Environment friendly projects

Vietnam cancels 400 small hydropower projects

October 25, 2020 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – Vietnam’s environmental ministry is not encouraging development at all costs of small hydropower projects.

The National Assembly has disapproved more than 400 small hydropower projects which fail to meet regulations on preventing flood and water, according to Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) Tran Hong Ha.

Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha. Photo: toquoc

Minister Ha told local media on October 24 that the large-scale hydropower plants are well complying with the flood prevention and water regulations for the dry season. Therefore, the MoNRE is not encouraging the development at all costs of small hydropower projects.

The minister stressed that the historic flood in the central region has been caused by climate change. This is a combination of several natural disasters at the same time with the scale unseen for decades.

The ministry has considered that development of small hydropower plants should not be continued. Wherever a small hydropower plant is necessary, its construction should take into consideration environmental issues, life of aquatic animals and sediment maintenance to ensure harmony with the environment.

He hoped that the management tools for environmental impact assessment and environment regulations will gradually restore the environment. “Human beings must live in harmony with and respect nature”, he said.

The draft revised Law on Environmental Protection has also identified projects dumping large amount of waste and causing severe impact on the environment for centralized management. It also removed unnecessary administrative procedures for environmentally-friendly projects that will contribute to socio-economic development.

The draft law was submitted to the National Assembly in mid-2020 and is expected to be approved on November 11.

More flood-prevention projects scheduled as HCM City deals with climate change, rising sea levels

February 10, 2021 by vietnamnews.vn

Garbage is discharged directly into HCM City’s Tàu Hủ–Bến Nghé–Đôi–Tẻ canal basin. The third phase of the Water Environment Improvement Project in the basin, starting in 2022, is part of the city’s efforts to stem urban flooding. – VNS Photo Diệp Phan

HCM City – To mitigate the impact of flooding caused by heavy rains and high river tides, HCM City has invested heavily in flood-prevention works, including drainage system improvement, dredging of canals and wastewater treatment systems.

Under a city plan, 80 per cent of the urban population is expected to have access to water drainage services by 2025, and the city will have over 80 per cent of its urban sewage water treated.

The city aims to have no flooding in the city centre of 106,41sq.km and solve flooding problems in remaining areas over the next five years.

The flood-prone Nguyễn Hữu Cảnh Street in Bình Thạnh District, for example, is being upgraded to prevent flooding, and pumps have been installed. The work is expected to be completed in April.

The city has been urged to improve the drainage capacity of southern city districts and build drainage systems in areas with none, especially in the east.

The municipal Department of Construction is working with the Department of Planning and Architecture, the Management Board Construction Investment Projects and related authorities to draw up an adjusted drainage master plan for the HCM City Zone to 2030 with a vision to 2050.

The department is also in charge of inspections and will ensure that investors install water drainage systems at their projects.

The city needs up to VNĐ107.2 trillion (US$4.6 billion) for flood-prevention projects by 2025, including 115 projects to improve water drainage systems and seven regulating lakes, officials have said.

Drainage projects will use official development assistance (ODA) and private capital from public-private partnerships.

Projects to handle tidal floods and lessen climate change consequences will be given priority.

Over the long term, the city will allocate capital from the State budget to urgent small-scale projects and important construction works to improve drainage systems and prevent flooding.

Key projects to dredge canals and upgrade sewer systems will be funded by ODA. Private capital will be used for projects that solve both urban flooding and environmental pollution and help with urban embellishment.

A dredging and urban renewal project in Xuyên Tâm Canal through Bình Thạnh and Gò Vấp districts and a water drainage and pollution reduction project in the Tham Lương–Bến Cát–Nước Lên canal basin will kick off this year. The two projects are scheduled to be completed in 2025.

The Water Environment Improvement Project in the Tàu Hủ–Bến Nghé–Đôi–Tẻ canal basin will start its third phase in 2022 and wrap up in 2027.

In the 2026-30 period, the city will have seven more sewage treatment plants, including the Nhiêu Lộc–Thị Nghè, Tây Sài Gòn, Bắc Sài Gòn 1, Bắc Sài Gòn 2, Cầu Dừa, Tây Bắc, Suối Nhum plants.

When these new plants start operating, the city’s treatment rate is expected to reach 88.3 per cent.

C limate-adaptation plans

Because of high tides in the Sài Gòn and Đồng Nai rivers, heavy rains and land subsidence, HCM City is included on a list of 10 cities worldwide that are most vulnerable to sea-level rise.

According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the city’s rivers could rise by about 30cm by 2050 and 75cm by the end of the 21st century.

By 2050 the number of communes and wards affected by tidal flooding would rise to 177, equivalent to 61 per cent of the city’s total area.

With such serious consequences, HCM City needs to make plans to adapt to climate change, Dr Hồ Long Phi, the director of the Water Management and Climate Change Centre under the National University–HCM City, has said.

