Decision No. 16/2007/QĐ-TTg on approving the "Master Plan for the National Environmental Monitoring Network until 2020"

Pursuant to …;

Regarding the approval of the "National Environmental Monitoring Network Master Plan to 2020"

PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;

The Prime Minister issues this Decision amending and supplementing certain provisions of the Regulation on Response Activities to Oil Spill Incidents issued together with Decision No. 02/2013/QĐ-TTg dated January 14, 2013 of the Prime Minister.

Pursuant to the Law on Water Resources dated May 20, 1998;

Pursuant to the Ordinance on Exploitation and Protection of Meteorological and Hydrological Works dated December 2, 1994;

Considering the proposal of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment.

Pursuant to …;

Article 1Approves the "National Environmental Monitoring Network Master Plan to 2020" (hereinafter referred to as the Plan) with the main contents as follows:

I. GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. The Plan must have continuity, fully utilize and enhance existing material and technical infrastructure and monitoring staff; repairs, upgrades, or new constructions of monitoring stations and points must be focused, prioritized, avoid dispersion, be suitable for economic and social conditions, meet the requirements for resource protection and environmental conservation, and satisfy the need for basic investigation data provision to support sustainable national development at each stage.

2. The national environmental monitoring network must ensure synchronization, modernity, and advanced technology across the entire territory, with a competent cadre capable of operation. For each monitoring element, at a specific time and location, monitoring shall be conducted by a public service unit according to a unified process.

3. The national environmental monitoring network is an open system that continuously supplements, upgrades, and completes, connects and shares information smoothly from central to local levels under the unified management of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

4. Gradually modernize monitoring technology, machinery, and equipment based on widely applying domestic research technologies and mastering advanced foreign technologies.

5. Monitoring activities for resource and environmental information and data collection to serve environmental protection and socio-economic development are mainly funded by state budget, while there should be appropriate mechanisms to mobilize additional legitimate funds as prescribed by law.

II. OBJECTIVES

1. General objectives:

Establishing the national environmental monitoring network to ensure uniformity nationwide, synchronization, modernity, and gradual advancement, meeting the needs of collecting and providing basic investigation data on the environment, water resources, meteorology and hydrology, effectively serving environmental pollution control, forecasting, warning, prevention, mitigation of damage caused by natural disasters, and strong and sustainable socio-economic development.

2. Specific objectives for each phase:

a) Phase 2007 - 2010:

- Establish and complete organizational structure, management and operational systems; train and supplement monitoring staff to meet the requirements and tasks of the national environmental monitoring network;

- Supplement and modify regulations, procedures, standards, and monitoring indicators in a synchronized manner to meet the monitoring requirements of each specific field of resources and environment;

- Consolidate and gradually modernize existing environmental monitoring stations; construct and put into operation at least one-third of the planned new stations, focusing on areas and monitoring elements urgently needed for disaster prevention and environmental protection;

- Construct, consolidate, and upgrade environmental information and resource centers; strengthen communication capabilities between monitoring stations and information centers; establish, manage, and effectively utilize monitoring databases.

b) Phase 2011 - 2015:

- Continue to consolidate and modernize existing environmental monitoring stations; construct and put into operation at least half of the remaining stations;

- Upgrade resource and environmental databases to ensure smooth, synchronized, systematic, and reliable information;

- Continue to train and supplement monitoring staff to meet the cadre needs of the national environmental monitoring network.

c) Phase 2016 - 2020:

- Complete the construction and effective operation of all monitoring stations in the Plan, ensuring rationality, uniformity, synchronization, and modernity of the national environmental monitoring network;

- Enhance the capacity of monitoring staff, technicians, and managers to meet the operational requirements of the national environmental monitoring network.

III. SCOPE OF THE PLAN

The National Environmental Monitoring Network Master Plan to 2020 is limited within the framework of a relatively stable and long-term monitoring network, where monitoring can be combined among environmental, water resource, and meteorological fields. Special-purpose monitoring stations for disaster prediction and warning, such as flash floods, tsunamis, earthquakes, and other types of disasters, will be supplemented and constructed according to separate projects.

