the most important are qualified, multi-disciplinary staff;
appropriate institutional frameworks, useable information on baseline conditions in the area involved and on the
relevant features of the project or program; and, finally, legislated powers for review, monitoring, and enforcement to
ensure that appropriate mitigatory measures are implemented.

The cost of EIA is often a major concern of officials and developers. However, these costs generally represent a very
small percentage of the overall costs of any major development project, nearly always less than one percent. This is
a small price to pay to prevent costly, unforeseen problems, to generate positive and sustainable development, to
help avoid environmental disasters, and to obtain public acceptance and approval.

Substantial literature is available to provide guidance on the establishment of laws, institutions, and mechanisms for
EIA, Some work has already been done in Vietnam in this area, including a draft legislation and a detailed proposal
for training courses in EIA.

However, given that the development of a workable framework for EIA in Vietnam will take some time, the country
should immediately institute a requirement that all proposed foreign assistance projects be subject to an
environmental screening, and if warranted, to an EIA. (Many funding agencies, however, already maintain this
requirement themselves). EIA would be conducted (or sponsored) by the donor organization, but should be required
to involve local trainees, in order to help develop local capability in EIA.

2.7. Environmental Disaster Management

In Vietnam, disasters and other natural phenomena that affect the people and their property occur frequently. In spite
of the relief assistance provided by the various governmental, non-governmental and international agencies, the level
of suffering is still very high.

Natural disasters cannot be prevented and it is only possible to protect the people and property from their effects.
Disasters compete with other development activities for financial support and thus indirectly affect other development
projects. The socio economic impacts are particularly sensitive, simply because it is the smaller, poorer and more
vulnerable settlements which are most affected as the deprived could not afford better, safer and more permanent
homes.
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Disaster preparedness in Vietnam operates through a chain of command and is basically the coordination and
pooling of the physical means and technical resources of various concerned ministries and specialized agencies
against the major natural hazards, particularly typhoons. Administratively, coordination is achieved through the
National Committee on Natural Disaster Reduction. Each ministry and agency has the responsibility, within its
particular area of expertise, competence and mandate, to prepare for disaster control and management (typhoons
and floods in particular). Consequently, each ministry has a special disaster preparedness unit that cooperates with
the National Committee. Forecasting and early warnings of floods and typhoons are provided by the
Hydrometeorological Services through its National Forecasting Centres. The regulations regarding the distribution
and dissemination of these forecasts and warnings have been laid out in the National Regulations promulgated in
1960 and revised in 1980. Centres for disaster preparedness operate down to the district level, who draft initial
proposals for disaster control and forward them to the central ministries concerned. The high priority given to disaster
management by the government is evident from the fact that the chairman of the People's Committee also chairs the
Natural Disaster Committee at the provincial level and is fully empowered to organize immediate relief and
assistance. In general, the setup reflects sound principles of organization. The main problem lies with resource gaps
and technical shortcomings which require improvement.

The Government is concerned about the recurring nature of these disasters particularly considering the relative
poverty of the affected areas, and plans to improve the effectiveness of the existing disaster prevention measures
and further strengthen the disaster management strategies through more accurate and advance forecasting, at all
levels more effective regulation of water levels in reservoirs, better communications to issue advance warnings and
enhance preparedness, more extensive protection through shelter belts, through extension of disaster resistant
construction techniques, etc. The Government is also fully aware of the need for large-scale external assistance in
this field to tackle the problem.

Considering the seriousness and urgency of the problem, strategies and policies need to be strengthened on a
priority basis to improve upon the preparedness for disaster control and management in the country:

a. More detailed statistical analysis of all available data on disasters for a better understanding of their
frequency, randomness etc,

b. Evaluation of the current forecasting and warning systems to improve upon their efficacy;

c. Extension of the existing hydrometeorological system of observation stations and upgrading the forecasting
capacity of the provincial hydrometeorological observatories;

d. Improvements in the accuracy of forecasts and warnings regarding severity etc. Mainly through the acquisition
of more sophisticated and weather-proof technology;

e. Improvements in the communications system for efficient and more effective transmission of forecasts and
warnings, as well as achievement of their widest dissemination and publicity;

f. Strengthening of linkages with global telecommunication systems for the facilitation of data inputs from global
weather monitoring programmes;

g. Improve infrastructure leading to disaster prevention such as construction of coastal and inland dykes, shelter
belts, etc.;

h. Train local construction technicians and builders in disaster resistant building techniques and materials and
launch awareness/training campaigns in concerned provinces;

i. Better cooperation and coordination between the various departments and agencies dealing with the
meteorological, hydrological and oceanographic sectors for more studies on the phenomena, mainly to
improve upon the predictions;

j. Improvements in capabilities for short and long term predictions of disasters with special emphasis on their
social effects on subsistence employment in rural areas and economic impacts on such crucial sectors as
agriculture;

k. Establishment of a contingency relief fund for emergencies arising from disasters especially for the
rehabilitation of the rural subsistence employed to restart their vocation, such as reconstruction of houses,
reestablishment of farms, acquisition of fishing boats and equipment etc.;

l. Establishment of a separate disaster relief agency to deal with all such emergencies and that will have full
legal authority to independently take all necessary action to provide disaster relief and coordinate all activities
for this purpose;
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m. Intensification of mobile emergency medical facilities and their incorporation as a part of the disaster relief
agency;

n. Technical assistance for the rehabilitation of the affected professions, ecosystems and/or resources as the
case may be, such as fisheries and farming;

o. Strengthening of the administrative set-up for quick and efficient channelling of disaster relief assistance to the
affected areas and the needy people;

p. Assessment of the manpower and training requirements to provide for a permanent follow-up capability in the
area of disaster preparedness, control and vulnerability reduction and design of a staged programme for the
development of this national capability;

q. Promotion of community awareness to achieve people's participation in disaster preparedness and education
of the same communities in disaster warning and relief;

r. Wide dissemination through the mass media of audio-visual programmes on disaster preparedness;

2.7.1. Oil Spill Contingency Planning

There are large offshore oil reserves and the prospects are good for their commercial development. At present. the
only producing field is Bach Ho, 200 km off the southeastern coast. Crude oil production now amounts to 1.5 million
tons per year (mty), compared to current imports of 2.6 mty of oil products. A number of exploration contracts were
signed with foreign oil companies which will ensure a continuation of exploratory activities on a significant scale in
the coastal waters of Vietnam. At present these companies are mainly undertaking seismic and geological work, but
initial results are reported to be encouraging and drilling of exploratory wells is presently in progress. The overall
output target for the years 1991-1995 is to produce between 20-23 million tons of crude oil and to reach an annual
production rate of 7 million tons by 1995. With these increasing offshore activities, the potential for an offshore oil
spill catastrophe in Vietnamese coastal waters could increase substantially in the near future.

Two oil spill accidents occurred in the coastal waters of Vietnam in 1990, the sinking of a small oil tanker in Vung Tao
Bay, and a spill from an offshore oil drilling rig along the southern coast. These were small in scale and damage was
not very widespread. Moreover, a major oil tanker route from the Middle East to the East Asian countries plows
through the waters of South China Seas off the coast of Vietnam. There is thus a constant threat of a major oil spill
disaster in the coastal waters of the country; it is thus essential to develop an oil spill contingency plan in advance of
an emergency situation. The contingency plan should include activities and measures to:

i. establish an oil spill alert mechanism to issue warnings and promptly report oil spills;

ii. limit and minimize the oil spill;

iii. clean up the coastal waters after the oil spill;
iv. minimize damage to commercially exploited coastal living resources;
v. conserve specialized marine ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangrove forests; and

vi. protect commercially' and environmentally important beach areas from fouling.

The Action Plan should also have a strong and effective institutional component to ensure that the Contingency Plan
will be activated immediately upon receipt of an oil spill report and the necessary legislative measures to achieve the
same should be incorporated in the proposed national environmental law which is presently being drafted.

2.7.2. Flood Control

Heavy rains cause severe flooding in many river basins and floods are an almost annual event in varying degrees
particularly in the Mekong and Red river deltas during the monsoon season, causing untold hardships to human
settlements and loss of livestock, crops and farmlands. Systems of river dykes of about 3,000 km in the three most
important river basins in the north, namely the Red, Ca and Ma rivers where the risk of floods is most severe have
been built over many centuries. Nearly 20% of the annual budget of the Ministry of Water Resources is allotted to
maintain the 5,000 km of river and sea dykes.

Flood plains are often a valuable environmental resource and quite often the only means to support life. But total
flood control is neither possible nor economically feasible. Thus, flood plain management goes far beyond basic
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protection against floods and over encompasses ail aspects of planning and action that are needed to determine,
implement and update comprehensive integrated plans for the wise and suitable use of the floodplains (and flood-
prone areas) and their related water resources. All policies and plans for managing flood plains must have two broad
concepts: an immediate disaster prevention approach to prevent loss of life and hardships, and destruction of
productive environments which are already fragile from incessant human use (disaster control); and a long-range
plan to optimise the economic exploitation of flood plains with due regard to environmental impacts and socio-
economic concerns, including the selection of development alternatives that could minimise environmental impacts,
but at the same time beneficial for the welfare of the inhabitants.

Flood control has been traditionally attempted through construction works such as dams, levees, channels and
seawalls. Such structural solutions alone usually have a negative long-range impact on the environment if remedial
measures are not undertaken, such as controlling urbanization, preventing overgrazing that could increase surface
runoff and in general minimise or avoid conflicts in utilization. Any sustainable development of the fragile
environment of the flood plain must find a balance that minimises negative impacts and maximises the general
benefits.

Long-range flood control measures need to be planned through the construction of multi-purpose dams (usually a
series of dams on a river system), development of watershed management programmes (See Section 3.2 for details)
of levees, overflow basins and floodways, and a network of multipurpose channels.

2.7.3. Typhoon Damage Control

Vietnam's climate is greatly influenced by the monsoon season between the months of May and October when
frequent typhoons bring heavy rains with intensities of up to 800 mm per day and 1,700 mm per week. Typhoons visit
the coasts of Vietnam at an average frequency of 4.6 per year and contribute to 10 - 30% of the total annual rainfall.
Vietnam was affected by 482 typhoons and tropical depressions during the period 1885 - 1988, often causing heavy
loss of human life and livestock, heavy damage to houses, crops and coastal structures, as well as widespread
floods. In the coastal areas, strong winds exacerbate the height of tides and cause occasional tidal waves of over 10
m. Seventy (70) to 80% of the typhoons pass through the central region (mainly, provinces of Quang Binh, Quang
Tri, Thua Thien-Hue, Bac Bo Plains and Thanh Hoa). For example, two strong typhoons (named Andy and Cecil)
struck the coastal areas of this region in succession in October 1985, seriously affecting over 2 million people (killing
875). damaging 400,000 houses and sinking 3,300 fishing boats, in addition to destroying over 375,000 ha of crops
and farms.

UNDP in collaboration with UNCHS has undertaken several activities in recent years to create awareness of the
technologies for constructing simple and low-cost typhoon resistant housing through seminars, awareness kits and
pilot demonstrations. The Institute for Housing Design is responsible for the housing sector, but is not yet being fully
utilized for this purpose. No specific government agency or organization is mandated to collect information and
prepare designs, guidelines and standards to build typhoon-resistant houses.

Until recently, the poor state of old and obsolete equipment was a probable source of fundamental data errors and
inaccurate forecasts. This probably diminished the confidence of the local people in the official forecasts and
warnings, which resulted in damage and destruction that could otherwise have been prevented (Reportedly, in the
case of the above typhoons, fishermen in exposed coastal areas resisted the attempts by the authorities to evacuate
them which resulted in the high death toll). Now a UNDP funded project, executed by WMO, has equipped the three
main stations with very sophisticated equipment which helped the services to forecast very accurately during the last
two years. Unfortunately the local people have not yet gained confidence in accurate forecasting. The
telecommunications facilities in the provinces were badly damaged and subsequently cut off at the onset of the
above typhoons so that the necessary crucial information could not be transmitted widely enough; this resulted in
greater losses that could otherwise have been avoided.

There is also a general lack of community preparedness to alleviate the damage from typhoons. For example, there
are hardly any attempts by villagers to plant bamboo clusters or casuarina trees as wind barriers around buildings.
There is clearly a need for more active participation of the people in disaster preparedness and promotion of
awareness of the same.

Considering the annual recurring nature of typhoons and the havoc it causes in the rural areas, strategies and
policies need to be strengthened to convey the political will and determination to tackle the problems caused by
typhoon damage and to activate the resources to achieve the same. All strategies and policies suggested under
section 2.7. will also apply to typhoon damage control and the following should be considered in addition to these:

a. Upgrading of the meteorological data collection and processing systems and introduction of modem and
accurate typhoon forecasting techniques to provide accurate and timely warning of typhoons;

b. Strengthening of research projects for a better understanding of the wind and weather patterns,
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oceanographic phenomena, sealevel and tidal fluctuations, frequency and pattern of tidal waves etc.;

c. Strengthening of linkages with the regional weather watch systems to obtain information on the development
of weather patterns and low pressure areas outside the Vietnamese area of responsibility;

d. Establishment- of modern typhoon-proof telecommunications system for faster transmission of forecasts and
warnings;

e. Improvement in the general preparedness for the management of typhoon damage control;

f. Assessment of the vulnerability of the existing, mostly traditional, housing to typhoon damage;

g. Preparation of designs, guidelines, standards and manuals for the construction of more typhoon-resistant and
typhoon-proof houses;

h. Construction of typhoon-proof and typhoon-resistant rural housing and small community buildings and
assessment of the feasibility of replication of these techniques at the local level;

i. Development at the provincial and local level of the capability to establish and implement an overall integrated
vulnerability reduction programme;

j. Establishment of wind barrier forests to act as wind breakers during strong winds; and

k. Public education programmes to promote awareness about better disaster preparedness through improved
typhoon-resistant housing etc.

2.8. Monitoring Frameworks and Strategies

A critical component of any framework or system of environmental management and planning is monitoring.
Monitoring serves several purposes, which can be summarized as follows:

Monitoring is necessary to keep track of environmental conditions in a given region or ecosystem to determine
if attention is required to resolve a problem, and if so, when, where, and how (e.g. what types of mitigation
measures). For example, the monitoring of a particular wildlife species may reveal that the species is being
threatened by habitat destruction, pollution, etc. and that actions must be taken to relieve such stress.

