Vietnam 5 year natural resources & environment plan (2006-2010): poverty linkage issues

Trần Đại Nghĩa<br /> <br /> Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ<br /> <br /> 63(1): 90 - 94<br /> <br /> VIETNAM 5 YEAR NATURAL RESOURCES & ENVIRONMENT PLAN (2006-2010):<br /> POVERTY LINKAGE ISSUES<br /> Tran Dai Nghia<br /> Thai Nguyen University<br /> <br /> ABSTRACT<br /> This study is based on the data collected from working with different departments of the Ministry<br /> of Natural Resources and Environment and in the 12 selected communes, 9 districts of 3 provinces<br /> – Ha Giang, Dak Lak and Kien Giang. The findings show that The implementation of some propoor targets e.g. water licensing, Environmental Impact Assessment, mineral resources mapping<br /> etc., is well towards planned, however, some pro-poor targets were not likely to be achieve such as<br /> the targets that 75% of rural households having access to clean water, forest coverage increasing to<br /> 43%, 90% of solid waste being collected etc. Also, the findings show that non-participatory<br /> approach of NRE planning has weakened the capacity-building process for communities, hindered<br /> problem identifications and taken inappropriate solutions in helping the poor to cope with their<br /> poverty and protecting the environment.<br /> Key words: review, pro-poor, environment & natural resources.<br /> *<br /> <br /> BACKGROUND<br /> The Ministry of Planning and<br /> Investment (MPI) has embarked on a MidTerm Review of the National SocioEconomic Development Plan (2006-2010).<br /> The MPI has requested all Ministries to<br /> conduct the Mid-Term Review of their sector<br /> 5YP [2]. This supplementary assessment<br /> focuses on poverty and environmental<br /> concerns, pro-poor targets and outcomes of<br /> the NRE 5 year plan. The review is<br /> particularly in reference to assessing pro-poor<br /> issues and of the plan [11].<br /> REVIEW OBJECTIVES<br /> - Assess the progress towards the NRE 5YP<br /> pro-poor objectives and outcomes and<br /> impacts of the 5YP implementation on both<br /> the poor and the environment.<br /> - Identify strengths and weaknesses in the<br /> plan implementation and to assess the<br /> likelihood of the plan achieving its pro-poor<br /> targets and objectives.<br /> - Provide recommendations on modifications<br /> to increase the likelihood of success (if<br /> *<br /> <br /> Tel: 0945514735; Email: nghiavantn@yahoo.com<br /> 90<br /> <br /> necessary) in target delivery within the life of<br /> the plan and on proposed measures for<br /> increasing the likelihood of success in<br /> delivering pro-poor outcomes of the next plan.<br /> METHODOLOGY<br /> This review is based on desk studies,<br /> interviews and meeting with key agencies at<br /> national, provincial, district and local level.<br /> The results from the desk studies, such as upto-date progresses towards NRE 5YP’s<br /> targets and their impacts on the environment<br /> and the poor reported by different<br /> departments of MONRE, provide the team<br /> with sufficient information for forming and<br /> assuring study approaches that were applied<br /> when working with provinces<br /> Section of provinces, districts and communes<br /> Field reviews were carried out in the<br /> three selected provinces, Ha Giang, Kien<br /> Giang and Dak Lac. In addition, other three<br /> provinces, Ha Tinh, Ha Noi (the former Ha<br /> Tay part only) and Nghe An, the<br /> questionnaires and information queries were<br /> sent to three provincial departments (i.e.,<br /> DARD, DOPI and DONRE) for providing<br /> required information needed for the review.<br /> The selection of the provinces was<br /> <br /> Số hóa bởi Trung tâm Học liệu – Đại học Thái Nguyên<br /> <br /> http://www.Lrc-tnu.edu.vn<br /> <br /> Trần Đại Nghĩa<br /> <br /> Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ<br /> <br /> subjectively based on PEP working<br /> experiences and ensuring the representation<br /> of geographical and institutional issues of the<br /> environments and poverty [6].<br /> The selection of districts and<br /> communes followed the same procedure<br /> which was based on the total score calculated<br /> from potential impact matrixes (the highest<br /> score was selected). In the matrixes, seven<br /> criteria were included (poverty rate ranked by<br /> local authorities in 2007), land ownership<br /> problems, water resource problems, minerals,<br /> environment,<br /> hydro-meteorology,<br /> accessibility, and willingness to cooperate<br /> from local authorities.<br /> Since at district level, there is no separate plan<br /> for district Departments of Natural Resources<br /> and Environment, the Five Year Plans for<br /> socio-economic development of the were used<br /> as the plans for review. However, only targets<br /> or indicators related to NRE and pro-poor<br /> NRE targets were discussed and reviewed.