IV. BASIC COMPONENTS OF THE NETWORK

1. The national environmental monitoring network is divided into the following specialized networks:

a) The environmental monitoring network, including background and impact monitoring, built on maintaining and upgrading existing environmental monitoring stations and constructing new ones:

- The environmental background monitoring network by 2020 includes 8 air quality monitoring points, 60 river water quality monitoring points, 6 lake water quality monitoring points, 140 groundwater quality monitoring points, and 12 coastal and offshore sea water quality monitoring points;

- The environmental monitoring network impacting until 2020 includes 34 monitoring units with modern monitoring facilities and equipment. 58 centrally governed provinces and cities, industrial zones monitor air environmental impact; 64 centrally governed provinces and cities, industrial zones monitor surface water environmental impact; 21 centrally governed provinces and cities monitor acid rain; 32 centrally governed provinces and cities monitor soil environment. Conduct marine environment monitoring at 48 river mouths, 14 seaports, 11 beaches, 7 aquaculture areas, 160 offshore points; conduct radioactive environment monitoring at 120 mines and centrally governed provinces and cities; conduct solid waste monitoring at 64 centrally governed provinces and cities (concentrated on industrial zones and craft villages); conduct biodiversity monitoring at 49 national parks and nature reserves.

b) The natural resource water monitoring network, including surface water resource monitoring and groundwater resource monitoring:

- The surface water resource monitoring network until 2020 includes 348 stations, of which there are 270 stations for river water volume monitoring, 116 stations for river and lake water quality monitoring, and 1,580 rainfall measurement points. These monitoring stations and points have been integrated into meteorological and hydrological observation networks;

- The groundwater resource monitoring network is established based on maintaining and upgrading 39 stations, 286 points, and 661 existing monitoring works, supplementing missing stations and points to reach a total of 70 stations, 692 points, and 1,331 monitoring works by 2020;

c) The meteorological and hydrological monitoring network, including meteorological monitoring, hydrological monitoring, and marine meteorological monitoring:

- The meteorological monitoring network is established based on maintaining and upgrading 174 surface meteorological stations, 29 agricultural meteorological stations, 19 high-altitude meteorological stations (6 weather radar stations, 3 radio sounding stations, 7 pilot stations, 3 ozone-ultraviolet radiation stations) and 764 existing rainfall measurement points, while supplementing missing stations and points to reach a total of 231 surface meteorological stations, 79 agricultural meteorological stations, 50 high-altitude meteorological stations (15 weather radar stations, 11 radio sounding stations, 11 pilot stations, 4 ozone-ultraviolet radiation stations, 9 lightning location stations) and 1,580 rainfall measurement points by 2020;

- The hydrological monitoring network is established based on maintaining and upgrading 248 existing stations, supplementing missing stations to reach a total of 347 stations by 2020;

- The marine meteorological monitoring network is established based on maintaining and upgrading 17 existing stations, supplementing missing stations to reach a total of 35 stations by 2020;

2. The list of monitoring stations and laboratories prioritized for investment and upgrade over three phases: 2007-2010, 2011-2015, and 2016-2020 is recorded in Appendices I, II, III, and IV attached to this Decision.

V. MAJOR SOLUTIONS TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN

1. Capital for implementing the Plan:

a) The budget for implementing the contents of the Plan is estimated at approximately 6.5 trillion VND. The total budget for implementing the Plan is determined based on the consolidation of budgets for each project and specific tasks approved by competent authorities according to current laws;

b) In addition to state budget capital, it is necessary to mobilize other sources of capital from society, businesses, organizations, individuals both domestic and foreign, ODA, FDI... to effectively invest in developing the national monitoring network for natural resources and the environment;

2. Improving policies, laws, and organizational structures:

a) Drafting and promulgating legal documents, procedures, standards, and economic and technical norms related to monitoring, collecting, processing, managing, and providing information and basic survey data on natural resources and the environment according to unified standards for application nationwide;

b) Improving organizational structures and staffing; perfecting functions, tasks, and operational regulations of units within the national monitoring network for natural resources and the environment;

c) Reviewing, drafting, and supplementing incentive and preferential policies for personnel engaged in monitoring and basic survey work on natural resources and the environment, particularly for monitoring officers in remote, border, and island areas;

d) Standardizing professions for natural resource and environmental monitoring officers.