In relation to specific activities, such as agriculture or industry, monitoring is necessary to ensure that legal
standards are being met, for example? on maximum allowable pollution loads.

In relation to a given development project, monitoring is needed to determine if the project is generating
environmental disturbances and impacts, and if so, whether and how these should be mitigated. If an
environmental impact assessment has been conducted prior to a project, it should have identified specific
environmental "indicators", that should be monitored during and following project implementation.

Vietnam must improve its capability to conduct monitoring when and where it is necessary. In some cases this will
require only that one or several staff members of a particular resource-related department be trained in monitoring
techniques as they apply to the type of monitoring required. In other cases, a more formal institutional structure may
be necessary, for example, for following up an EIA of a large project, or to conduct regular monitoring of industrial
plants in a given region.

In any case, a requirement should be instituted that monitoring capabilities be developed where, and in the form
necessary, on the basis of guidelines developed by the State Committee for Environment and Sustainable
Development (See Section 2.1.1). In addition, some types of monitoring will require that access to equipment and/or
laboratory facilities be provided.

The success of the implementation of the National Conservation Strategy can be evaluated in a number of ways. It is
important that a process of review is established with sufficient feedback to the NCS so as to enable revisions of the
strategy or changes in the direction of the strategy wherever necessary.

In order to measure the effects of particular actions, policies or courses of management or biological systems, it is
necessary to identify trends, monitor these over time and see if changes in trends can be correlated to the actions
concerned. This means making repeated measurements or taking samples in comparable fashion over regular units
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of time. The use of control areas where the particular actions or policies are not applied help to give stronger
confirmation to observed correlations.

The following types of measurements are useful:

species composition, diversity, biomass and production

pest densities

soil depth, humus content, nitrogen content

area of different production systems

product condition and quality

productivity per unit area and per unit effort

water flow and quality

sedimentation rates
air quality sampling

noise pollution levels in residential areas

land reflectivity (Albedo)

incidence of meaningful events-storms, floods, droughts

Some of these measurements must be made in the field, others can be done from remote sensing data. The data
collected-must be accurately recorded, reported, stored and held available for recovery or analysis. A bureau of
statistics or environmental data centre is needed. While planning, it is advisable to make detailed time-tables of
activity and expected achievements so that realised achievement can be gauged and evaluated more easily against
such targets and projections (e.g. trees planted, hectares reforested, seedling survival, tons harvested, laws in effect,
etc.). The identification of success indicators is a useful component of plans and operation designs.

Monitoring of public awareness and education programmes can be carried out by simple statistics of how many
people have been contacted, given courses, examinations passed, etc. But the question, "Is the message getting
through?" and "Are we putting over the message in the right way?" can often be best answered by conducting public
opinion surveys or soliciting direct feedback through questionnaires.

These numerous indicators of success or failure in the implementation of the NCS must be taken note of at regular
periodic NCS reviews or symposia so that decisions can be made to incorporate changes or new elements into the
NCS. The emphasis should be on pinpointing the bottlenecks and pressure points that are causing delays or failures
and identifying priorities for action. In allocating priorities, a balance must be sought between the urgency of the
problem or the desirability of the objectives with the practical aspects of ease of funding, availability of necessary
expertise and the likelihood of success.

It is recommended that for the first two years of implementing the NCS, an annual review meeting should be held for
re-evaluation. After that, such meetings need be held only every second year and eventually may be required less
frequently.

Maintaining the NCS

It is recommended that a permanent NCS secretariat be established to supervise the maintenance and running of
the NCS.

The maintenance of the NCS involves several measures:

Periodic reviews and revisions of the NCS.

Monitoring the progress and success of the NCS.

Publications and communications strategy to launch and publicise the NCS and the principles of the NCS. A
prime objective of this is to gain greater public participation.
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Follow-up action on the various recommendations for implementing the NCS, particularly further development
of areas in the NCS requiring more detailed planning and study.

Coordination of sectoral and regional sub-strategies to translate more easily the recommendations of the NCS
into action at the ground level.

Launching of the NCS

The NCS is intended to catch the attention of the whole country and alert people about the serious and real dangers
of environmental degradation, the consequences of which have not been clearly realised. Unless appropriate
actions, as outlined in the NCS, are taken immediately, Vietnam is heading for an internal population and
environmental crisis far more dangerous than the external threats to the country for which it is much more alert and
better prepared.

To attract government and public attention, the NCS should be launched in a well planned and concerted manner
with maximum publicity. The launch should be an event. This could involve public announcements by senior national
leaders, a children's procession or display of environmental paintings, television, radio and newspaper coverage,
special audiovisual presentations on television and so on.

In addition, a number of follow-up activities must keep people constantly aware. Regular features on environment in
the newspaper, Nhan Dan, etc., extracts from the NCS should be included in language courses at schools. NCS
study camps should be established by the National Youth Organisation and the Ho Chi Minh Generation Movement.
The idea is to jolt people's ideas and understanding of environmental affairs in the country and start a new
conservation ethos among the people of Vietnam.

CHAPTER III

ACTION PROGRAMS

3.1. Urban Development and Population Control

To achieve sustainability of urban development, environmental management needs to be incorporated at the early
stages of planning; this improves urban economic efficiency, promotes equity in the distribution of development costs
and benefits, and avoids unnecessary foreclosure of future development options. The neglect of environmental
considerations in urban planning and management thus constrains prospects for social and economic development.

Institutionalization of environmental planning and management mechanisms at the local level can also lead to the
alleviation of the consequences of impoverishment, for the urban underprivileged suffer disproportionately from
urban environmental decay and the health hazards that arise from it, as in the case of water pollution and inadequate
waste management.

Environmental management and planning for such areas as Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hai Phong can thus make
a significant contribution to the improvement of the quality of life, and ensure the continued-appeal of the cities as a
place to live, to earn a living and to benefit from opportunities.

3.1.1. Urban Development

The main components of urban planning where environmental considerations are of key importance are land zoning,
housing & construction, transportation, energy and water supply, health and waste management.

Land Zoning

In spite of the decrease in the growth rate of urban population from 2% in 1981 to 1.6% in 1988, the population
density in central Hanoi continues to increase and has attained extreme densities of up to 35,000 people per sq. km
in the older parts of the city; this has deteriorated the quality of life and brought about severe environmental stress.
Zoning of land by forecasted use for housing, industries, business and recreational green areas is therefore urgently
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needed to enhance the environment of urban life in general, and so that the city resident, while living in reasonable
comfort in the urban environment, will also have easy daily access to all urban amenities and a means to make a
living under reasonable conditions. However. a sustainable urban development needs to consider the carrying
capacity of its environment; thus action will have to be taken to avoid high population concentrations in focal areas of
cities. This could perhaps be attempted through horizontal expansion of cities and by accelerated rural development
programmes to improve the quality of life in rural areas through rural employment generation and the provision of
more rural amenities in order to encourage migration from the cities. This approach will at the same time discourage
mass migration in the reverse direction.

Housing and Construction

Dwellings in relatively good condition account for less than 40 per cent of the total housing, and the remainder are in
need of extensive repair or renovation. According to recent estimates, construction costs vary between $US 100 per
sq. meter if prefabricated technology is used and $US 45 for traditional-type housing. Efforts are now being made to
further reduce the cost of the traditional construction methods. There are over 1 million sq. m of slum housing along
the banks of canals and waterways. The phenomenon of squatter settlements has been observed in almost every
city, and even in smaller cities such as Hue and Nha Trang. These communities of people in search of work appear
wherever a vacant site is available; in central parts of the city as well as in the suburbs, and along the banks of its
canals and waterways.

Overcrowding constitutes another serious problem. It was estimated in 1987 that the average floor space per urban
inhabitant was less than 4.3 sq. m for the whole country, which is the lowest among the socialist countries. In Hanoi,
about one third of the population live in an area less than 2 sq m per inhabitant. The problem is further exacerbated
by the destitute without a roof, who migrate to the cities in search of jobs and a better means of living.

Finally sanitary conditions are critical, as drinking water and toilet facilities in cities are in a deteriorating condition. In
Hanoi, 33 per cent of the housing units still depend on double-vault latrines, and 30 persons on an average share a
toilet. with a maximum of more than 100 persons per toilet in the worker's districts. In Ho Chi Minh City, 16,000
dwellings along the canals and waterways (inhabited by 98,000 people) have no sanitation facilities.

The national housing problem cannot be solved in isolation, independent from an urban strategy. Housing
development should be accompanied by effective policies and programmes to deal with city and metropolitan
development, to reduce population growth and influence internal migration trends, and to develop secondary satellite
growth centres. Action is thus needed to improve the housing situation through renovation, upgrading and
modernisation of the existing housing, as well as the construction of modem housing facilities with better water
supply, modern sanitation, garbage disposal facilities and proper ventilation.

Transportation System

As this section has been covered under 2.5.7, it should only be re emphasized here that the main environmental
issues relating to urban transportation concern establishment of vehicle emission standards and their enforcement,
as well as proper vehicle maintenance, limits on private vehicles, limits on traffic densities, smooth traffic flow, traffic
zoning and taxation for the use of private vehicles and roads.

Energy

The energy generation and supply system even in major urban centres is unreliable; an expansion and upgrading of
the present systems will have to ensure that emphasis is placed on energy conservation through more efficient use
of electricity and electrical systems (See Section 2.5.6 for more details).

Water Supply

In 1985 and 1987, it was estimated that about 70 per cent of the urban population is presently supplied with potable
drinking water. Based on the 1989 census, the urban population is approximately 13 million people, with Hanoi and
Ho Chi Minh City leading with populations of about 4 million and 3 million people respectively. As the existing system
now supplies only about 7 million people, the percentage of urban population with access to safe drinking water is
only around 50 per cent. Of these, 20 per cent have direct access to running water through taps in the house, and 80
per cent share public taps. On an average, a public tap is shared by 900 people. Those who have no access to piped
water use water from shallow wells (which is in most cases unprotected and polluted), rainwater collection tanks and
streams.

In Hanoi, the natural groundwater system includes several aquifers. The aquifers have been polluted by infiltration
from dirty city water and from organic materials, nutrients and possibly chemicals from fields. According to a recent
study, the main problem lies in water quality and soil conditions rather than the actual supply of water.

Sewerage and Waste Management

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Both Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have underground sewers in the older parts of the city, but most residents are
served by ditches, street gutters, and other forms of open drainage. Clogged or inadequate drains often overflow,
widely spreading human wastes and garbage `during storms. Lakes in city parks and other areas frequently receive
sewage during this period.

The problem of waste disposal during storms has been exacerbated for towns along the Red River where the river
bed rises annually because of siltation, and is now higher than some surrounding lands in some areas; the drainage
pumps are often inadequate as a consequence. In these towns, flood waters mix freely with waste water during
floods.

Hanoi drains its wastes into numerous ponds of varying sizes located around the city. These ponds provide a
good environment for reducing the biochemical oxygen demand of the wastes. Fish are also cultured in many of
these ponds. However, the ponds could be better managed through the culture of water hyacinth or other aquatic
plants, which would increase the aesthetic value of the ponds and could then be used to produce biogas, or
composted and used in agriculture or as livestock feed. However, growth of water hyacinths should be carefully
controlled and managed.

Environmental Health

In urban areas, the threat to human health lies principally in effects of industrial pollution, vehicle emissions,
overcrowded living conditions, poor sanitation infrastructures such as drinking water, toilet facilities, sewage disposal
and waste management as a whole; all these variables contribute to severe human health risks. A 1980 survey
showed a strong correlation between the number of respiratory diseases and living conditions. Over the past decade,
the ten leading causes of mortality and morbidity are communicable diseases, and most of them are preventable,
such as lung and intestinal illnesses. This suggests that the control of communicable diseases should be the top
priority in the health programme, and that this should be integrated into all sectors involved in a sustainable urban
development plan.

The following recommendations aim at general urban development as regards environmental management is
concerned in the country, with special reference to such cities as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City:

a. Prepare environmentally sound urban development master plans for each city integrating all related
components such as land zoning, housing and construction, transport, energy supply, water supply, as well as
sewage and waste management; furthermore, the carrying capacity of the urban environment has to be
assessed and a strategy developed to avoid high population concentrations and overcrowding;

b. Develop an urban land zoning plan for residential areas, business, industry, recreational or green areas, etc.,
with special emphasis on the assessment of environmental impacts of such zoning;

c. Develop an urban housing strategy incorporating health standards for public and private latrines as well as
investigate the possibility of reducing the cost of housing, which will necessitate the participation of all sectors
of the economy;

d. Develop an urban transportation plan, with emphasis on mass transportation rather than private
transportation, smooth flow of traffic to avoid traffic congestion (e.g., one-way streets), energy efficient
vehicles etc.;

e. Develop an energy plan with major emphasis on energy efficiency which will necessitate an analysis of all
potential means for the efficient use of energy;

f. Prepare a sanitation plan which should incorporate health standards for public and private latrines, aim at
improving short and long term sewerage and sanitation planning, define major bottlenecks of the existing
system and indicate priority projects;

g. Develop a flood protection plan to provide basis for cost-effective implementation of flood protection and
stormwater drainage in Hanoi;

h. Test and demonstrate the feasibility and technical performance of various types of wastewater treatment
processes and applications as well as various institutional and financial arrangements;

i. Develop a waste management plan for Hanoi, to improve the collection, transportation and disposal of all
sludges, including settled solids from the watercourses, sewage sludge, nightsoil, etc.;

j. Rehabilitate the ponds and canals of Hanoi to improve the hydraulic capacity of the canal and pond system to
allow for their full benefit for drainage and wastewater discharges;
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k. Develop a plan for lake restoration in Hanoi area. The lakes and ponds are important elements of visual
landscape. They serve as focal points for recreation and act as a receiving body for flood protection. At
present, they are mostly overloaded and filled with sediments;

l. Develop an integrated aquaculture plan for Hanoi to maintain the utilization of the biotreatment capacity of the
waterbodies and to prevent a collapse of the aquatic ecosystems. This would also help to maximize the
recirculation of resources and organic matter;

m. Study the hydrogeological conditions of each urban area and the inflows and outflows of groundwater to that
area; and develop a system to monitor groundwater pollution from surface sources; improve well field and
design; improve the groundwater management and the management of deep-wells;

n. Assess environmental impacts of water supply and industrial growth in Ho Chi Minh City and develop a master
plan to optimize the rational use of available water resources;

o. For all smaller cities, introduce environmental planning at the onset of development especially for drinking
water supply and waste management; and

p. Develop an integrated environmental health plan for urban population with the participation of all sectors
involved in urban development.