<br /> Secondary data collection and review<br /> consultations at national level<br /> Departments/Offices at national level visited<br /> by the team before finalizing methodologies<br /> for working in the selected provinces include:<br /> Department of Planning and Department of<br /> Land. Also, the Mid-Term review reports<br /> submitted under the request from the<br /> Department of Planning by all departments,<br /> institutes and centers of MONRE were<br /> studied. The results from the desk studies reaffirmed the review approach and<br /> methodologies when working on the field.<br /> KEY FINDINGS<br /> Land resources<br /> Up to the present, 63 provinces and cities and<br /> 450 out of 676 districts, communes and cities<br /> under control of the provinces finished land<br /> use plans to 2010 as did a majority of wards<br /> and towns [3]. DONRE also submitted the<br /> plans of land use in seven economic zones to<br /> the Prime Minister. According to land<br /> management statistics, in the whole country,<br /> 81.39% agricultural land, 59.2% forestland,<br /> <br /> 63(1): 90 - 94<br /> <br /> 68.73% aquaculture land, 56.9% urban<br /> residential land and 75% rural residential<br /> lands have been provided with land<br /> certificates [1, 3]. However, land use planning<br /> and allocation are still behind the schedule.<br /> Challenges remain to ensure that plans are<br /> made with a consistent and high standard and<br /> that these land use plans are feasible and to<br /> ensure land resources will be used effectively<br /> and sustainably. These issues and problems<br /> were identified during the study team and<br /> have important implications for addressing<br /> poverty.<br /> The process of re-structuring<br /> collective farms has been very slow and<br /> private encroachment of state-owned lands<br /> has continued to take place in areas where<br /> local people seek land for subsistence<br /> purposes [6].<br /> Water resources<br /> Achievements in water resource management<br /> at national level have been concentrated in<br /> following aspects: the development of legal<br /> documents on water resources, creating a<br /> legal environment for both central<br /> management and local management of water<br /> resource. By the end of the second quarter of<br /> 2008, 54 cities and provinces had completed<br /> regulations on water resource management at<br /> localities [3]. In order to effectively manage<br /> water resources, MONRE has granted<br /> issuance of these licenses to localities; this<br /> change has made the licensing process more<br /> effective and faster. Parallel with licensing for<br /> water resource exploitation, MONRE and<br /> DONREs have carried out monitoring and<br /> inspections to check regulation compliances<br /> of water extractions and liquid waste<br /> treatment and management.<br /> However,<br /> monitoring and inspection on water resource<br /> use and exploitation have not been regularly<br /> uncovering the existence of many cases of<br /> unlicensed water exploitation, especially in<br /> the Central Highlands [14]. The plans for<br /> water resource management have been<br /> developed just recently. The roles of state<br /> management have not been clearly divided,<br /> <br /> 91<br /> <br /> Số hóa bởi Trung tâm Học liệu – Đại học Thái Nguyên<br /> <br /> http://www.Lrc-tnu.edu.vn<br /> <br /> Trần Đại Nghĩa<br /> <br /> Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ<br /> <br /> for example water resource management at<br /> river basins belongs to both MONRE and<br /> MARD. The weak coordination between<br /> MONRE and MARD agencies in managing<br /> and having responsibility to monitor water<br /> use regulations has undermined the impacts<br /> on the environment and on the poor of the<br /> implementation of water resource targets in<br /> the plan, for example, depletion of<br /> groundwater in the Central Highlands, water<br /> contamination in Mekong river delta during<br /> fish and spawn harvesting season [5].<br /> Mineral resources<br /> The main achievement in mineral resource<br /> management target in the 5YP was the<br /> progress towards completing surveys for, and<br /> the developing of, geological and mineral<br /> maps and the facilitation of enforcing the<br /> 2005 mineral law. Up to the present, 50% of<br /> the total inland area has been surveyed for<br /> geological and mineral resources at a scale of<br /> 1/50,000 [10, 11]. MONRE has delegated to<br /> DONREs in provinces to pay regular<br /> monitoring and unannounced visits to check<br /> areas that reportedly have profile problems of<br /> mineral exploitations. These monitoring and<br /> checks have found illegal coal mining<br /> activities in Quang Ninh province, illegal<br /> titanium exploitation in Binh Thuan, Ninh<br /> Thuan, Quang Ngai provinces, and chromite<br /> exploitation in Thanh Hoa province and<br /> uncontrolled gold mining in Bac Kan<br /> province, amongst others [9]. Plans of mineral<br /> resources were implemented only slowly,<br /> creating obstacles for the survey and<br /> exploitation of mineral resources. The<br /> management of mineral resources was<br /> focused on granting licenses rather than<br /> examining and investigating compliance and<br /> regulations. In addition, the closing of illegal<br /> coal mining operations in Quang Ninh<br /> province has led to thousands of poor laborers<br /> becoming jobless, having severe effects on<br /> their income.