The city has been encouraged to ensure space for water in urban areas and strengthen flood resilience through regulating lakes.

Phi said that flood-prevention works such as new dykes and drainage culverts, street upgrades, and pumping water would not be effective in the long run.

The city People’s Committee has noted that it is impossible to completely control flooding, so sustainable, eco-friendly and economical flood-control strategies are needed.

Flooding risks in HCM City may grow 10 times more intense by 2050, given the current prevalence of poorly regulated construction projects and economic activities, according to a study by the international consulting firm McKinsey in 2020.

According to the findings, the city may lose billions of US dollars to sea-level rise, and a majority of its area may become vulnerable to extreme weather events if there are no serious climate-adaptation efforts and systemic reform of urban planning. – VNS

Environment ministry moves from passive to proactive role in handling environmental issues

March 8, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

In an interview granted to the media regarding the ministry’s endeavours in previous years and how it will head into the future, Minister Tran Hong Ha said it has proposed that the Party, National Assembly (NA), and Government review and fix shortcomings in the State management of natural resources, while itself developing key policies on the environment and natural resources, most notably the 2020 revised Law on Environmental Protection.

Natural resources have been better managed and used more efficiently, with tighter control over illegal mineral exploitation and environmentally-damaging practices in exploitation, Ha said.

He noted that the collection of land use fees for the State budget last year was 33 percent higher than expected, while revenue from mineral exploitation was 12 percent higher than the annual plan. Tougher actions have been taken to ensure the sustainable use of water resources and water security.

The ministry has actively proposed a number of policies to respond to climate change and systematically enforced these with strategic visions, he said, adding that it has also worked to modernise hydrometeorological forecasting and improve forecasting quality.

It has outlined 17 high-risk types of industrial production likely to have adverse impacts on the environment and which require close supervision and inspection. He emphasised the need to enhance information transparency so that people can participate in the process of environmental monitoring when a project is implemented.

The environmental aspect must be taken into account in developing the economy, he said, and economic costs must include costs for environmental protection.

Vietnam’s economy needs to transform from a “brown economy”, in which economic growth is largely dependent on environmentally-destructive activities, especially the consumption of fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas, to a “green economy” that involves the significant use of environmentally-friendly materials. “[We] must maintain a green living space for people,” he said.

He also has high hopes for the digital economy, which he said is the engine and solution for future development. The growth of the digital economy and digital society will not only help lessen the burden on the environment but also create jobs and higher value in addressing environmental problems and expanding forest coverage, he said.

This year, the ministry aims to have 90 percent of urban solid waste collected and treated under guaranteed standards, 92 percent of industrial parks and export processing zones owning water treatment systems, 100 percent of businesses causing pollution punished, and the effective and sustainable use of natural resources contribute 11 percent to State budget revenue.

Source: VNA

Vietnamese woman produces reusable sanitary napkins to protect environment

March 3, 2019 by tuoitrenews.vn

A young Vietnamese woman has initiated a project that manufactures reusable sanitary pads in an effort to reduce the amount of garbage dumped every day.

Bui Thi Minh Ngoc established a project called Green Lady Vietnam in 2017 that has produced cloth menstrual pads – items that have started to be used in America, Europe, India, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam’s neighbors Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand.

“An average woman uses up to 10,000 disposable sanitary towels during her entire life. But a standard sanitary towel decomposes as slowly as four plastic bags,” Ngoc, 25, said.

She was motivated by the desire to offer sanitary pads made completely of cloth that are tailored to Vietnamese women.

Often working ten to twelve hours a day, she has spent a large part of her time being employed full-time and devoting several hours of the day to plans to develop her own business.

She had a hard time finding suitable cloth for eco-friendly, safe sanitary napkins.

“The fabric has to be naturally made, absorbent, easily washable and quick-drying,” she said.

She traveled to cloth-making villages on the outskirts of Hanoi in the hope of getting good enough fabric but the effort failed.

Her mother, who has enthusiastically supported her, came to the daughter’s rescue by buying the material she needs and finding workers for the Green Lady Vietnam project.

Ngoc’s decision to embark on the undertaking encountered dissuasion from a number of friends and people with knowledge of the menstrual napkin industry.

“Many people told me cloth sanitary pads are a backward step away from modern life, as they cause inconvenience and would hardly sell well,” she recalled.

She has remained undaunted although she was at times uncertain about whether expanding the project would generate any success.

She found a way out by maintaining sanitary pad production while running courses on eco-friendly lifestyles and knowledge of human reproduction.

“I learned how to find an opportunity amidst challenges and grab at it,” she said.

“Even with a focus on the niche market, we decide that what Green Lady Vietnam aims to do is not just sell products but also combine public awareness and action.”

Van Anh, one of Ngoc’s customers, has switched to reusable sanitary napkins to avoid getting rid of 20 disposable sanitary pads that could have otherwise been dumped in a month.