3.1.2. Population Stabilization

It is difficult to talk about the environment without talking about people, as population is the common denominator to
all aspects of the environment. Moreover, environment and population are issues which cut across all sectors and at
any level of development, population growth increases the environmental stress. Environmental resources provide
the basis for development just as environmental factors constitute part of the improvement in the quality of life that
development is meant to bring out. Similarly, the size of the population, the rate of its growth and the pattern of its
distribution influence the state of the environment, just as they condition the pace and composition of development.
There is an emerging consensus on the nature, scope and need for sustainable balance between people, natural
resources, -development and environment. Population policies are central to the success of attempts to avert the
environmental crisis. and are an essential contribution to policies of balanced resource use. They are needed not
only to slow rapid rates of population growth, but also to balance the distribution between rural and urban areas.
Recognition of the potential mutual support between population and environmental policies should facilitate earlier
and smoother achievement of the demographic transition to population equilibrium as well as of the chosen
development goals.

The population of Vietnam paradoxically constitutes the country's most valuable renewable resource as well as the
greatest threat to its environment. The total population was estimated to be around 65 million in 1990. This amounts
to a mean density of nearly 200 persons per sq. km, one of the highest densities for any agricultural country in the
world. This population pressure places an impossible strain on the environmental capacity of the country.

If the present annual growth rate of 2.4% continues, the country's population will double in size within 30 years. In
other words, by the year 2000, the population will already be above 80 million. The Government is fully aware of the
need to control the population growth and is actively pursuing a birth control programme. The Government policy is
outlined in a decree issued in October 1988, which urges couples generally to have no more than two children, to
space them three to five years apart, with the minimum age to achieve parenthood set at 22 for women and 24 for
men. The National Committee for Population and Family Planning coordinates and manages the national population
programme. This programme aims to provide maternal, child health and family planning services, supported by
information, education and communication activities to raise the level of awareness about family planning in
particular. The programme is showing good results in urban areas but difficulties arise in the midland and mountain
areas where peasants still have large families. There is thus a particular need to promote awareness among the
general public on the interrelationships between population and environment in the context of self-sustaining socio-
economic development.

Lack of access to essential amenities and services, together with the persistence of widespread impoverishment,
have led large numbers of people to overexploit scarce natural resources and facilities that are in the public domain.
This has tended to undermine the environmental foundations of economic development. Even where untapped
natural resources exist, large amounts of public capital that would need to be invested in order to establish the
infrastructure and facilities to use them are often not available. It is thus clear that no environmental or socio-
economic scheme will be effective in the long run unless population levels come down. And because of the difficulty
of this problem, much more priority focus should be put on it by the Government, with associated massive rural
awareness promotion campaigns using well-trained, well-motivated as well as well-paid extension workers;
moreover, some compensation mechanism should be established for one and two children families in rural areas,
Finally, a cross-sectoral policy review should be undertaken to both ensure that sectoral policies support population
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policies and to infuse population-related incentives into other sectoral policies. In essence. the Government should
immediately develop a comprehensive strategy incorporating all facets of the socio-economic fabric into a cohesive
motivator for reducing the population size. As regards foreign assistance to Vietnam in this field, emphasis should be
laid on inter-agency cooperation and joint programming ventures, as the multi-disciplinary links between population
and environment are complex, which almost always transcend sectoral concerns of governments and donor
agencies.

Considering the urgency of the problem, the ongoing activities need to be accelerated with additional action both on
the short and long term to tackle the same. On the short term,

a. Studies on the interactions between population, conservation and development should be undertaken; the
results should be utilized as a basis for an integrated approach to the development of long term sustainable
development policies, which should aim at the stabilization of the population at a level that will permit
sustainable management of resources and a satisfactorily high quality of life for all people;

b. Population policies should be formulated and implemented which take into consideration the natural resources
base, environmental conditions, and socio-economic and human resource development prospects;
Environmentally sound urban policies and sustainable rural development policies should be promoted and
pursued keeping in view the special environmental problems of the urban and rural poor;

c. Public work programmes which will generate employment and which will enhance the availability and
productivity of natural resources need to be designed and implemented in rural areas experiencing acute
environmental stress and population pressure; initiatives to restore the environment should receive high
priority, such as reclamation of croplands and grasslands; plantation of wood-lots and forests; building canals,
dykes, wells, reservoirs and water catchments; and terracing, bunding, leveling land. The potential for food for
work programme should be fully utilized in this regard;

d. Efforts aimed at awareness promotion and the popularization of family planning should be reinforced at the
community level, with information on the nature and prospect of environmental degradation, its relation to
population pressures, its likely impact on people's lives, and how local action can improve the situation. Such
an extension of population programmes will help place them more firmly in a perspective of sustained,
environmentally sound development;

e. Priority attention should be given to establishing programmes of basic education for women, especially in
areas that are undergoing acute environmental stress. Women must develop a full awareness of the choices
available to them regarding family size and life-style in their own environment. Improvement in the social
status of women can play a pivotal role in accelerating the progress of societies towards their desired
population, environment and development goals;

f. The institutional structures through which population, conservation and development policies are formulated
and implemented should be clearly identified. Coordinating mechanisms should be introduced, where
appropriate, to ensure that an integrated approach is taken in each of these policy areas; and

g. Programmes to integrate women into socio-economic development processes should be further strengthened.
Educational and training opportunities for women should be broadened to promote full awareness of choices
open to women with particular regard to their role in society;

h. Efforts should be intensified to increase awareness of the interactions between population, natural resources
and development prospects. These activities should necessarily include information on the availability of
family planning services and maternal and child health care services.

On the medium and long term,

a. Specific development plans should be prepared and implemented for environmentally critical areas (which
should be identified in advance) which are experiencing, or are likely to experience, acute population
pressures on environmental resources, in both rural and urban contexts. Priority attentigw should be given to
the elements of population distribution, capital investment to restore natural resources and' develop
infrastructure, and community-level involvement to improve health, sanitation and other environmental
conditions;

b. Monitoring and forecasting of changes in the status of key natural resources, e.g., cropland, grassland,
woodland, forests, groundwater and freshwater should be undertaken in the critical areas; Economic and
social appraisals of the anticipated changes in key natural resources must be fed back into national
development plans, especially with regard to the allocation of investment capital among sectors and
geographical areas;
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c. Physical planning with a view to bring about a balanced and broadly based distribution of the benefits of
development should be given priority attention. Incentive systems for the appropriate location of industries,
resettlement from fragile and vulnerable ecosystems, and environmental management of desired
modifications to relatively undisturbed ecosystems should also be given careful attention;

d. The existing national pricing and taxation policies need to be reexamined carefully with particular reference to
their bearing on sustained agricultural development, in the light of the impacts that past policies have had on
the patterns of population distribution, use of natural resources and environmental stress. Rural employment-
generating potential of the agricultural sector should receive particular consideration in this matter;

e. Research and development, industrial licensing, product pricing, import taxation, economic cooperation, and
economic incentive systems for producers and consumers need to be so designed, coordinated and
monitored that high levels of efficiency in the use of scarce natural resources can be attained. They should
actively encourage consumption and production patterns that would promote recycling, multiple uses,
minimum recourse to non renewable resources, and high efficiency in energy use; and

f. Efforts need to be intensified to effect sustained improvements in both drinking water supply and sanitation
facilities, especially in the most underdeveloped areas.

At the international level,

a. International population assistance should be increased to levels consistent with the goals of attaining the
desired slowdown in population growth rates and eventual stabilization of population;

b. The development assistance agencies need to take into consideration the implications of their programmes for
natural resource regeneration, environmental improvement and population distribution, prior to selecting the
project area. Especially in areas experiencing environmental stress and population pressure, such
programmes should provide for built-in mutual support between the elements of population, natural resources,
environment and development;

c. International agencies which provide support to population activities need to give priority attention to those
geographical areas which are likely to suffer acute environmental stress during the next 20 - 30 years. In
addition, they should promote awareness of the linkages between population and environmental factors and
the need to design and execute population programmes which would respond effectively to such linkages; and

d. International support to programmes aimed at arresting environmental degradation need to be intensified, with
special emphasis on areas which are experiencing, or are likely to experience, acute population pressures.
The success of environment programmes in these areas would help ensure the success of the corresponding
population programmes.

3.1.3. Quality of Life

Environmental factors constitute part of the improvement in the quality of life and rapid growth of population in
developing countries is often accompanied by a steady decline in average levels of living accompanied by a steady
decline in the quality of life, as measured by such indicators as per capita availability of food and nutrition, drinking
water and sanitation. On the other hand, they did not bring about noticeable improvements in the levels of living of
the majority of people even in cases where rates of economic growth appeared to be satisfactory. A major goal of
policy makers is to achieve a better quality of life and rising standards of living, with sustainable use of the natural
resource base. Recognition of the potential mutual support between population and environmental policies should
facilitate earlier and smoother achievement of the demographic transition to population equilibrium as well as the
chosen development goals.

The maintenance of major life-support systems, preservation of genetic resources and sustained utilization of
renewable resources all contribute directly to the material basis for human welfare. But the quality of human life is
measured in terms of more than just material benefits. For human life to be satisfying, there must be a reasonable
balance between different material needs. Major shortages in one area cannot be compensated for by surpluses in
another area. A starving man needs food: he cannot get comfort from extra wood or money. Cooking requires fuel - it
can not be done with extra rice. All these basic material needs - food, water, shelter, clothes, fuel, employment and
enough money to buy the minimal comforts of modem life - must be available. In addition to these, are a number of
qualities less easy to quantify or evaluate but equally important to the satisfaction of basic human needs - clean air,
space for living, positive social environment, good health, privacy when needed, satisfying spiritual, political or
philosophical beliefs, facilities to enjoy recreation, attractive clean living environment, clean water, personal liberties,
sense of belonging and opportunities for achievement.
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Some of these needs relate to the social environment for living and this, in turn, depends upon the socio-political
developments of the country. The current course of village-organized socialism in Vietnam is based on the traditional
living patterns of the region and Marxist principles adapted to ensure greater fairness in the organization of work and
the distribution of the fruits or labour. These policies have been developed over thirty years and have been found to
provide a healthy and suitable social basis for human life in this country.

The other needs relate to the use of natural resources. Nature has bountifully provided Vietnam with scenic beauty,
living space, room for healthy outdoor recreation, clean air and water. It is man's uncontrolled destructive activities
which lead to waste and pollute these resources on which the quality of life so much depends. These needs must be
kept in mind when planning the country's development and the use of its natural resources. The following actions are
regarded as essential:

a. Preservation of adequate water sources for human needs and protection of these sources from pollution by
toxin, diseases or parasites;

b. Provision of social medical services including immunization programme, health clinics and hospitals in reach
of the whole population;

c. Establishment and enforcement of population controls and standard for discharge or industrial and motor
vehicle emission, for effluent and waste disposal, for sewage treatment and disposal, etc.;

d. Continuation and intensification of a population control programme until the population is stabilized to a
socially acceptable density;

e. Strong support for the programme to develop a system of national parks and recreation areas and all
encouragement to promote healthy domestic recreation habits; and

f. Reforestation to secure adequate water sources.

Attainment of a Balanced State

All human societies, even highly industrialized countries, are ultimately dependent on their support of their
agricultural base. Vietnam-cannot rely in the future on import of food for its people. Food will be in short supply in all
the other countries of Asia and most of the countries of the world. Even gold cannot buy the food from the hand of a
starving man. Vietnam must aim at maintaining agricultural self-sufficiency.

It has been pointed out earlier, that the capacity of the land to produce food is limited. The best that can be hoped for
is the maintenance of a sustained capacity to produce a maximum yield of food. If the standard of living is to be
maintained when food production is constant, then population must also be stabilized. The following simple formula
approximates the situations:

Quality of life =R x e x r/P

where

R = resource base,

e = efficiency of utilization,

r = level of renewability and

P = human population

The National Conservation Strategy advocates the following measures to maintain the optimal quality of life:

a. Population growth must be reduced to zero as soon as possible;

b. The prime objective of research and development should be to improve the efficiency of utilization of natural
resources. This includes increasing production and reducing wastage; increasing the efficiency of the
manufacturing industries and marketing; increasing the use of alternative energy sources (solar, wind, tidal,
geothermal, nuclear, etc.), improving the quality of crops and domestic herds and applying improved
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techniques of agriculture, forestry, agro-forestry, fishery and animal husbandry; improving methods of disposal
of wastes and pollutants and better management of health and hygiene;

c. The rate of use of renewable resources must be determined by the relationship between efficiency of use and
level of renewability for the resource in question. The principle of maximum sustained yield should be
followed; and

d. Vietnam must maintain strong natural security so as to safeguard the need for territorial stability implicit in the
concept of a steady state and the balance between population and the renewable productive capacity of the
land. The people of Vietnam must always be willing to make whatever sacrifices are needed to guarantee their
continued independence;

The rate of use of non-renewable resources offers the widest scope for manipulation of the quality of life in Vietnam.
Rapid use of these resources can provide immediate improvement in living standards but may reduce the potential of
living standards for future generations. These resources should not be squandered selfishly or wastefully on non-
constructive, consumptive pleasures or to fuel further population growth. It is proposed that the benefit reaped from
the exploitation of these resources be utilised in three ways. First, to pay for the immediate physical investments that
are needed to raise the sustainable productivity of renewable resources, such as irrigation systems, land terracing,
reforestation and further research. Second, to provide the investment needed to simulate industrial growth. Third, to
cushion the population during the transition from the current standard of living to that eventual position when the
population has been stabilized.

If the overall living standards are to be maintained at current levels or improved, the total increase in efficiency of use
of renewable resources must be greater than the total increase in population by the stabilization date plus the current
proportion contributed to living standards by the exploitation of non-renewable resources. It is likely that increase in
efficiency will be stepwise (as technology improves) rather than gradual. In addition, the exhaustion dates of different
non-renewable resources will tend to cause sudden falls in living standards. Controlled use of the wealth from non-
renewable resources can soften the curve of living standards through this transition period, avoiding sharp changes
which might threaten the social order.