<br /> Environment<br /> <br /> 63(1): 90 - 94<br /> <br /> The environmental target was considered as a<br /> cross-cutting issue. The progress of the<br /> implementation of the environmental target<br /> resulted from the implementation of the other<br /> NRE targets (e.g., land resource, water<br /> resource, mineral resource, etc.). At the<br /> national level, reinforcement and facilitation<br /> of the 2003 environmental law with emphasis<br /> on the implementation of EIAs at different<br /> levels has been improved. Generally, the<br /> examination and certification of these EIAS<br /> have been accelerated. Localities were<br /> authorized to examine and certify EIA reports<br /> for larger scale projects. MONRE has paid<br /> more attention to investment in environmental<br /> protection. Since 2006, on average, about 1%<br /> of annual government’s budget has been<br /> allocated for environment-related activities.<br /> To reduce water contamination problems, by<br /> the end of 2007, 59 out of 64 provinces had<br /> started collecting fees on residential and<br /> industrial liquid wastes in accordance with<br /> Decree<br /> No<br /> 04/2007<br /> NĐ-CP.<br /> The<br /> implementation of the NRE 5YP targets has<br /> contributed to improvement in the<br /> environment [3]. The positive impacts of<br /> implementing environmental targets, such as<br /> waste management, sanitation and access to<br /> clean water, on the poor have been seen in<br /> some areas like Quan Ba, Ha Giang province<br /> and Lak district, Dak Lak province. However,<br /> it has revealed weaknesses in implementing<br /> the target, such as the very slow development<br /> and adjustment of the legal system and<br /> legislations on environment, which did not<br /> meet the requirements of rapid changes in<br /> socio-economic<br /> development,<br /> and<br /> punishments<br /> for<br /> violations<br /> of<br /> the<br /> environmental law were too light [12].<br /> Hydro-meteorology<br /> MONRE has completed the development of<br /> the regulations for storm and flood forecast<br /> and quality operation of hydro-meteorological<br /> network in the whole country that meets the<br /> demanding requirements for HM data<br /> <br /> 92<br /> <br /> Số hóa bởi Trung tâm Học liệu – Đại học Thái Nguyên<br /> <br /> http://www.Lrc-tnu.edu.vn<br /> <br /> Trần Đại Nghĩa<br /> <br /> Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ<br /> <br /> collection, serving to mitigate damages<br /> caused by calamities. Accurate forecasts have<br /> contributed to reducing and preventing<br /> damage from severe weather phenomena.<br /> Longer-term forecasting, with higher<br /> accuracy level, has helped people, especially<br /> the poor, to prepare in advance, preventing<br /> damage from severe calamities such as flash<br /> floods and coastal storms etc. Although there<br /> were achievements and progress towards<br /> NRE targets with regard to hydrometeorology, the impacts of implementing<br /> this target on the environment and, especially,<br /> on the poor are unclear.<br /> Survey and mapping<br /> Achievements of survey and mapping target<br /> were reflected by the completion of the<br /> development of topo-maps at scale 1/50000<br /> covering the whole country and the terrain<br /> map system at scale 1/2,000 and 1/5,000<br /> covering two focal economic areas (Hanoi<br /> and Ho Chi Minh cities). The completion of<br /> border fixing in 2008 and the effective<br /> implementation of the government’s projects<br /> on survey and mapping were significant<br /> progress of the NRE 5YP implementation<br /> towards achieving the survey and mapping<br /> target. However, the implementation of the<br /> plan target on survey and mapping was slow,<br /> due to a lag behind schedule in data collection<br /> and analysis, inadequate equipment and a<br /> funding shortage for the whole country.<br /> CONCLUSIONS<br /> The implementation of water extraction<br /> licensing was more effective and faster thanks<br /> to the delegation of license issuing authority<br /> to the DNREs.<br /> Among the environmental targets, the target<br /> of EIA certification and approval for<br /> businesses at different levels was well<br /> implemented.