vietnam

On November 29-30, 2011, Vietnam hosted a regional consultation meeting in Hanoi joined by counterpart officials from Korea, Malaysia and Thailand to share ideas on a draft technical guideline on contaminated soil monitoring. At the consultation meeting, experts shared lessons learned and recommendations based on implementation challenges and success in their respective countries. As for the next steps, Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will finalized the technical guidelines and explore opportunities to continue their twinning partnership with Korea.

STRENGTHENING CONTAMINATED SOIL MONITORING IN VIETNAM
AECEN Twinning Partnership:
Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam and
Ministry of Environment of Korea

Program Overview

The Melia Hotel
Hanoi, Vietnam
November 29-30, 2011

Contaminated Soil Management Challenges in Vietnam

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Elevated to the ministry level in 2002, Vietnam’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment MONRE is responsible for air, land, and water resource management under the Amended Law on Environmental Protection (2006).

As the lead institution for environmental management throughout Vietnam, MONRE is also responsible for long term national environmental planning and for coordinating environmental impact assessments, compliance monitoring, inspections, and enforcement across jurisdictions through the Vietnam Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of the Inspectorate.

VietNamNet Bridge – Hanoi authorities have decided to invest VND3.3 billion ($160,000) to design the plan on environment protection to 2020, with the vision to 2030. The project aims to prevent and reduce regression of natural resources, environmental pollution and gradually improve the environmental quality, effectiveness of using natural resources and the city’s environmental management capability. The city assigns the Department of Natural Resources and Environment as the investor of this project.

Environmentalists reported that pollution has recently worsened in Ha Noi, caused by solid and water waste as well as exhaust fumes. Contamination has seriously affected local residents' health and daily lives, they said. Fourteen hospitals in the western part of the city had their waste treatment systems downgraded, and eight central hospitals temporarily treated waste with Cloramin B when their systems failed.

Read full article: http://www.monre.gov.vn/v35/default.aspx?tabid=675&CateID=58&ID=105899&C...

Fishermen living near the waste treatment plant of state-owned Sonadezi Corporation in southern Vietnam have accused the company of hurting their livelihoods by dumping untreated sewage into the river.

Last Thursday, after observing the plant in Dong Nai Province for a month, Vietnamese environmental police caught the plant red-handed discharging untreated waste into the Dong Nai River after a one-month watch.

The counterpart inspectors from four countries met and shared their best practices and experiences on environmental inspection.

Challenge

Vietnamese and Korean experts discussed status of dioxin contamination and collaborative efforts to rehabilitate contaminated soil at Da Nang air base during the scoping mission.

Challenge

Government officials from New South Wales, Australia share experience with environmental officials from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on regulating pollution from industrial enterprises.

Challenge

During March 21-24, 2011, experts from Ministry of Environment of Korea, Korea Environmental Industry & Technology Institute and Korea Environment Cooperation met with counterparts from Vietnam to initiate a program of cooperation on contaminated soil management. At the scoping mission, Korean and Vietnamese experts exchange views on legal and policy frameworks to promote effective soil monitoring for suspected contaminated areas.