3.2. Integrated Watershed Management

Watershed management aims at integrating the management of water and land resources for their sustainable
development and utilization by human settlements. To achieve this goal, it is very important that the size of the
population depending upon any given area for its livelihood does not exceed the carrying capacity of its environment.
The next priority for watershed management is to protect the catchment area and to conserve the hydrological
system through forestation of hillslopes and control of soil erosion. Erosion and siltation can have devastating
consequences on the entire watershed: it can cause flash floods: affect the quality of surface water and its utility,
shorten the life of reservoirs, clog irrigation and navigation canals as well as hydroelectric dams, smother coral beds
and fish spawning grounds, and in such other ways affect development projects and the well-being of the society. In
addition to this, the endless misery and economic losses caused by floods need special consideration. Thus,
measures to control soil erosion need to be incorporated in all considerations of water resources and watershed
management, energy generation, agriculture, water transport and fisheries development.

Vietnam's watersheds are degraded because of a high degree of deforestation, erosion of hillslopes and exhaustion
of soils by unsustainable agricultural practices such as shifting cultivation. The environmental repercussions of
shifting cultivation in particular are disproportionate as compared to the relatively small area where it is practiced and
the relatively small number of people involved in it. Per capita availability of land in Vietnam is one of the lowest in
southeast Asia and this naturally results in exacerbating the demand for land and its resources for housing, food and
fuel. The environmental effects of the decades of warfare, especially chemical warfare, and frequent natural
disasters such as typhoons and floods: have further lowered the carrying capacity of the land.

3.2.1 Current Developments Regarding Land and Water Resources Management

According to the forest land use classification system, about 1.1 million ha is designated as special forest reserves
(parks, wildlife reserves and tourism areas), 5.7 million ha as protected forests (natural forests managed for
protection and timber production), and 12.1 million ha as productive forest (land forested for productive use). The 1.1
million ha of special reserves are divided into 87 areas, comprising of seven parks with a total area of 135,000 ha, 49
nature reserves of 666,000 ha and 31 areas called historical and cultural sites.

Although the Ministry of Forestry has jurisdiction over approximately 19 million ha (57 per cent of the total land area),
the actual area controlled by it is not clearly demarcated. In reality, the Ministry of Agriculture, which has jurisdiction
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over approximately 10 million ha of land, takes primary responsibility for lands with a gradient of less than 30 per
cent and the Ministry of Forestry takes primary responsibility for lands with greater slopes. But this distinction is
rarely clear in practice, especially in large parcels of land with varying slopes or largely agricultural terraced slopes
with interspersed forest stands. This lack of clear jurisdictional demarcation most probably adds to the problem of
deforestation.

Furthermore, according to the current law, permission for the use of forest lands is to be obtained from the district-
level People's Committees for use of areas upto 10 ha, from the Ministry of Forestry for areas between 10 and 20 ha,
and from the Council of Ministers for areas greater than 20 ha. In practice, these controls do not work so effectively.
Once permission is obtained to use smaller areas, people intrude upon larger areas, and forest lands are sometimes
intruded upon even without obtaining any permission.

Precise zoning of classified forest land, especially of hydrological reserves, is essential for effective
watershed management, along with effective legislation, training, awareness raising and enforcement.

Agriculture occupies 21 per cent of the total land area covering about 6.9 million ha (1989). Thus, on a per capita
basis, Vietnam has an extremely small area of arable land, namely 1,073 sq. m, the distribution of which is uneven
between the different regions. In the Red River Delta with the highest population concentration, only 591 sq. m of
arable land is available per capita, or 2,397 sq. m per capita for those engaged in farming.

During the official policy of "food self-sufficiency at all costs", land resources were devoted to rice cultivation
regardless of their suitability or returns. During this period, even tree crops of high economic value were replaced by
low value food crops in some areas. More recently, the Government has realized that this policy worked against
efforts to maximize the potential economic benefits from the country's ecological zones and to promote specialization
in terms of productivity. A more comprehensive food strategy has since been developed, taking into account, the
interrelationships between agriculture and industry, between food crops and industrial crops, between cultivation and
animal husbandry, and between ecological conservation and agricultural productivity.

Agricultural land should be broadly zoned based on criteria of ecological conservation and economic
efficiency, in order to incorporate this new food strategy into integrated watershed management.

As regards the policies for export of surplus agricultural production, the major criterion in resource utilization is the
relative profitability from the exports for generating foreign exchange. As this involves increases in productivity, it will
also need increases in the application of agrochemicals which could have serious downstream effects.

It will thus be essential to establish acceptable standards for the import, transportation, storage and
application of pesticides, and to carry out an environmental impact assessment of increase in the use
of agrochemicals. Import of highly toxic and persistent chemicals should be banned. Farmers should
also be trained in the safe application of harmful agro-chemicals.

Water resources are of crucial importance for the development of agriculture in Vietnam. The most highly productive
parts of the agricultural system depend upon irrigation, drainage, flood control and control over water-logging and
salinization.

Management of water resources within the broader framework of the watershed as a whole should incorporate
environmental impact assessment of any planned land use on the water resources system, and integrate ecological
considerations into choices for the use of available water, considering the existing water supply. For example, the
long-term planning of hydropower development must be integrated with irrigation and fisheries development. The
implications of the level of water usage in one province on the potential supply of water in neighbouring provinces
may also become crucial in some cases. In the coastal areas, situations also arise where one will have to decide
between investments for protecting the quality of water against salinity intrusion for paddy cultivation and adopting a
strategy of shifting to brackish water aquaculture production to adapt to the changing salinity realms. For example,
aquaculture is becoming more economically attractive in the lower reaches of the Mekong Delta, and agriculture and
water management strategies are being modified to adapt to the new situation. Similarly conflicts also exist between
the use of waterways for navigation and irrigation, or between protection of fish spawning areas and construction of
water control works.

With the introduction of liberal economic policies, decisions on the utilisation of water resources are being
increasingly made at the commune and provincial level rather than at the national level; farmers now have a choice
to decide upon the use of land and water in a way which they consider most beneficial. With increasing
decentralisation and lack of effective coordination of the local decisions, water use conflicts will arise and affect the
carrying capacity of the environment if effective and environmentally sound policies are not established within an
integrated watershed management framework. Thus,

Water management policies should be established within an integrated watershed management

framework,
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Development of water pollution standards and controls on industrial effluents, integrated of pest
management (IPM) in the agricultural sector, and proper systems of sewage treatment, solid waste
management and recycling. The strategy should also develop and adopt water quality standards in
relation to particular uses including drinking, recreation and industrial uses etc.; and

The development of new water supplies focusing on sources that are unlikely to become polluted in the
future.

The level of utilization of groundwater resources is still low due to high investment requirements. Management of
groundwater resources is therefore not yet an urgent issue. However,

Planning and coordination of groundwater resources will prevent long-term adverse effects.

3.2.2 Watershed Management Priorities

Population stabilization

As mentioned above, the priority for a sustainable watershed development in Vietnam is to stabilize rural population
levels in accordance with the carrying capacity of the land that is to sustain them. The most fertile northern soils
(260,000 ha of alluvial soils in the midlands and 600,000 ha in the Red River Delta) are subject to excessive
population pressure and are reaching or have overshot the limits of carrying capacity. In some areas land exhaustion
has resulted from years of intensive cultivation without adequate nutrient replenishment.

Furthermore, land tenure policy-may be adding motivation for large rural families as two children count for one work
unit for land tenure allocation. Thus,

Effective population stabilization programs must be implemented, especially in the midlands: and

Population stabilization policy should be reinforced by other sectoral policies, especially for rural areas.

Reforestation/Afforestation of Mountain tops and steep hills

Deforestation and resulting soil erosion in the Northern Mountainous Zone has reached an annual loss of soil per ha
of up to 240-300 tons. The major cause of hilltop deforestation is the practice of shifting cultivation. Eight million of
the 64 million Vietnamese belong to 54 ethnic minorities; of these 8 million, 3 million are mountain dwellers, that have
traditionally practiced slash and bum cultivation for centuries. On an average, a family destroys one hectare of forest
per year; stays 3 to 10 years in one area, then moves elsewhere, only to return to the same lot of land 7 to 15 years
later. When the area of forest available to the cultivator is reduced, shifting cultivators inevitably put even greater
pressure on the available land by reducing the fallow periods and, therefore, the possibility for natural recovery of the
forest soils. Thirty years ago, 482,000 families practiced slash and bum cultivation; of these, 100,000 have been
resettled, and another 100,000 are in the process of being resettled. The Department of Forestry has developed and
is implementing a Human Resettlement Programme, which is intersectoral in nature; once a project is approved by
the Council of Ministers, funds are directly transferred to the particular district that is chosen as the relocation site.
Once agreement is reached with a group of shifting cultivators to relocate with assistance under the government
programme, the following steps are taken: (i) establishment of rice field terraces; (ii) development of irrigation
systems; (iii) planting of other crops such as cinnamon, rattan, bamboo, flowers, medicinal herbs, coffee and tea; (iv)
construction of roads for market access, of schools and hospitals, (v) training and education. It is estimated that the
newly established settlements become self-sufficient regarding food within three years. Only as low as 2 per cent
resettlement failure has been officially recorded over the years. The major constraints of these resettlement projects
are difficult land accessibility, low level of literacy of mountain people, lack of sufficient funds, as $25 million US
would be necessary to resettle 17,000 families in 7 Provinces.

It is recommended that

Priority should be placed on creating alternative agriculture and non-agricultural opportunities for
groups that presently are inflicting severe damage in forests and/or watershed areas, and especially to
shifting cultivators in resettlement schemes; exchange of information should occur regularly with
neighbouring countries on new approaches to tackle the problem; research efforts should seek to
improve sustainable hillside cultivation methods and crops;

Priority should also be put towards massive reforestation and afforestation of the Mountains and steep
slopes in the Northern Mountain Zone, the Northern Coastal Region, and the Central Coastal Region in
order to protect the whole watershed from flash floods, massive erosion, siltation and runoffs; and
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Planting efforts should aim to develop mixed forests of indigenous species most suitable to local
conditions and climate, rather than monocultures and the use of exotic

species. Where catchment protection is the primary objective, natural reforestation is more efficient
than plantations.

Intensification of Agriculture and Fuelwood Plantations

In Northern Midlands and the Northern and Central Coastal Region of the country, fuelwood shortage is the single
most important factor contributing to `environmental degradation; clearing of forest land for food production is also a
contributing factor.

The priority there should thus be to reduce pressure on natural forests by establishing fuelwood plantations near
population centres for the sole purpose of providing fuelwood.

Simultaneous to the increase in availability of firewood, the strategy should be to decrease the demand for it by
introducing and popularizing more efficient cooking stoves.

Natural forests areas should also be protected; surrounding buffer zones could be given to communities to manage
in return for the protection of central area. Stronger programs are needed for forest area protection, both to conserve
existing forests and reforested areas, and to allow for natural regeneration of degraded areas; where catchment
protection is the primary objective, passive use of natural reforestation is more efficient than plantations.

But the protection of these areas will remain impossible to enforce until survival needs of the people are satisfied. So
as a second priority, agricultural production on presently cultivated land should be intensified, thereby lessening the
need to clear new land and taking the pressure off forest lands. Once the harvest of prune land increases, efforts
should concentrate on putting marginal idle land, often on hillsides, back into production, which will reduce soil
erosion; the latter will necessitate technical assistance and support, because of problematic soils and other limiting
factors. Agronomic systems for hillside areas should be promoted such as agro-forestry, contour planting, tree
cropping and terracing, etc. While the hilly and midland areas are suitable for industrial crops and the lowlands are
intensively exploited for rice cultivation, the potential of the uplands has not yet been surveyed.

Finally, in the lower lands, 30 km from the coast, agricultural infrastructure will have to be reinforced (see section
2.7.2 and 2.7.3) and upgraded to adequate standards to ensure protection of agricultural land, and to minimize the
devastation of typhoons and tropical storms.

To achieve the above, it is recommended that.

Support of agricultural efficiency through the removal of market disincentives and the implementation of
other sectoral reforms such as maximizing benefits from multi-cropping, improving farmer incentives,
and minimizing post-harvest losses.

Development and promotion of sustainable cultivation and agronomic systems for hillside areas.
Activities should consider agro-forestry, contour planting, tree cropping and terracing, and be adapted
to specific site conditions, farmer preferences for crops, and feasible soil and water conservation
technologies;

Agricultural practices should emphasize intensified cultivation to increase productivity, crop rotation,
control of agricultural chemicals, popularization of organic farming and irrigation practices to avoid
waterlogging, and soil salinization;

Research and extension work related to agro-forestry systems should receive top priority, with a view to
future replication in areas where shifting cultivators from the uplands are being resettled. In addition,
men and women should be involved in planning and implementing these activities and their individual
needs should be incorporated at all stages of project development;

An intensified program of reforestation and afforestation should include the establishment of forest
buffer zones and economic forest plantations to provide both fuelwood and timber. Planting efforts
should aim to develop mixed forests of indigenous species most suitable to local conditions and
climate, rather than monocultures and the use of exotic species;

The involvement of local people must be incorporated into these activities as rural employment and
rural income generation projects; and the needs of the people for forest products must be thoroughly
assessed;
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To reduce pressure on forest exploitation for rural firewood supply, community level fuelwood
plantations should be established, and more fuel efficient ovens must be popularized;

Stronger programs for forest area protection, both to conserve existing forest and reforested areas, and
to allow for natural regeneration of degraded areas. Where catchment protection is the primary
objective, passive use of natural reforestation is more efficient than plantations. Protected areas thus
should include forest set aside as hydrological reserves, national parks and nature reserves, cultural
sites and recreation areas;

Measures to control forest fires and disease and stricter enforcement of forest regulations. The success
of such programs will likely be greater if land tenure systems are established to ensure that local
communities have a direct interest -in protecting and managing forests on a sustainable basis;

The promotion of agro-forestry focussing on adapting the traditional systems of agro-forestry already
existing in Vietnam;

A review of all forest policies and laws should be undertaken to ascertain if current rules and
regulations are being enforced, if realized government revenues approach economic values, and to
ensure that protection and conservation measures are adequately secured within these policies. Issues
to be reviewed include allowable cuts, harvesting cycles, stumpage fees, etc.;

The banning of large-scale commercial logging in the remaining areas of natural forest. A ban is
needed both for watershed conservation and for habitat protection. Commercial logging should be
focused on plantation forests that have been established for such use;

Development of an accurate inventory of Vietnam's, forest resource base and development of forest
land use allocation programs based on this information;

Development of programs to assist in the promotion, marketing and distribution of forest products.
Emphasis should be placed on products grown by local people in agro-forestry systems or products
that can be harvested from the forest on a sustained yield basis without disturbing the natural
vegetation; and

Education, training and workforce development in a wide range of forest management and
conservation topics.