<br /> Management of mineral resources was<br /> focused on granting licenses rather than<br /> monitoring and investigating, leading to<br /> violations of mineral laws, such as illegal<br /> <br /> 63(1): 90 - 94<br /> <br /> mining, pollutions, water contaminations etc.<br /> There existed adverse attitudes from many<br /> owners of businesses, plants and production<br /> facilities in carrying out EIA or ERC. EIA or<br /> ERC, which was considered as a prerequisite<br /> for applying for a business license; however,<br /> once a business license was approved, EIAs<br /> or ERCs might never be implemented..<br /> The closure of illegal or violated mining<br /> operations as solutions to the aftermaths of<br /> improper mineral extractions has led to severe<br /> effects on the income and lives of the poor in<br /> mining operations and entailing services, so<br /> the progress of implementing this target<br /> seemed not to benefit the poor.<br /> Sustainable mineral resource management<br /> and exploitation was far from achieving the<br /> target.<br /> MONRE’s forecasting systems for natural<br /> calamities, such as flash flood, landslides and<br /> coastal storm was still rather simple and did<br /> not meet the requirements for preventing bad<br /> consequences for people living in vulnerable<br /> areas (mountainous, coastal areas) and<br /> making the poverty in these areas worse.<br /> The<br /> coordination<br /> between<br /> different<br /> government agencies in implementing NRE<br /> targets was very loose, which led to<br /> inconsistencies in setting the targets of the<br /> plan; some even conflicted with each other<br /> therefore affected the implementation of both<br /> poverty reduction and environmental<br /> protection targets.<br /> The non-participatory approach of NRE<br /> planning has weakened the capacity-building<br /> process for communities, hindered problem<br /> identification and taken inappropriate<br /> solutions to the problems in helping the poor<br /> to cope with their poverty and with protecting<br /> the environment.<br /> REFERENCES<br /> [1]. http://www.gso.gov..vn<br /> [2]. http://www.mofi.gov.vn<br /> [3]. http://www.monre.gov.vn<br /> <br /> 93<br /> <br /> Số hóa bởi Trung tâm Học liệu – Đại học Thái Nguyên<br /> <br /> http://www.Lrc-tnu.edu.vn<br /> <br /> Trần Đại Nghĩa<br /> <br /> Tạp chí KHOA HỌC & CÔNG NGHỆ<br /> <br /> [4]. Law on Environmental Protection. 2006.<br /> National Political Publishing House: Hanoi<br /> [5]. Law on Aquaculture. 2004. National Political<br /> Publishing House: Hanoi<br /> [6]. Martin Ravallion. 2008. Lands in the<br /> Transitional Period: Reforms and Poverty in the<br /> Rural Areas of Viet Nam. Cultural and<br /> Information Publishing House: Hanoi.<br /> [7]. Ministry of Resources and Environment.<br /> 2003. Viet Nam’s Environment Report 2003.<br /> [8]. Nguyen Van Tam. 2006. The Impact of Trade<br /> Liberalization on the Mineral Resources of Viet<br /> Nam. (Report for FSP Project 2006).<br /> <br /> 63(1): 90 - 94<br /> <br /> [9]. Report on Environmental Conditions of Hai<br /> Phong and Quang Ninh in 2004 and 2005<br /> [10]. Revised Law on Mineral Resources,<br /> approved by National Congress on June 14th 2005.<br /> [11]. SEMLA. (2007). Status Report: For SEMLA<br /> Contribution to the implementation of 5 Year Plan<br /> for Natural Resource and Environment Sector.<br /> MONRE/SEMLA<br /> [12]. Tran Van Tung. 2005. The Impact of<br /> Environmental Pollution in Some Industrial Zones<br /> in the Northern Provinces on the Health of Local<br /> Communities. Social Sciences Publishing House:<br /> Hanoi<br /> [13]. UNDP (2007): Listen to the Voice of the Poor.<br /> <br /> TÓM TẮT<br /> KẾ HOẠCH 5 NĂM BỘ TÀI NGUYÊN -MÔI TRƯỜNG VIỆT NAM (2006-2010):<br /> CÁC VẤN ĐỀ LIÊN QUAN ĐẾN ĐÓI NGHÈO<br /> Trần Đại Nghĩa2<br /> Đại học Thái Nguyên<br /> <br /> Nghiên cứu này tập trung xem xét mối liên hệ giữa đói nghèo và môi<br /> trường cũng như<br /> các chỉ tiêu trong kế hoạch 5 năm 2006-2010 của ngành Tài nguyên –Môi trường. Nghiên<br /> cứu dựa các số liệu điều tra đại diện tại 12 xã của 9 huyện ở 3 tỉnh (Hà Giang, Đắc Lắc và<br /> Kiên Giang ). Kết quả nghiên cứu c hỉ ra rằng một số chỉ tiêu liên quan đến đói nghèo<br /> trong kế hoạch như cấp phép khai thác nước , đánh giá tác động môi trường , điều tra và vẽ<br /> bản đồ khoáng sản được thực hiện đúng tiến độ kế hoạch . Tuy nhiên có một số chỉ tiêu<br /> như 75% hộ gia đì nh ở nông thôn có nước sạch , tỷ lệ che phủ rừng tăng lên 43% và 90%<br /> chất thải rắn được thu và xử lí v.v khó có khả năng hoàn thành được như kế hoạch đề ra .<br /> Từ khóa: review, pro-poor, environment & natural resources.<br /> <br /> 2<br /> <br /> Tel: 0945514735; Email: nghiavantn@yahoo.com<br /> 94<br /> <br /> Số hóa bởi Trung tâm Học liệu – Đại học Thái Nguyên<br /> <br /> http://www.Lrc-tnu.edu.vn<br /> <br />