A project designed to protect the environment in the basin of the Dong Nai River system has been implemented for five years (2007-2012), reducing environmental pollution in this major river system.
A project designed to protect the environment in the basin of the Dong Nai River system has been implemented for five years (2007-2012), reducing environmental pollution in this major river system.
Eleven provinces and cities that are located in the basin of the Dong Nai River system have actively participated in implementing the project. The local community has become more aware of the need to protect the river’s environment. Good initial results would pave the way for the project to be successfully implemented in the years to come.
The basin of the Dong Nai River system with 11 provinces and cities with total population of about 18 million, seven provinces and cities of which are part of the Southern Key Economic Zone – one of the most important socioeconomic development centers of the whole country. The Dong Nai River not only provides water for local people, serving their everyday lives and agricultural production activities, but also provides water for industrial production throughout the country. The river also receives wastewater from residential areas, agricultural and industrial production facilities, hospitals and part of solid wastes from urban areas. “The project for environmental protection in the basin of the Dong Nai River system to 2020 was approved by the Prime Minister via Decision 187/2007/QD-TTg dated December 3, 2007, aiming to thoroughly resolve water pollution problems.
Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee Chairman Le Hoang Quan was Chairman of the Environmental Protection Committee for the Basin of the Dong Nai River System (Dong Nai River Committee) for the first tenure (2009-2012). He said the project’s results achieved over the past five years laid the foundation for further efforts to protect the environment in the basin of the Dong Nai River system. The pollution of water resources in the river has been reduced. Relevant ministries, sectors and localities actively implemented their assignments. The Ministry of Construction has designed a plan for treatment of wastewater from residential areas and industrial zones in the basin of the Dong Nai River to 2030 and a plan for management of solid wastes in the basin of the Dong Nai River to 2020. The two plans will be submitted to the Government this year for approval. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has carried out a project for conservation of bio-diversity in the Dong Nai River basin. The Ministry of Transport has developed a project for dredging and upgrading passages of the Dong Nai River. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has developed a cleaner production in industry project. All provinces and cities that are located in the river basin have announced their plans for implementing the Dong Nai River project and are actively implementing the plans. Ministries, sectors and people’s committees of provinces and cities have paid special attention to inspecting and dealing with violations of environmental protection regulations, preventing on a timely basis and restricting the discharge of untreated wastewater to the environment. The environmental police of provinces and cities has discovered and imposed administrative fines totaling nearly VND100 billion on 5,400 violations of environmental protection regulations, and collected environmental protection fee arrears amounting to nearly VND3 billion. The environmental police under the Ministry of Public Security in the Southern region has discovered over 500 violation cases and brought one case to court.
Eleven provinces and cities in the river basin have given a priority to dealing with inter-regional and inter-provincial matters such as pollution of the Thi Vai River, Ba Bo Canal, Thay Cai Canal, Can Giuoc River, and hydropower development.
To enhance the effectiveness of environmental protection in the Dong Nai River basin, in the opinion of Tran Ngoc Thoi, Vice Chairman of the Ba Ria-Vung Tau People’s Committee, it is necessary to surmount the limitations related to budget, management mechanism and inter-provincial cooperation mechanism. In the 2013-2015 period, the Dong Nai River project will focus on activities such as surveying, making statistics on waste sources, controlling pollution, assessing and licensing projects, seeking investment capital for urban water drainage projects, wastewater treatment, investment in solid and medical waste treatment, and dredging canals.
In the time to come, relevant ministries, sectors and localities that are located in the Dong Nai River basin must continue to accelerate the implementation of the Dong Nai River project following Prime Ministerial Decision 197/2007/QD-TTg. These localities must provide statistics on pollution sources while at the same time tightly supervising and strictly dealing with environmental protection regulations. Preventing pollution is less costly than dealing with pollution. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is drafting a decree listing fields where investment should be restricted in river basins. The decree will be submitted to the Government for approval. The ministry has asked the Government to seek solutions for human resources, capital and management mechanism-related problems. The Government has approved State budget allowances totaling VND5 trillion for implementation of the Dong Nai River project to 2015. However, due to economic difficulties, a mere VND270 billion has been allocated for 2012 and 2013.
In the 2013-2015 period, Binh Duong Province People’s Committee Chairman is Chairman of the Dong Nai River Committee.
(Source: VEN)