3.2.3. Management of Problem Soils of the Mekong Delta

The Mekong Delta covers an area of 49,520 sq. km of which 39,000 sq. km is in Vietnam. It is the largest rice
producing area of the country and currently accounts for around 45 percent of total paddy production. It has great
potential for further development if soil and water constraints are overcome. The area presently under rice, estimated
at 2 million ha, could be expanded to 2.4 million ha. Each year some 1 to 1.2 million ha are waterlogged for a period
of 2 to 4 months. Some 40 per cent of the Delta within Vietnam comprises acid sulphate soils of various degrees.
The 703,500 ha of saline soil could be highly fertile if seawater intrusion could be prevented. At the same time, the
intrusion of saline water controls the acidification on the surface of the acid sulphate soils and provides a good
shrimp habitat. Thus control of saline intrusion should be undertaken on a flexible basis. Some interesting pilot
projects have been designed to demonstrate the most suitable and ecologically sound development of land-uses
(agro-fishery-forestry) in salino-acid sulphate soils in the Delta. Research on the management of salino-acid sulfate
soils should continue and the use of small pilot demonstration areas is encouraged; research should also
concentrate on finding a solution to the scarcity of drinking water during 3 to 4 months of the year.

3.2.4. Restoration of degraded lands

Both the Coastal Northern and Central Regions incorporate some of the most degraded land, such as rocky land,
sand dunes, steep or bare hills that erode very quickly; in some areas, not only has the vegetation been destroyed
but rocks are now picked from the gulleys and sold to build houses: the area is an ecological disaster. Intensive
rehabilitation schemes will have to be developed to build terraces out of stone and plant something resistant to hold
the land.

Anti-desertification measures will have to be taken such as dune fixation; successes in other parts of the world
should be built on and a programme developed. Strategies will have to be developed to rehabilitate the most
degraded lands in the Northern and especially the Central Coastal Regions.
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In summary, it is recommended that,

To achieve sustainable watershed development, Vietnam must emphasize the integration of land use planning and
zoning for the most appropriate agricultural crops, with zoning of forest cover, protected areas, and human
settlements, always taking into account population levels and land capacity;

Protection of existing forested watersheds and the rehabilitation of denuded watersheds is crucial. This will require a
program of reforestation and afforestation, a system of protected areas, enforcement of forestry regulations, fire and
disease protection measures, and reforestation;

Integrated watershed management should emphasize multi-purpose utilization of water resources, soil erosion
control through appropriate soil stabilization measures, forestry rehabilitation by large scale reforestation, land use
and human settlement planning, waste management: focusing on recycling, and flood control measures; and

Intensification of cultivation in areas that are in fact suited to sustainable agricultural use. Special attention must be
paid to improving and promoting techniques and systems, such as agro-forestry, aimed at sustainable hillside
cultivation.

3.3. Pollution Control and Waste Management

3.3.1. Appropriate Technologies for Waste Reduction, Reuse, and Recycling

One of the best ways to control pollution is to minimize wastage in the first place (i.e. waste reduction). This requires
an emphasis on efficiency in the way fuels or other materials are used by a particular industry, enterprise, farm, or
household. At present, for example, most industrial plants in Vietnam are characterized, by high systemic
inefficiency, due to old and poorly maintained equipment, and thus by high leakage and pollution loads. This problem
should be addressed by industrial policy.

Another optimal strategy is to minimize the amount of material that can be classified as waste after it has been used
to carry out a particular task. It must be borne in mind that what is considered as "waste" from one perspective, may
actually be viewed from another as a resource that can be utilized effectively. Vietnam is quite familiar with this
principle Sewage, for example, is used on a widespread basis, as fertilizer, both in agriculture and in fish cultivation.
It is even reported that there is stiff competition in some areas for sewage by fish cooperatives, gardeners, and rice
cultivators.

Such patterns of "waste exchange" or re-use should be further promoted and developed in other sectors as well.
Efforts to create industrial waste exchanges should be made, between industries of different types. One plant's by-
product may be a valuable production input to another plant, but an information centre with data on who is producing
what "waste", and where, is necessary to enable such an exchange. Not only does this reduce pollution, it reduces
the amount of raw material to be obtained by the industry, and thus makes good economic sense.

Recycling should also be promoted wherever it is economically feasible. Recycling involves the re-processing of a
given material to enable it to be re-used. Examples here include glass, plastic, or metal recycling. However, it is
preferable to minimize the use of products that need to be re-processed before they can be re-utilized, if another less
expensive (and often less energy intensive) alternative is available. For example, re-useable beverage bottles should
be promoted over aluminum cans or plastic bottles, as the latter need to be re-processed in order to be used again.

3.3.2. Control and Treatment of Air, Water, and Soil Pollution

The use of waste reduction, re-use, and recycling will not serve to eliminate-all waste or deal with pollution-causing
agents of all types. Other control and treatment methods are therefore also required.

a. Domestic

Domestic or household pollutants consist primarily of sewage and solid wastes. Whatever remains of these materials
after any portion is separated for re-use and recycling should be properly treated and/or disposed of. This will require
some form of treatment system in the case of sewage, and in the case of solid wastes, incineration and/or disposal in
a suitably designed and located sanitary landfill. Incineration often is attractive as a form of electricity generation, but
proper air pollution controls from incinerator smokestacks must be ensured to avoid health risks.

b. Transport-related
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The subject of rational and sustainable transportation systems is addressed in section 2.5.7. As noted, the best way
to avoid air pollution and numerous other problems related to the transportation sector is to promote public
transportation and the continued reliance on bicycles and motorbikes, and to discourage the use of private vehicles.

It also would be beneficial to require that only clean fuels be utilized by vehicles (e.g. lead free, gasohol, etc.) and
that vehicles be required to maintain efficient, clean-running engines that meet exhaust emission standards that
should be established and enforced.

c. Industrial

Standards on industrial pollution should be established, and subsequently enforced, in relation to smokestack
emissions and fluid effluent discharges. Regulations on the use, handling, and disposal of toxic and hazardous
substances also should be developed and tightly enforced (See Section 3.3.3). Other relevant points are raised in
Section 2.5.8 on industry and sustainable development.

d. Agricultural

Agriculture pollution stems mainly from the use of agrochemicals in the form of chemical fertilizers and chemical
pesticides. At present, there continues to be substantial use of organic fertilizers, a practice which should be
maintained, as it is more conducive to the maintenance of long-term soil fertility, and to the prevention of water
pollution in the form of eutrophication.

The use of chemical pesticides also is fairly low relative to most other countries but is likely on the increase, and
some negative effects of pesticide pollution already have been observed, e.g. on freshwater fisheries. Integrated pest
management, a system which makes maximum use of intercropping, crop rotation, natural pesticides, and other
traditional pest control methods, should be promoted to the greatest extent possible. Regulations on storage,
transportation, handling and use of pesticides should also be developed, including restrictions on the types of
pesticides that can be used in the country.

3.3.3 Control of Toxic Chemicals & Hazardous Substances

Pollution and health effects from toxic chemicals and other hazardous substances has emerged as one of the most
critical problems of the industrial age. Far too many countries have permitted, and even promoted, the development
of industries which use and produce such substances but without sufficient regard for the systems required to
properly manage and dispose of them.

In the event that present barriers to foreign investment in SRV are lowered, the country may permit the establishment
of such industries as a means to develop the economy and provide employment. It must be borne in mind, however,
that even with a very complex and expensive framework in place for managing these technologies and their by-
products, they represent a dangerous proposition which is not fail-safe, and which does not manifest a program of
sustainable development for Vietnam.

Furthermore, as noted in Section 2.5.8, analyses have led to the conclusion that the country is better off pursuing an
industrial strategy based on light industry.

However, there are existing industries which involve toxic chemicals and hazardous substances and it remains
possible that additional ones will be established. With regard to these, the following measures are suggested:

seek to develop or adopt alternative methods, or to use alternative, non-hazardous, materials in industries that
presently employ or generate hazardous substances.

form a special group, perhaps within the SCESD, to address problems relating to hazardous substances and
to develop a program for their management and disposal.

develop regulations pertaining to the storage, transportation, handling use of toxic chemicals and hazardous
substances.

establish a national registry of potentially toxic chemicals and hazardous substances and strengthen
relationships with UNEP/IRPTC for information and technology transfer on environmentally safe management
of these substances (See Section 4.2.1a for details).
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3.4 Integrated Coastal Zone Management & Planning

One of the -most important issues in the area of coastal zone management is the need to prioritize the development
directions so as to avoid conflicts and to prevent overlapping of development interests of the various resource
sectors such as tourism development, land use planning etc., and to compromise on their exploitation levels to
achieve sustainability. By integrating the development thrusts and conservation needs in the coastal zone, the
Integrated Coastal Zone Management Plan will optimize the exploitation of the various coastal resources to ensure
their sustainability. Sustainable land use planning and zoning could be an important tool for the planner for this
purpose. As already discussed under Section 2.5.10, considering the environmental characteristics of each area
from the point of view of development potential, coastal zones can be delineated for specific development thrusts
such as tourism development, aquaculture, ports & harbours, coastal industries, offshore oil and mineral exploration/
exploitation, marine parks and protected areas etc. Development of such plans will particularly take into
consideration the daily needs of the local population, employment generation, and local traditional professional skills.
The management plans will also lay special emphasis on measures necessary to prevent the proliferation of such
commercial activities in the zones that are detrimental to the sustenance of the natural resources (such as the
collection, processing and sales of souvenirs etc.) and mass migration of labour from other regions attracted by the
increased opportunities for employment generated by such development, that could increase the stress on coastal
resources. For this purpose, the Plan will also include measures necessary to monitor the pace of development.

3.4.1. Coral Reefs

Although no estimate has so far been attempted of the extent of coral reefs in Vietnamese waters, considering that
fringe reefs on an average extend only 100-200 m from the coastline and around the offshore islands, the country's
coral resources are not extensive. There are no coral atolls and the fringe reefs are most abundant along the central
coastline and around the southern coast. About 70 genera and 200 species of corals have so far been identified
some of which are already becoming rare and are threatened. Action is needed to tackle the following problems that
affect the coral reefs of the country:

i. increased runoff from rivers due to deforestation;

ii. increased sedimentation caused by freshwater outflow;

iii. marine pollution from land-based sources, especially from human settlements and agricultural practises;

iv. Environmentally damaging fishing techniques such as dynamiting; and

v. Excessive removal of reef organisms and harvesting of commercial species for food and manufacture of
artificats.

With the anticipated growth of tourism in the near future, collection of reef organisms for the processing of souvenirs
could soon become another important environmentally damaging factor.

Sedimentation and pollution from land-based sources are brought about by environmental mismanagement on land
and can mainly be controlled and prevented at the source through such activities as reforestation, improved
agricultural practices, especially proper application of agrochemicals, and proper waste treatment. The damage
caused by human activities in the field could be tackled through improved legislation and their enforcement by local
authorities. This should include banning of environmentally undesirable fishing practises, limits on minimum sizes of
species that. could be commercially exploited, prohibition on collection, sale and export of endangered species in
any form, establishment of marine parks and protected areas, as well as promotion of environmental awareness
among those involved in subsistence livelihood. At the same time, research needs to be undertaken to arrive at a
realistic estimate of their overall significance for both environmental and economic sustainability. Because of
difficulties in quantifying the importance of coral reefs as the feeding, breeding and nursery grounds of commercially
important marine organisms and therefore for the sustenance of coastal fisheries, their significance in economic
terms is often underestimated by planners.

3.4.2. Mangrove Forests and Seagrass Ecosystems

The mangrove forests of Vietnam grow luxuriantly around the southern coast and because of the attention received
from scientists from time to time, some baseline data is available that can be of help in planning their sustainable
development. Mangrove forests suffer, among other things, from:
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i. clearing for construction of aquaculture ponds and housing;

ii. cutting for logs for commercial uses and fuelwood supply;

iii. after-effects of chemical warfare, especially napalm bombing and application of defoliants:

iv. harvesting of Nipa fruits and hunting;

v. felling for extraction of aromatic oils and honey; and

vi. changes in the ecology of the mudflats from sedimentation, oil pollution and land-based pollution, especially
garbage.

Protection of mangrove areas should always be planned, keeping in mind their importance as buffer zones against
storm surges and typhoon damage, coastal erosion and flood control, as well as their prime role as the breeding,
feeding and nursery grounds for commercially important coastal organisms. The importance of the ecosystem in
economic terms, although not easy to estimate, should not therefore be neglected.

Several well-known methods for mangrove forest management have been tried in many countries such as strip
felling, logging rotation to allow for natural regeneration etc. Action is needed to rehabilitate the exploited and
degenerated areas through the intensive application of such techniques, together with the establishment of large-
scale mangrove plantations.

The mangrove area and the marginal land should be properly zoned, and the type and nature of development in this
area be properly planned and regulated. For example, aquaculture ponds should be allowed to be constructed only
in the marginal areas, and never in the forest proper. It is also very important that whenever a plan for alternative
utilization is drafted, a cost-benefit analysis should first be undertaken to determine the primary suitability of the area
for the alternative use in mind as compared to the natural benefits accrued from it.