Another customer, Hai Anh, said what she liked best about Ngoc’s sanitary pads was their high quality and the beautiful patterns on them.

Ngoc is happy to see that her business has reached Cambodia and is expected to enter the markets of Myanmar and Indonesia soon.

“I wish to make Green Lady Vietnam able to create jobs for disadvantaged women in the future,” she said.

To be ready for use, cloth sanitary pads should be soaked in cold water for half an hour before they can be washed in water at the maximum temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, according to Viet Thi Minh Trang, a department head at the Pham Ngoc Thach University of Medicine in Ho Chi Minh City.

It is advisable to keep the items straight while they are being washed, and then they can be dried at low temperatures, Trang said.

They should be placed in dry places to prevent the growth of microorganisms, she added.

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Hanoi: Environment protection message is delivered on the Kitchen God Farewell’s day

February 4, 2021 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – The volunteer group, called itself as “Ca Chep” or The carp, delivers a message of environmental protection: “Release fish- Not plastic bags”.

The “Ong Cong – Ong Tao” (Land Genie and Kitchen God) or the “Kitchen God” farewell ritual which falls on 4 February this year. Since the early morning of the day, a group of youth volunteers from Hanoi gathered in Long Bien bridge, helping people to do the ritual of fish releasing in an environmentally friendly way.

The volunteer group called itself as “Ca Chep” or the carp, features 50 young volunteers who are responsible for helping people releasing fish into the Red River and collecting plastic bags.

They stand along the bridge, holding signs conveying the message of environmental protection: “Release fish- Not plastic bags”. This is the group’s annual activity. The project is called “Kitchen God’s Journey”.

Traditionally, the kitchen god farewell ritual is usually observed on the 23rd day of the last month of the lunar year. And alive carps or goldfishes are considered as the means for Land Genie and the Kitchen God to ride to Heaven to deliver an annual report on the household’s activities to the Jade Emperor.

In addition, for Vietnamese, the image of carp also conveyed the aspiration of “Carp transforms to Dragon”, which implies sublimation, persistent spirit to conquer knowledge and success. Live fish releasing ritual is also considered a kind act which people think would be redeemed with good luck.

According to Nguyen Duc Toan- the head of the Ca Chep group, this annual activity not only aims at lending people a hand to release fish on a special and busy day of the year, but also delivering the message of environment protection among Hanoians.

Many people gave fish to the volunteers, asking them to release the fish into the water.

Volunteers used pulleys to transfer fish bags from the Long Bien bridge to the Red River beach, preparing for the fish release.

Measures to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic are strictly followed by these young people. They all wear face masks and keep the safe distance.

A volunteer waits on the Red River’s mudflats, receiving the fish and release into the water; at the same time, collect the plastic bag.

Vietnam remains selective in attracting FDI projects

July 23, 2020 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – This is the right time for Vietnam to adopt a selective approach in attracting FDI inflows to better meet its needs, said Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh.

Vietnam remains selective in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) projects, with efficiency, use of advanced technology and environment-friendliness being the main criteria, according to Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh at the meeting. Photo: VGP.

Priorities would be given to projects using new and green technologies, with high added value, modern corporate governance, high spillover effects, ensuring technology transfer and being integrated with global supply and production chains, Minh said at a meeting of the government’s task force specialized in FDI attraction on July 23.

According to Minh, who heads the task force, Vietnam has been widely seen as an attractive investment destination, mainly thanks to its existing competitive advantages, strong reform efforts, and effective anti-Covid-19 measures.

Minh said this is the right time for Vietnam to adopt a selective approach in attracting FDI inflows to better meet its needs. However, in order for the country to get the right projects, breakthrough measures and actions are required, Minh stated.

Overview of the meeting. Photo: VGP.

In the meantime, the government remains supportive of the local business community and other economic components, Minh asserted.

For the remaining months of 2020, the task force would focus on three main activities which are promoting investment activities; proposing new policies for investment; and disseminating the image of Vietnam and its business environment.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc on May 23 agreed to set up a task force that will help the country prepare for new wave of FDI inflows in the post-Covid-19 period.

FDI commitments to Vietnam in the January – June period stood at US$15.67 billion, down 15.1% year-on-year.

Year to June 20, 1,418 new projects have been approved with committed capital of a combined US$8.44 billion, down 17.7% in the number of projects but up 13.9% in capital year-on-year. In addition, 526 existing projects have been injected an additional US$3.7 billion, up 26.8% in capital.

Investors have poured money into 18 fields and sectors, in which manufacturing and processing led the pack with over US$8 billion, accounting for 51.1% of the registered tally. Electricity production and supply came second with US$3.95 billion, or 25.2% of the total, followed by wholesale and retail with US$1.08 billion, real estate with US$850 million.