Kick off workshop MK 33 Capacity Building and Professional Development of

Water Governance and Regional Development Practitioners in Red Basin

WATER GOVERNANCE ISSUES IN VIETNAM

Dr. Dao Trong TuExpert on policy and water governance

Hanoi, 16/3/2015,

1. CONCEPT OF GOVERNANCE, WATER GOVERNACE;

2. WATER GOVERNANCE IN VIETNAM

3. EVALUATION OF GOVERNANCE IN VIETNAM

4. RESEARCH ORIENTATION (SHORT-TIME AND LONG-TIME)

5. DISCUSSION ON WATER GOVERNANCE.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CONCEPT OF GOVERNANCE, WATER GOVERNACE

1

Reasoning governance in general and economic governance in particular are rich and developed based on many theories, through many different historical periods and still being finalized

Nature perspective: government governance mentioned rule and operation of a state through certain methods (eg. DC institution).

Structure perspective: government governance are reviewed from the perspective of organizational structure, specified location, jurisdiction and functions of each agency within the state apparatus.

In brief, government governance is considered as one structure, one organization system in the state apparatus of a country. Follows the social system specification (includes political, social economic factors, issued the problems of organization and management science). linked: http://www.kilobooks.com – eLibrary of Vietnam -

http://www.kilobooks.com/the-che-nha-nuoc-la-gi-phan-tich-cac-yeu-to-anh-huong-den-qua-trinh-hinh-thanh-va-bien-doi-cua-the-che-nha-nuoc-

Economic governance is a system of legal entities in order with the aim of adjustment of an economy, the act of producing and economic relations. Economic governance, including major elements: the laws, rules, regulations, ... related to economic combined with sanctions violations; economic organizations; operating economic mechanisms.  

POLITICAL GOVERNANCE OF THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM

Laws accepted by the National Assembly

Decree

Decree has approved

Government of the

Socialist Republic of

Viet Nam

Circular has approved by

Ministry

THE ORGANIZATION SYSTEM OF STATE

National Assembly

Prime Minister

People's Committe

e Province

People's Committee District

People's Committe

e Commune

People's Council

Province

People's Council District

People's Council

Commune

President

Chief Justice

Chief of People's

Procuracy

People's Court

province

People's Procuracy province

People's Court

District

People's Procuracy District

Legislate

Executive

Justice

ADMINISTRATIVE ORGANIZATION

Vietnam

ProvinceProvince

ProvinceProvince

Tỉnh

ProvinceProvince

ProvinceTỉnh

ProvinceProvince

ProvinceProvince

Tỉnh

Đà Nẵng

Cần Thơ

Hải Phòng

TP HCM

Hà Nội

63 province5 cities belong to Government

District Town Distric City

Communes Communes Towns

698 districts

11.112 communes

GOVERNACE REFORM

National Assembly

Prime Minister

People's Committe

e Province

People's Committee District

People's Committe

e Commune

People's Council

Province

HĐND huyện

HĐND xã

President

Chief Justice

Chief of People's

Procuracy

People's Court

province

People's Procuracy province

People's Court Distr

People's Procuracy District

Legislate

Executive

Justice

Existing ProblemsShort Vision: backwardLow feasibilityThe legislative process is often slowNot detailed: need a detailed gridline (Decree / circular)

Causing Lack of coherent and comprehensive Low feasibilityCapacity Low levels of complianceLow level of acceptance

The principle of law reform:

Operations by law

International integration

Close to reality

Legal reform combine with administrative reform and judicial

WATER GOVERNANCE IN VIETNAM

2

In overall, the current management, exploitation and protection of water resources have been many changes and reforms.

Functional management of water resources have been allocated to a Host Agency, that is Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE).

At the same time, many relevant ministries also have specific functions related to the management, exploitation and using of water resources.

MinistryFunctional management and missions relevant on water

resources

Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE)

State Management on water resources, meteorology, integrated and unified management of the sea and islands.