First and foremost, action is needed to remove/ease the pressure of exploitation on the mangrove areas by the
following activities:

allow only limited selective logging by strict regulations;

i. establish alternative fuelwood resources such as fuelwood plantations;

ii. establish special Melaleuca plantations for the production of aromatic oils (Because of the income generated,
this could actually be considered as a development project under the small-scale industry sector);
iii. popularise alternative bee-keeping techniques (This could be better propagated as a small-scale cottage
industry);
iv. encourage alternative livelihood training along subsistence patterns;
v. establish protected areas;
vi. promote awareness among people depending on mangroves for livelihood; and
vii. conduct research to observe the long-range effects of chemical warfare and the recovery of affected areas.

Sea-grass beds usually occur in close association with coral reefs and mangrove swamps, and although not a
specifically significant habitat/ecosystem as such, their significance should be evaluated from the point of view of
their importance for marine turtles and as the nursery ground for other commercial species. Although almost nothing
is known about the extent of sea-grass beds in Vietnamese waters, increasing sedimentation from land sources is
badly affecting their distribution. Several species of marine turtles occur and breed in coastal waters associated with
the sea-grass beds. Both the adults and eggs are extensively exploited and their populations are presently reported
to be on the decrease.

Action is needed in the following areas to conserve the commercially exploited populations of marine turtles:

i. establishment of limits on minimum size that could be caught commercially;

ii. protection of breeding female turtles, nesting grounds and eggs through enforcement of banned seasons,
quotas and license system for eggs removed from nests etc.;

iii. protection of traditional nesting beaches from other development;

iv. establishment of hatcheries;

v. ban on sale and export of turtle shells and other artifact souvenirs; and
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vi. promotion of environmental awareness.

3.4.3. Estuarine and Marine ecosystems

Estuaries along the coastline of Vietnam are formed by the mixing of sea water and freshwater discharged from the
river systems, especially the strong Red River and Mekong river systems. Along estuaries and coastlines are located
many large populated cities, sea ports and industries (Hai Phong, Vinh, Da Nang, Quy Nhon, Nha Trang, Ho Chi
Minh City etc.).

These coastal regions play a very important role in various economic fields, in the exploitation of biological resources
and minerals, in transportation and in the expansion of new land for cultivation.

Estuaries and shallow sea waters are the spawning and breeding ground of many species of marine organisms of
commercial importance. In these regions are distributed rich coral reefs and mangrove forests where a wide range of
fishes, shrimps, oysters, birds, and terrestrial animals is concentrated.

Estuaries in Vietnam suffer changes by both natural and human activities. The main factors which have an impact on
the estuaries are the following:

Fishing is chiefly concentrated in the estuaries and the shallow coastal waters

the main spawning and breeding grounds of many commercial species and home of the young larvae.

Methods of fishing are by hand but fishing tools used are over-destructive, namely, the use of fishnets of small
mesh and the use of explosives. Because of these effects? catch per fishing unit does not increase, but is, in
fact, decreasing. Fishing intensity is now rapidly increasing in comparison with what it was some years ago,
but the total catch only increases slightly. Owing to over-fishing over several decades, many economic
species of marine organisms have decreased or now are threatened. These include Clupanodon thrissa in the
Tonkin Bay, Dorosoma nasus in Central Vietnam's sea. Mytilus smaragdinus in the lagoons of Central
Vietnam, Haliotus diversicolor in Bach Long Vi island and Panilurus sp. in the coral reefs. The fish Megalops
cynrinoides was abundant in the Nam Bo estuaries about 30 years ago but now seems to be absent.

According to available statistics the surface of mangrove forests in estuaries is about 300,000 ha, including
140,000 ha of Melaleuca forest. This area is now greatly reduced by napalm bombing and herbicide spraying
by the US military during the war against Vietnam, and by the destruction of mangrove forests for other
economic uses, such as expanding brackish fishpond, cutting of firewood and building materials and the
burning Melaleuca forests for hunting purposes.

Exploitation of coral reefs for making quick lime is very wasteful use of these productive living resources,
especially extensive alternative sources of quick lime are available in the karst limestone hills of Vietnam.

Loss of coastline tree cover increases the incidence of storm damage by tidal waves and typhoons in
populated coastal areas and leads to sand blowing on to agricultural lands.

Estuaries and shallow waters suffer pollution by waste water from the populous cities and industrial plants, by
exploration of oil and gas on the continental shelf and by loading and unloading of goods, especially
petroleum products in the sea ports. In addition, increased siltation from deforested upland areas is changing
the nature of estuaries and coastal areas and killing aquatic life and coral reefs. In many estuarine regions
people are also expanding the cultivation of new land by building dykes seaward. Many hydro-electric
stations, reservoirs, dams, etc. are built on the upper streams and water courses. These activities affect the
life of organisms and biological productivity of estuarine ecosystems by changing the flow of freshwater
downstream. The balance of freshwater with salt water which determines the distribution of species in the
coastal zones in thus affected.

Estuaries are important areas and are subject to profound changes from both natural and artificial factors, yet they
have not been fully studied. Investigation of Institute of Marine Researches concentrates only in the areas from 30-50
isobaths out to the open ocean. To fill this gap in knowledge, a project "Rational Utilization and Protection of Natural
Resources of Estuarine Ecosystems in Vietnam" was begun in 1985.

The following actions are urgently required:

Vital spawning areas should be protected from fishing

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Other fishing controls, such as limits on mesh size, banning of explosives and poisons, etc. should be
established.

Fishermen should be encouraged to fish further out at sea. This requires larger boats and, therefore, the
formation of larger fishing cooperatives.

Mangrove reforestation project must be continued.

The mining of live coral for making lime and building materials should be banned.

Pollution measures to control the discharge of organic and industrial wastes must be enforced.

Planning permission must be necessary before seashore developments can be approved. Guidelines should
be drawn up as to what types of development are to be excluded or limited.

3.4.4. Coastal erosion control and coastal protection measures

Coastal erosion is a serious problem in some areas during times of strong freshwater outflow (especially from the
Mekong and Red rivers) and floods, as well as during monsoon stormy weather, tropical storms and typhoons,
causing hardships to coastal populations and destruction of property and aquaculture ponds. To protect against such
problems, an integrated coastal protection plan needs to be developed which should include the following actions:

i. avoid cross impacts from conflicting development activities through rationalization of resource utilization, so
that benefits from one area does not conflict with or affect other activities in neighbouring areas or create a
potentially disastrous situation;

ii. avoid, as far as possible, artificial, technically demanding and costly structural coastline protection measures,
such as revetments, groins, bulkheads, dykes, levees etc.;

iii. conserve coastline in a natural condition and avoid loss of beach area by regulating any construction near
waterline that could increase stress on beach geomorphology;

iv. plan coastal zone protection in broader geomorphological and ecological context as an integrated natural unit
taking into consideration such human activities as coral extraction, sand quarrying, mangrove utilization etc.

v. regulate sand mining and beach rock quarrying;

vi. protect coral reefs as wave breakers (See Section 3.4.1. for details);

vii. adopt natural beach- nourishment methods such as aquatic vegetation to prevent sediment starvation;

viii. develop dunal ridges to trap and retain wind-swept sand and stabilize them with self-propagating and self-
maintaining dune grass and shrubs;

ix. encourage natural establishment of sand dunes and their stabilization protection and planting of beach
vegetation; and

x. encourage mangrove establishment, wherever feasible, as buffer zone against coastal erosion and typhoon
damage (See Section 3.4.2 for more details).

3.5. Maintenance of Genetic Diversity

The flora and fauna of Vietnam is very rich and diverse, and is characterized by a high degree of endemism. Some
7000 plant species have been identified, but it is estimated that another 5000 occur. Many of the floral species are
confined to small geographic ranges and occur at low individual densities, features which render them particularly
vulnerable to deforestation. Several of the most valuable timber species are becoming scarce or already are
endangered with extinction.

The fauna include 773 bird species, 273 mammals, 180 reptiles, 80 amphibious species, many hundreds of fishes,
and many thousands of invertebrate species. Included among these are numerous species which are valuable and
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rare, and which are of great interest to conservation. Some have been or could be domesticated, while others could
be bred for food production, biomedical research, or for their skins. About 2300 of the plant species in Vietnam are
used by humans for food, medicines, wood, animal fodder and other purposes.

Therefore, in addition to the value of preserving biodiversity genetic diversity as a means to protect against global
environmental change, direct economic benefits also are to be derived from doing so. Essentially, the improvement
and sustainability of agricultural, forestry, and fishery production, as well as scientific progress, depend upon a full
range of genetic variation.

Unfortunately, the decline of species in Vietnam is occurring very rapidly, primarily as a result of deforestation.
overhunting, and in the case of some marine species, overfishing. In order to reverse or slow this trend the needs
identified in the sections on forestry (2.5.2.), fisheries (2.5.3.), and watershed management (3.2) are of particular
importance.

The following are also recommended as per the National Conservation Strategy:

Establish additional national parks, protected areas, and wildlife reserves, and ensure their effective
management and/or protection (See Section 3.7).

Develop practical, implementable programs to protect particular species that are endangered, as identified
through monitoring. A list of these species has already been compiled, which includes 54 mammals and 60
bird species, but enforcement is still lacking. In some cases, protection will require international cooperation,
as in the case of the kouprey and the various species of sea turtles.

Develop hunting regulations, including total hunting bans in areas where this is desired.

Implement measures to control trade in endangered species, e.g. CITES membership, border patrols, etc.

Initiate further programs aimed at ex situ conservation, e.g. seed banks, botanical gardens, zoos, captive
breeding, etc.

3.6. Protection of Wetlands

A National Wetlands Conservation Programme for Vietnam should be developed along with a series of
demonstration projects dealing with the sustainable utilization and rehabilitation of critical wetland ecosystems. IUCN
has developed a draft proposal for the development of a National Wetland Conservation Programme for Vietnam.

Wetlands play an important role in the Vietnamese economy. The sustainable use of the wetlands in the Red River
and Mekong delta systems is critically important to the long term economic and social welfare of the Vietnamese
people. The two deltas form the foci for concentrations of population and generate a high percentage of the food and
raw materials produced, both for domestic and export markets. However, the maximisation of food production in the
wetlands of these deltas has been achieved almost entirely through conversion of the natural ecosystems into
agricultural land and aquaculture ponds. Vast areas of wetland have been reclaimed for rice cultivation and
associated human settlements, or extensively modified for aquaculture (fish, shrimp and edible aquatic plants).
Although many thousands of hectares of delta wetlands have been successfully converted to agriculture, many of
these conversions have not created conditions which are sustainable under the levels of investment and
management which are economically and technically feasible at this stage in Vietnam's development.

The non-sustainable conversion of wetlands and alterations to the soils and hydrology of wetland systems make it
difficult to rehabilitate natural wetland ecosystems, the renewable resources they normally generate which people
can exploit on a sustainable basis, or the valuable environmental services wetlands provide. In some cases, these
man-made changes may provide irreversible and the formerly very productive become unusable wastelands.

It is unlikely that the Government of Vietnam will be able to make rapid progress in the formulation and
implementation of new measures to promote the sustainable utilization of its wetland resources without technical
external and financial assistance to supplement its resources. Selective international development assistance is
required to provide technical and financial support for clear demonstrations of what can be achieved through
improved environmental planning and management and the coordination of development initiatives.

A number of practical steps can be taken to strengthen the institutions which will influence conservation of wetlands
and their resources. These include the encouragement of the development of strong and effective policies which
promote the wise use of wetland ecosystems. Strengthening the manpower resources available to conduct applied
research and to assist in the planning and management of national and local wetland conservation initiatives is also
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critical. It is also important to strengthen the information base on wetlands and their value to Vietnamese economy
and society. The information available to politicians, planners and managers on how to plan and implement wetland
conservation initiatives must also be improved. Greater cooperation among Vietnamese institutions for higher
learning should also be encouraged.

The most effective group within the Government of Vietnam to develop and implement a national wetlands
conservation programme is the State Committee for Sciences and the Centre for Resources and Environmental
Studies (CRES). The State Committee already performs a coordinating function, acting through its Department of
Natural Resources and Environment; CRES could provide the required technical assistance. Projects could be
developed directly with the provincial and district Peoples's Committees with full support from the relevant central
government agencies.

3.7. National Parks, Protected Areas. and Wildlife Reserves

A system of natural parks and nature reserves should be established and managed by the Ministry of Forestry. A
start has already been made by declaring 87 areas as reserves. These reserves have been selected to cover the full
range of distinctive ecotypes of the country. However, most of them are not large enough to contain viable
populations of each species. In complex- tropical ecosystems which have high species diversity but generally low
individual densities this means areas of very large size (e.g. 100,000 ha). Smaller areas can be expected to lose
many local species. However, where large areas are not available, the small size of some reserves can be countered
by designing buffering layers of surrounding land use which are partially protective (e.g. non-hunting areas) and can
act as migration corridors to maintain exchanges between neighboring "islands" of surviving natural habitat. The
preliminary system protects a total of 1.1 million ha or 3% of the country.

The experience of other countries has shown that protected areas fail in their objectives unless the needs of local
people are given serious attention at the design and planning stage and unless various direct or indirect benefits are
made available to the local people through the establishment of such reserves. This involves considerable skill in
socio-economic evaluation and the development of sensitive extension services for the reserves.

Since the establishment of nature reserves is rather a new idea in Vietnam, a country where there is little experience
in this field, it is felt that international assistance in the initial stages of planning and training for the management of a
few model reserves is needed.

Protected Species

A list of endangered species in the country has already been drawn up. Official protection is proposed for 54 species
of mammals and 60 species of birds. It is planned to produce a Vietnam Red Data Book to give information on a
wider range of species categorized as endangered, threatened, vulnerable or of indeterminate status. The current
promulagtions by Ministry of Forestry on protected species should be revised in the light of these recommendations.

These activities must be continued and the status of wild species should be constantly monitored so that revisions to
the protected species lists can be made and other priority actions to save species that have become endangered.
This continuous monitoring should give an indication of the environmental health in the country. A loss of constituent
is a clear sign that something is wrong. Unfortunately, there is at present almost no enforcement of the regulations
regarding protected species. The legislation needs tightening up and the local judiciary and police alerted to its
existence and importance.

Hunting Regulations

Properly control hunting could provide valuable protein to the people, a source of recreation for them, and also prove
to be a profitable tourism and trophy industry. Instead there is no control and game species are being hunted out of
existence.

The police should try to register and check all firearms in the country and confiscate all unofficial weapons.
Regulation to control hunting should be brought into effect if any game is to survive the present decade in Vietnam.
Such regulations should insist on hunting only under permit, with prescribed hunting areas, hunting seasons and size
limits. Hunting permits should limit the holder to a maximum number of kills and all kills should be registered with the
local controlling agency.

Under proper management, population densities could be built up to levels where quite a high sustainable kill would
be possible. At present, however, game have been reduced to such low levels that few large animals remain to be
shot and hunters are turning to squirrels, civets and other small animals as alternatives to the preferred dears, pigs,
goats and monkeys. Most areas require a total ban on hunting for a few years to allow stocks to recover. Even
reintroduction of species are needed in many areas.
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Control of Trade

One way to reduce over-utilization of genetic resources and to enforce protection laws is to apply much stricter
control of trade. There is no control, for instance, on the export of tiger skins, although this is a protected species. An
immediate step should be for Vietnam to become a member of the Convention on the International Trade in
Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). As such, Vietnam would be obliged by international
commitment to introduce regulations to control the trade in a number of species listed on three different appendices
of the convention, each requiring different types of documentation to permit export. This would be particularly
relevant to control the heavy trade in ivory passing through Ho Chi Minh City.

It is also recommended that a 5 year moratorium is passed on all wildlife export so that stocks can recover, a full
assessment of the situation can be made and realistic regulations can be established to control trade.

Ex Situ Convention

In addition to efforts to save valuable species in situ in the wild, there should be efforts to built up self-maintaining
captive breeding stocks in zoos and botanical gardens; develop seed banks and other forms of ex situ conservation.
Attempts should be made to rescue and artificially propagate some of the rare relict tree species of Vietnam as well
as some animal species. A good example is the rare bovid, the kouprey Bos sauveli, which is reduced to less than
10 individuals in Vietnam (out of a world population of perhaps no more than 100). This species is known to have
domestication potential and could be hybridised with domestic cattle. Such potential, and may be even species
survival, can only be realized if a captive breeding herd is established. A breeding centre to receive such animals is
already prepared at Buon Me Thuot.

CHAPTER IV

PROGRAMME SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

4.1. Education, Training, Extension, and Awareness Promotion

4.1.1. Development of Formal Environmental Education

Various aspects of the basic environmental sciences are already incorporated in the traditional educational curricula
in the schools and colleges. But to keep in step with the increasing awareness of the worsening environmental
concerns and of the importance of a healthy environment to support the quality of life, it is very essential to pick out
and incorporate them in an integrated environmental curricula that would specifically focus attention on the basic
concepts of sustainable development. This will also necessitate the establishment of specialised degree courses in
the field of environmental sciences and the training of teachers in this field.

a. Curricula, syllabi and textbooks

Proposals already exist on the development of environmental curricula and its incorporation into the existing
educational framework; even the areas suitable for each grade level have been identified; As part of an overall
programme to promote and improve environmental education in the country, these curricula should be revised and
elaborated into detailed syllabi, followed by the development of textbooks. Such programmes are now in full swing in
many countries under the motto that the environment will be safer in the hands of a future generation that is more
aware of its importance.

b. Postgraduate courses

Vietnam is in need of environmental managers with a broad-based view of the environment and of its relationship to
resource use and other human activities, as a determinant of sustainable development and the maintenance of
genetic diversity. This need can be met most effectively at the university level, through the establishment of
postgraduate courses and programs in environmental sciences per se, but also classes in other critical aspects of
environmental management such as economics, political sciences, public administration and even anthropology, as
they relate to environmental concerns.

In addition, students in other degree programs, e.g. engineering and economics, should be required to take some
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classes in environmental management. This will help to ensure that environmental factors are integrated into
planning, and even project conceptualization, at the most fundamental level.

c. Training of teachers

The ultimate success of the development and incorporation of environmental curricula and syllabi in the educational
system, including the establishment of degree courses, will depend upon the efficient training of sufficient number of
teachers. This aspect should therefore be considered as an integral aspect of the above two activities.

4.1.2. Technical Training

Development and cultivation of national expertise in the field of environmental management depends to a great
extent on on-the-job training of officials through (a) specialised training in areas pertaining to the most urgent
environmental issues that face the country; (b) overseas training and experience through fellowships, attendance at
international conferences. etc. to soak up technical know-how from foreign countries; and (c) exchange of experts to
achieve technology transfer and inter-change of experiences with other countries.

a. specialised training

There is a need to develop and/or improve upon the existing national expertise in virtually every field of
environmental management. However, considering the major issues that need to be tackled on an urgent basis,
specialised training should be provided on a priority basis in some areas as indicated below in order to boost the
national management capabilities:

Developmental responsibilities are currently divided between several ministries along traditional sectors, whereby the
environmental interests get dissipated and the cross-sectoral and multi-sectoral interests obliterated. In other words,
integrated planning of the concept of environment needs to be developed from fundament upwards. The concept of
an integrated cross-sectoral environmental planning and its importance for achieving sustainable development has to
be cultivated among the planners and a series of semgwars and training courses should be organized for this
purpose.

Extensive research and measurement of various environmental parameters need to be undertaken for evaluating the
current environmental situation in order to derive realistic environmental quality standards and to monitor and to keep
track of any environmental changes from development. For both national and international compatibility and
comparison of all such data collected, it is also very essential to standardize the methodologies applied. Technicians
involved in such measurements should be provided with specialised training in organizing laboratories, laboratory
procedures, methodologies and, over and above everything else, their standardization and quality control.

There is a growing awareness among the environmentalists and even among some planners in the country of the
need to conduct an early environmental impact assessment of development projects in order to avoid or mitigate any
possible adverse effects. Environmental assessment of at least two multi-purpose dams have so far been attempted
that could be termed as Environmental Impact Statements. However, national expertise needs to be developed in
this field from foundations upwards to cover the development projects in various fields.

Considering that industrial development in the country is expected to take off in the near future, development of
national expertise in this field must receive high priority if the country's environment is to be adequately protected
from pollution and if environmental impact assessment of development projects is to be made compulsory by
legislation. It should especially be borne in mind that if national experts are not available in time even for foreign-
funded projects, use of foreign consultants will involve additional expenditure in foreign currency. Outlines of
proposals for such EIA courses in the country have already been prepared for consideration.

b. Overseas training and fellowships

Specialised training and on-job training for further development of national expertise could be boosted through
overseas training and overseas fellowships, and additional opportunities for participation in international conferences,
seminars, workshops and meetings for discussions and exchange of experiences.

c. International exchange of expertise

Opportunities for two-way technology transfer, particularly in the field of appropriate and traditional technology
transfer, could be further enhanced through bilateral arrangements with other countries/agencies/organizations in the
region for exchange of experts in various fields of environmental management and areas of sustainable
development, with special emphasis on those areas that need to be further developed in the country.
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4.1.3. Promotion of Environmental Awareness

Environmental education should be continued beyond the classroom through the promotion of environmental
awareness by various means among the professionals, general administrative staff especially at the provincial,
district and commune level and the general public. Considering their potential for generating wide publicity and
dissemination, the volunteer groups (non-governmental organizations) and urban media should be involved to play a
very special role in all activities for the promotion of environmental awareness.

a. Development of environmental awareness tools, kits & packages

Preparatory to such environmental awareness campaigns, a set of awareness tools, kits and packages should be
prepared as (non- formal) educational material, in the form of posters, placards. slogans, paintings, calendars,
pamphlets, brochures, newsletters, booklets etc. aimed at the various target groups, particularly taking into
consideration the assimilative capacity and understanding level of each target group in mind. All these materials
should include basic concepts of environment and its over-encompassing dimensions, its importance to life and
crucial role in sustainable development. Special emphasis should be given to the major environmental concerns and
issues, how they are brought about, how they-affect the day-to-day life of the common man and how each citizen can
bring about their prevention and alleviation through participation in the decision-making process. Availability of such
material is presently very limited in the country. Activities of many of the non-governmental organizations and
volunteer groups involved in environmental campaigns are presently badly hampered precisely for lack of such
materials, as they are not environmentalists per se. Thus, production of such development tools will greatly assist the
activities of these groups.

b. Training of provincial & district-level officials & non-governmental organizations (NGOs)

For the successful promotion of environmental awareness at the national level, it is very essential to recruit the
assistance and co-operation of government officials at the provincial, district and commune level, as well as the
volunteer groups such as the various non-governmental organizations. The objectives and contents of the
awareness promotion materials need therefore to be explained to these officials and volunteer groups through
orientation courses and methodological seminars, with details on the propagation techniques on how they could best
be disseminated most efficiently and effectively among the various target groups and otherwise utilized to make
people change their traditional attitudes, habits and ways of life, and to make them participate in the rehabilitation of
the damaged environment.

c. Mass media campaigns

Considering the popularity of the mass media and its potential for achieving wide dissemination and influencing
attitudes, the assistance of the press, radio and television should be sought and utilized for promoting environmental
awareness among the masses, through preparation and dissemination of press releases, news articles etc., and the
production of popular interest radio and television programmes that explains the environmental phenomena and the
various issues in an easy-to-understand non-technical style. For this purpose, a series of orientation seminars should
also be conducted from time to time for awakening and alerting the awareness of the media personnel themselves.

4.1.4. Extension Service Network and Training

Environmental exhaustion from overexploitation is of special concern to the subsistence farmers and fishermen in the
rural areas as it affects their livelihood through loss of productivity even when they are not exactly aware what is
causing it. At the same time, some methods of farming and destructive fishing methods could also have an effect on
further deterioration of the environment. Sustainable rural development will thus necessarily involve action for the
establishment of an extension service network of special interest and volunteer agencies and organizations, such as
the non- governmental organizations for the propagation of environmentally sound subsistence livelihood practices
and a nation-wide training program for this purpose.

a. Establishment of extension service network

The above approach will primarily involve the establishment of a network of extension services for propagating
improved agricultural cropping such as intensive cultivation and more efficient, but environmentally non-destructive
fishing practices, which, while maintaining and even improving the harvests, will minimise the damage to the
environment and ensure the sustainability of the livelihood practices.

b. Networking via specialised volunteer organizations

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As an integrated segment of the rural society, women and youth play a very important role in any programme on
rural development. Several Women's Groups and Youth Organizations in the country are actively involved in
extension work on rural subsistence livelihood practices. A network of these groups and organizations should be set
up especially for involving them in extension work for making the prevailing subsistence livelihood practices
sustainable and to propagate the basic concepts of sustainable development in the rural areas.

c. Nation-wide training program for extension workers

The rural extension workers mostly do not have any background training in the basic concepts of environment except
from experience and are mostly in need of trainer-training on the importance of environment in integrated rural
development. There is thus a clear-cut need for a nation-wide training program for the extension workers on the
concepts, definitions and importance of sustainable development practices with special emphasis on the
methodology of its application to integrated rural development for sustaining the livelihood practices and the socio-
economics.

Integrated rural development

It is very clear that environmental dimensions need to be incorporated in rural development practices in order to
achieve sustainable development. Technologies are available for increasing rural productivity without damaging the
environment if only precautionary measures are taken. The biggest developmental gap exists in that they have not
yet been introduced and propagated in the rural areas. By networking extension workers involved in rural
development and their training in environmental aspects as discussed above, it should be possible to achieve
integration of sustainable development concepts in rural development practices.

4.2. International Co-operation

By strengthening international co-operation, developing linkages and more actively involving in international
activities, Vietnam stands to gain considerably from:

i. information exchange in the field of environment, especially on international activities and projects;

ii. assistance in the improvement of efficiency in data collection, processing, analysis, collation, storage,
dissemination and general management;

iii. establishment of reference stations for collecting comparative data on the quality of the environment with other
countries;

iv. availability of data on the environment and natural resources in other countries, sub-regions and regions;

v. reference base for comparative evaluation of environmental quality in the country as compared to other sub-
regions and regions;

vi. technology transfer, especially on recent methodologies for controlling and preventing pollution from various
sources;

vii. development of sub-regional and regional environmental programmes;

viii. assistance in the management of trans-national pollution and environmental problems;

ix. assistance in the management of shared and common resources;
x. exchange of experts and experiences through international contacts;

xi. opportunities for attending international meetings, seminars, workshops and conferences for exchange of
experiences; and

xii. over and above everything else, participation in the mainstream through membership of the international
community.

Vietnam has already established linkages with several international activities and global programs such as
INFOTERRA, IOC, Mekong Project and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance, to name a
few. In fact, Vietnam is the first signatory to the Ramsar Convention in the southeast Asian region. However, further
action is needed to establish and/or strengthen linkages with other ongoing international programs and activities as
indicated below:
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4.2.1. Information Exchange

a. Regional and international linkages

Reliable information is a basic cornerstone and important tool in the planning of environmental management and
sustainable development and its importance could never be overemphasized. Strengthening of linkages with
international information networks will only help promote national capabilities in information collection and
management; provide a window for access to information on regional and international situation; and supply
information, through technology transfer, of use in the standardisation of methodologies for maintenance and
management of environmental quality. INFOTERRA, GRID and IRPTC, all managed by UNEP are three useful
examples in this matter.

INFOTERRA is an international information management system established by UNEP designated to facilitate the
flow of environmental information, within and between countries through a system based on and operating through
government-designated national focal points. The fundamental aspects of INFOTERRA has been defined as
provision of information to decision-makers, facilitation of exchange of environmental information through access to
environmental databases, promotion of awareness of the role and importance of information in environmental
decision- making, and stimulation of the development of national environmental information systems. The national
focal points are the key elements in the INFOTERRA network and their participation may be considered as the least
costly and most effective way of gaining access to modern science and technology to solve environmental problems.

The International Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals (IRPTC) was established as a global network of information
exchange to collect information on hazardous chemicals and disseminate it to anyone who needed the data, as part
of UNEP's Earthwatch Programme created to look out for environmental changes, try to establish their causes and
communicate the results. It embodies a concept for managing and exchanging information in a consistent and
harmonized manner based on scientifically sound principles, leading to information-sharing partnerships. It is also a
scientific tool for recording and sharing data used to assess the hazards posed by chemicals to human health and
environment, and has encouraged a more open relationship between industry and regulatory authorities.