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)

State Management on agriculture, salt, seafood, irrigation, rural development, dikes, flood control

Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOI) Hydropower development, construction and hydropower operation

Ministry of Science and Technology Building and guiding the water standard.

Ministry of Construction (MOC) Making plans of water supply and drainage in urban areas, industrial parks and residential areas.

Ministry of Transport (MOT) Management and development of waterway transportation, building waterways and harbors.

Ministry of Health (MOH) Management of drinking water standards, hygiene and food safety.

Ministry of Finance (MOF) Water Management Fee and Tax

Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)

The total investment of the projects on water resources and building plans, funding investment for water resources projects and harm reduction projects caused by water.

Functional management of relevant ministries on water resources in Vietnam

Although the legal framework and institutional management at the state level from the central to local levels related to the management, exploitation and using of water resources had formed towards stable, but degradation and water shortage of river systems in whole country still occur complex.

Conflicts and disputes between water sectors / water users, between upstream and downstream areas, and many issues related to water resources are big issues in many river systems, in many localities. 

Generality

EVALUATION OF WATER GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK

3

From 1998, after Law on Water Resources: 128 legal documents related to water resources is issued, in which, 92 documents are still valid,

At the local level, there were 55/63 provinces and cities directly under the Central Government are issued over 100 legal documents, namely the licensing of exploration and using of water resources, wastewater discharge in water resources management and regulation of water resources in the province.

2006: National Strategy on Water Resources by 2020

2012: Law on Water Resources (new)

LEGAL FRAMEWORK

OVERALL ASSESSMENTS

Water resources management in Vietnam still some shortcomings at both central and local government

The planning of water resources:

Lack of planning on working, along with the lack of a strong organization to coordinate activities in the basin, had many problems among many sectors, inter-locals need solving but have not been coordinated timely.

Exploitation and using of water resources is not reasonable, no integrated assurance, efficient; no link between exploitation and using, preventing water's adverse effects; quality and quantity management don't go together, lead to effectiveness of laws limiting in practice.

(MONRE 2010)

Baseline surveys, inventory and water resource assessments:

There are no specific provisions in the Act, only provisions of responsibility principle for baseline surveys; lack of regulation in principle, content, requirements, assignment of responsibilities for implementation ...

Information, data of water resources are shortage, dispersal and asynchronous; do not know exact quantification of the national water resources; no early warning of water resources to propose response measures ... and not enough information to solve and treat the problems arising in practice.

Protecting water resources: The new rules focus on the protection of water quality and surface water, no specific provisions for the protection of water quality, prevention and degradation, groundwater depletion.

Lack of specific regulations to control the water pollution sources, not strong enough to treat and not combine with the law on environmental protection.

There are no specific regulations to control activities along the water sources, which may cause pollution, degradation and depletion of water resources; no provisions on the corridor to protect, prevent water pollution of rivers, lakes and other important water sources.

Operations management, water pollution control are concentrated in just urban areas and the river surrounding cities and industrial areas; the problem of controlling water quality and water pollution in rural areas has not been fully concerned.

The exploitation, use of water resources:Lack of specific regulations, lack of measures and sanctions ... in fact, the exploitation and water use is not managed and unified control leading to water use efficiency is not high; the status quo of using wastewater, efficiencies quite common.

Lack of general coordination on river basins, should not promote the efficiency of extraction process, including the multi-purpose works in coordinating water regulation service on flood prevention, water supply for downstream and the main task of works.

Exploitation of groundwater excessively, no sanctions to tightly controlled, which are making groundwater level in some areas is lowered excessively, no measures to control the designing and construction of extraction works of groundwater; control the operation of drilling, digging into the ground ... the risk of major pollutants, degradation of quality, quantity, causing depletion of groundwater resources, ... and increase the risk of land subsidence, threat to the stability of the buildings and infrastructure in some areas.