IRPTC

i. operates a global network for exchange of information on production, distribution. release, disposal and
adverse effects of chemicals:

ii. develops data profiles on chemical substances and operates a databank on all aspects that are deemed
important to conducting a hazard assessment including information on regulatory controls on substances;

iii. gives help to developing countries to establish their own National Registers of Potentially Toxic Chemicals
(NRPTC);

iv. offers training in areas related to control of hazards posed by chemicals, and use of chemical data;

v. identifies important gaps in the knowledge of the effects of chemicals and the needs for research to fill these
gaps;

vi. provides information about national, regional and global policies and recommendations on controlling and
regulating potentially toxic chemicals; and

vii. promotes awareness of the damages and potential hazards from such chemicals and toxic wastes.

Vietnam does not have any large-scale chemical industries and the production of hazardous wastes from such
sources may therefore be considered negligible at present, and the use of potentially toxic chemicals is presently
limited to the application of pesticides in the agricultural sector. However, with the development of industries in the
near future, it is inevitable that the country will soon be faced with the problem of tackling with more or less
hazardous wastes and other substances, even if a deliberate policy of discouraging chemical industries is
implemented. Vietnam should therefore take timely action to prepare for such eventuality through the development of
a National Register of Potentially Toxic Chemicals (NRPTC) of its own based following the international style, with
the technical inputs and assistance from IRPTC. IRPTC has standard data management and exchange procedures
for this purpose and provides training for the development of competent personnel for the management of NRPTC in
the member countries.

b. Collaboration with international monitoring networks

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Through the development of linkages with international monitoring networks, establishment of monitoring stations in
the country under the program, and collection of information on the various environmental parameters, Vietnam
could keep itself informed on the global environmental situation and ongoing changes, and evaluate the quality of its
environment as compared to the global situation. The Global Environmental Monitoring Systems (GEMS) is a good
example. GEMS operates to make comprehensive assessment of major environmental issues and provides the
scientific data needed for the rational management of natural resources and the assessment of environmental health;
and provide early warning of environmental changes and impending disasters. GEMS network monitors changes in
atmospheric composition and the climatic system, freshwater and coastal pollution, air pollution, deforestation, food
contamination, ozone layer depletion and the build-up of the Greenhouse gases, acid rain and many issues related
to biological diversity. The system could also be developed as a national ecological monitoring network (including
determination of baselines, and monitoring the variations of climate, soils, plants, animals and the impacts of man) to
obtain a total picture of the environment that would be of help in convincing bilateral donors of the seriousness of the
country's environmental situation.

4.2.2. International Implications

Conservation of renewable natural resources should not be conducted by countries in isolation. Conservation is a
global imperative. The distribution of natural resources crosses international frontiers so that responsibilities for their
management are shared. Even when an endemic resource is entirely confined to one nation, that country holds a
global as well as a national responsibility for its protection.

In some cases, one country may be responsible for the protection of a wild species from which it gains little benefit
but upon which another may be heavily dependent. Thus, Brazil contains the wild stocks and close relatives of the
rubber tree Heave sp. but has virtually little rubber industry itself. Even so, conservation of these wild species is vital
to the economy of Malaysia and to a lesser extent, Vietnam. For these reasons, several international agencies have
been established with worldwide operations to help conserve natural resources and assist in environmental planning.
They must also seek ways to get those countries that the use and depend on the natural resources of the developing
countries to contribute to the cost of conserving those species in the wild. In the case of Vietnam, there are eight
areas in which international implications must be kept in mind. These are:

Management and Utilization of Migrant Species

Vietnam is the winter home of many northern bird species including species of potential food or trade value, such as
ducks, waders, rails, storks, cranes and ibises. Management of such populations should be coordinated with the
countries in which such species breed, for instance, to determine species status or for research through banding, etc.
The International Convention on Migratory Species is a useful forum for coordinating such cooperation.

Management of Shared Transfrontier Resources

International cooperation is needed for effective management of shared transfrontier resources, such as mutually
vital protected forests or individual species. For instance, the whole world population of Kouprey Bos sauveli is
distributed along the borderlands between Thailand, Kampuchea, Laos and Vietnam. Only an international effort can
manage such a species including the establishment of transfrontier reserves and cooperation in catching poachers
who dodge back and forth across national boundaries.

Management of resources of International Concern

In cases where Vietnam is fulfilling an international responsibility by protecting resources of worldwide concern, such
as qualitatively or quantitatively unique species or features or combinations of both, it can considerably benefit
through the use of international programmes, such as the "World Heritage Convention" of UNEP and the Man and
Biosphere (MAB) programme of UNESCO.

Management of Transfrontier Watersheds

Most of Vietnam's rivers extend well beyond its national frontiers. Extensive deforestation of these upstream
catchments has direct adverse consequences on Vietnam's agricultural programme. Vietnam must get the
cooperation of other countries to agree on common land-use policy and water management ( e.g. pollution control,
diversion or flow checks) and should assist such countries to achieve more rational use of these vital catchments.
The Mixed Commission for the Mekong Project of which Vietnam is a member, is a good example of this type of
cooperation.

Control and Organization of International Trade

Considerable benefits can be achieved by entering into international agreements to control trade in natural
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resources. For instance, one of the most effective means to stop illegal trade is through participation in CITES.
Vietnam should `also establish bilateral agreements with its immediate neighbours and possibly with ASEAN who are
developing their own trade agreement. In addition, a common marketing policy is vital if countries selling the same
products to a monopoly buyer are not to be played off against each other in a price undercutting game.

Participation in International Cooperative Efforts

Vietnam could benefit through greater participation in international cooperative efforts, such as the UN Decade of
Drinking Water and IUCN's Programmes to save "Marine Resources", `Tropical Rainforests", "Endangered Plants ",
"International Wetlands" and "UNEP's Regional Seas Programme".

Access to Foreign Aid and Technical Assistance

As a developing country with an extremely low per capita income, Vietnam should be entitled to considerable
international aid and development assistance. However, this is not the case and donors remain scarce. In an
optimum situation, primary sources of aid to be channeled into the environmental sectors could include: several UN
agencies, such as UNDP in association with FAO, WFP, UNEP, DTCP, UNESCO, WHO, UNCHS, ESCAP, UNICEF
etc; direct assistance from other friendly countries (Sweden, Australia, Finland etc.); loans from international
development banks (World Bank, Asian Development Bank); assistance from international non-governmental
organizations (WWE, IUCN, Earthscan, IEED, International Red Cross, OXFAM, CARE, CIDSE, etc.); exchange and
technical cooperation with other developing countries (India, Thailand, Indonesia). Some countries which may not
wish to enter into direct bilateral assistance arrangement with Vietnam may be willing to channel funds through
international organizations or even non-governmental organizations. The Conservation for Development Centre
(CDC) of IUCN is an agency which regularly fulfils this intermediary role. Assistance can take many forms - cash,
equipment, training, technical assistance, information as grants or loans.

Preservation of Cultural Heritage

International assistance and concern should be mobilised to help in the preservation of Vietnam's rich cultural
heritage, both living (art, dance, folklore, language, tradition) and non-living (archaeology, historical monuments).
The various programme of UNESCO are particularly relevant in this context.

TABLE 2: PRIORITIES MATRIX

1991 - 1995 1996 - 2000

First Second First Second

INSTITUTIONAL, LEGISLATIVE & POLICY FRAMEWORK

2.1 Establishment of Environmental Authority

2.1.1 Central X

2.1.2 Regional X

2.1.3 Provincial X

2.2 Development of Environmental Policy & Law

2.2.1 Development of Environmental Policies X X

2.2.2 Development of Environmental Legislations X X

2.3 Data Collection, Information Management and X X

Networking

2.4 Integrated Planning of Resources Development X X

2.5 Sustainable Development Strategies at Sectoral Level

2.5.1 Agriculture X X
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2.5.2 Forestry & Wildlife X X

2.5.3 Fisheries & Other Aquatic Resources X X

2.5.4 Water Resources X X

2.5.5 Mining X

2.5.6 Energy X

2.5.7 Transportation X

2.5.8 Industry X X

2.5.9 Tourism & Recreation X X

2.5.10 Land Use Planning & Zoning X X

2.6 Environmental Impact Assessment X X

2.7 Environmental Disaster Management Strategies

2.7.1 Oil Spill Contingency Planning X X

2.7.2 Flood Control X X

2.7.3 Typhoon Damage Control X X

2.8 Monitoring Framework & Strategies X X

ACTION PROGRAMMES

3.1 Urban Development and Population Control

3.1.1 Urban Development X

3.1.2 Population Stabilization X X

3.1.3 Quality of Life X X

3.2 Integrated Watershed Management

3.2.1 Present Land and Water Management X X

3.2.2 Management of the River Catchment Areas X X

3.2.3 Management of Specific kinds of soil in the Mekong Delta X X

3.3 Pollution Control and Waste Management

3.3.1 Appropriate Technologies for a Waste Reduction, Reuse X X

& Recycling

3.3.2 Control & Treatment of Air, Water & Soil Pollution X X

3.3.3 Control of Toxic Chemicals and Hazardous Substances X X

3.4 Integrated Coastal Zone Management and Planning

3.4.1 Coral Reefs X X

3.4.2 Mangrove Forest & Seagrass Ecosystems X X

3.4.3 Estuarine Ecosystems X X

3.4.4 Coastal Erosion Control and Coastal Protection X X

Measures

3.5 Maintenance of Genetic Diversity X X

3.6 Protection of Wetlands X X

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3.7 National Parks, Protected Areas and Wildlife Reserves X X

PROGRAMME SUPPORT ACTIVITIES

4.1 Education, Training, Extension and Awareness

Promotion

4.1.1 Development of Formal Environmental X X

4.1.2 Technical Training X X

4.1.3 Promotion of Environmental Awareness X X

4.1.4 Extension Service Network & Training Education X X

4.2 International Cooperation

4.2.1 Information Exchange X X

4.2.2 International Implications X X

ANNEX I

LIST OF ENVIRONMENTALRESEARCH &

BASELINE DATA COLLECTION PRIORITIES

1. Baseline data collection on little-known ecosystems

freshwater ecosystems
estuarine ecosystems
coastal & marine ecosystems
wetland & swamp ecosystems
terrestrial ecosystems

2. Establishment of appropriate guidelines for an ecological framework for sustainable development of:

agricultural production

forestry, including agroforestry

fisheries, including agrofisheries

3. Motivation tools for achieving population control

4. Environmental valuation tools

5. Relationships between socio-ecological systems & communities

6. Environmental consequences of war

7. Sustainable aquaculture technologies

8. Rehabilitation techniques for degraded lands

9. Socio-economic approaches for stabilization of shifting cultivation

10. Rational utilization of problem soils

11. Measures against deterioration & for enhancement of cultivated soils

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12. Soil erosion control & conservation technologies

13. Optimal utilization & appropriate application techniques of agrochemicals

14. Reforestation & afforestation technologies

15. Measures against desertification

16. Energy conservation technologies

17. Environment-friendly alternative energy sources

18. Waste reuse. recycling, alternative utilization & alternative technologies for waste reduction

19. Coral reef conservation measures

20. Mangrove ecosystem conservation measures

21. Environmental effects of non-renewable resource utilization

22. Effects of global climatic changes & sea-level rise

23. Coastal erosion prevention & control measures

24. Information collection, storage, retrieval & exchange system

25. Flood prevention measures

26. Environmental disaster prevention measures

27. Conservation of nature

28. Protection of endangered & threatened species

29. Inventory & Prioritization of areas for protection

ANNEX II

PILOT AREAS FOR TESTING FEASIBILITY OF ACTION PLAN

BEFORE ITS APPLICATION ON A NATIONAL SCALE

1. Hanoi city

2. Ho Chi Minh city

3. Hai Phong town

4. Hue town

5. Viet Tri industrial area

6. Bien Hoa industrial area

7. Red river delta area

8. Mekong river delta area

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9. Tay Nguyen (High plateau) area

10. North-west area

11. Ha Long Bay

12. Thuan Hai area

ANNEX III

SUGGESTED AREAS FOR REGIONAL COOPERATION

IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Major opportunities for regional cooperation in the area of environmental management for sustainable development
could be identified in the following priority areas :

1. Environmental Impact Assessment of development projects, with particular emphasis on safeguards to minimise
environmental deterioration, control of potentially toxic chemicals and hazardous waste management.

2. Effects of global climatic change and anticipated sea-level rise (the Greenhouse Effect) and disaster preparedness
to combat the same.

3. Rehabilitation of forest ecosystems. with special attention to stabilization of shifting cultivation. development of
community forests, establishment of fuelwood plantations etc.

4. Environmental management of agricultural pesticides. including occupational safety aspects and popularization of
non-toxic chemicals.

5. Tourism development planning and monitoring of development impacts to minimise environmental deterioration
through proliferation of such tourist services as souvenir sales.

6. Integrated coastal zone management to optimize natural resource utilization for sustainability.

7. integrated management of watersheds, catchment areas and floodplains for sustainable development through
forest management, soil and water conservation, disaster prevention etc.

8. Integrated rural development acceleration, with particular emphasis on application of environment-friendly

technologies in livelihood practices. such as biogas technology as an alternative energy source and to reduce
environmental pollution by rural organic wastes.

9. Propagation of energy-efficient and resource-conserving technologies such as fuel-efficient stoves to save

fuelwood.

10. Appropriate traditional technologies to protect the environment through reuse, recycling, waste exchange,
alternative utilization etc. to minimise or eliminate pollution, such as pollution-free technologies.

Attention should particularly be focused on the development, rational utilization and conservation to minimise the
developmental effects and to ensure the sustainability of the common resources and the shared resources in the
geographical region. This could be achieved by minimizing the duplication of efforts to find solutions to common
problems and by maximizing the transfer of technology and development of expertise mainly through training,
demonstration of successful techniques and innovative approaches. Regional cooperation could best be developed
by initiating and/on strengthening and coordinating activities in the following areas:

A. Regional cooperative planning of integrated Action Plans;

B. Development and cultivation of regional expertise, particularly in the field of environmental management;

C. Training courses, particularly in methodologies and their standardization;

D. Development of joint environmental pilot and research projects;

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E. Transfer of environmentally-sound technologies;

F. Extension work:

G. Environmental awareness promotion campaigns;

H. Exchange of national experiences; and

I. Exchange and collation of environmental information.

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