Licensed operators and use of water resources, wastewater discharge into water sources is still inadequate:

Despite its obvious economic value of water resources, but in fact, the state management of water resources, economic issues, financial resources in the country have not been considered important measures contributed protect water resources sustainably. Every year, the Government must invest a lot of money to protect water resources, prevention and remedial, damage caused by water, but the funds used to perform this task is very limited, currently no mechanism for an specific economic and financial policies.

State management on water resources:

River basin management is the core content of the integrated water resources management but the responsible for river basin management are overlapped, until December 2008, Vietnamese Government issued Decree No. 120/2008 / ND-CP on the river basins management.

The document of the exploration license, extraction and use of water resources, wastewater discharge into water sources; administrative sanction was issued quite late has caused difficulties in practical management.

A number of contents in Law on Water Resources was decentralized at locally-appropriate regulatory, but issued guidelines to implement quite later, such as extraction scale, water use, wastewater discharge at small-scale, the area protection of extraction works, ... this also leads to law enforcement at the local level was delayed.

River Basin Management, conditioning and water resource allocation

Water still exists and motion follows the river basin, therefore, water resources management in basically is the basin management. The draft Law should specify the content of river basin management; organizational management and coordination of activities related to water resources in river basins; prevention and pollution control, degradation, depletion and response, troubleshoot water pollution; responsible for state management of river basins.

MARD

Building Normative Documents

Approval of the competent authorities

Monitoring and Protection

Management organization

Planning strategy and extraction strategy

Construction

Prevention and troubleshoot

MOC, MOIT, MOT

MONRE

The status quo of water resource management in Vietnam

Wastage of manpower: The concerned ministries participate in water resources management must be held responsible for planning, engineering, policy, investment ... leading to large wasting both financial and human resources (all relevant ministries are both management agencies and functional units related to water resources).

Wastage of the budget, planning and plans: There are many kinds of planning as integrated planning of water use, development planning and water resources protection, irrigation planning, watershed planning ... are happening on the same basin, executed by MARD and MONRE. Although different names, there are two different reports on water resources and water resources protection, but similar a common goal to balancing water usage and supplies of agriculture, domestic, industrial, fisheries, hydropower , transportation, etc.

The weakness, asynchronous and irrational in the institutional framework reduces the feasibility and validity of the legislation was enacted. The inadequacies of the institutional framework at the central level has been repeated at the local level due to the stereotypes and challenges the perception and human resources, material resources that local will have..

RESEARCH ORIENTATION (SHORT-TIME AND LONG-TIME)

4

Urgently need to complete and publish the bylaws for the effective implementation of the Law on Water Resources in 2012

Preventing pollution and degradation of water resources in river basins and groundwater resources

Challenges in terms of water resources protection under climate change context

Reviewing lessons learned from the activities of River Basin Planning Management Board were formed and activated under the Law on Water Resources (1998)

Short-time

Water for sustainable national development

Water security – Food security

Water use efficiency – saving

Cooperation of water resources protection of transnational river basins

Participated in the Program for Water and Sustainable Development after 2015 of the United

Nations -

Participated in the 7th World Water Forum 12-17/4/2015 Deage in South Korea

Healthy People - Prosperity - Social Justice - Ecological System is Protected

Water Security

Global approach to safe drinking water, sanitation and hygiene systems, improve water quality and enhance service standards

Use and sustainable development of water resources, increasing and sharing the benefit.

Promote efficient water management with many governances and systems to effective management

Improved wastewater management and water quality taking into account the tolerance limits of environment

Disaster Risk Reduction related to water to protect the vulnerable groups and minimize economic loss.

5 priority areas of development goals - after 2015 of the UN

Long-time

Study to develop a legal framework and institutions to form the river basin organizations (Inter-province) really comes into operating efficiency

The study applies the integrated water resources management in the river basins (national)

Effectiveness of enforcement institutions can be enhanced of water sector via completing a governance

40

THANK YOU