3. Strengthening investment in building technical infrastructure and modernizing monitoring technology:

a) Strengthening investment in constructing monitoring stations and points (repairing, renovating, upgrading, and building new ones), prioritizing key economic regions, stations within the early warning and disaster forecasting network, and areas where the monitoring network is still lacking;

b) Vigorously investing in technical infrastructure, machinery, equipment, and advanced technology for monitoring activities, information transmission, processing, management, and provision of basic survey data on natural resources and the environment;

c) Concentrating investment in technical infrastructure for laboratories, analytical centers, and training institutions for natural resource and environmental monitoring officers.

4. Promoting scientific research, developing and applying advanced technologies, and enhancing human resource training:

a) Promoting scientific research, developing, and applying advanced technologies, especially monitoring, information transmission, processing, management, analysis, evaluation, and provision of basic survey data on natural resources and the environment; researching and manufacturing automatic monitoring devices suitable for the country's natural, economic, and social conditions;

b) Researching and innovating training programs and content for natural resource and environmental monitoring officers towards selective, quality training, ensuring multi-skilled knowledge acquisition, capable of performing various types of monitoring, some being trained deeply into technicians. Vigorously retraining to improve professional skills and expertise for existing cadres, technicians, and monitoring officers. Emphasizing practical capabilities of monitoring officers to meet operational requirements of individual stations and points and the entire national network.

5. Expand and strengthen international cooperation in the field of natural resource and environmental monitoring:

Expand and enhance bilateral and multilateral cooperation with foreign countries, organizations, and individuals to seek international assistance in terms of experience, science and technology, finance, human resource training, information, attracting investment, etc., to rapidly, strongly, and firmly develop the network of natural resource and environmental monitoring in the country.

VI. IMPLEMENTATION

1. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment:

a) Take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance, and relevant ministries, sectors, provincial People's Committees under the Central Government to build long-term plans, five-year plans, and detailed annual plans for implementing the contents of the Master Plan; organize the establishment and operation of monitoring stations and points under the management of the Ministry;

b) Develop, submit for issuance, or issue within its authority normative legal documents, procedures, standards, economic and technical norms, professional guidance on monitoring, data collection, processing, integration, management, transmission, and provision of information and basic investigation data on natural resources and the environment for uniform application throughout the country;

c) Review, amend, supplement, and define functions, tasks, organizational structures for units engaged in monitoring, basic investigation, information and data management on natural resources and the environment under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

d) Provide monitoring information and data on natural resources and the environment to relevant ministries, sectors, localities, and units, while publicly disclosing such information and data to serve the enhancement of public awareness, education, and communication, except for information and data listed in the State secrets directory;

đ) Take the lead and coordinate with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to inspect, supervise, and periodically review, summarize, and evaluate experiences in implementing the contents of this Master Plan;

e) Annually compile and report the results of implementation to the Prime Minister and propose solutions for new issues arising beyond their authority;

2. The Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance:

Based on the approved contents of the Master Plan, in conjunction with the proposals from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, relevant ministries, sectors, and localities, balance and allocate funds to implement the Master Plan according to schedule;

3. Other relevant ministries and sectors:

a) Coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to unify and perfect professional guidance, procedures, standards, and techniques for monitoring, methods of exchanging monitoring information and data on natural resources and the environment applicable to monitoring stations managed by ministries and sectors;

b) Organize monitoring of environmental impacts from activities under the management of the ministry or sector;

c) Send monitoring information and data collected by ministries and sectors to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

4. Provincial People's Committees under the Central Government:

a) Coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to establish and put into operation environmental monitoring centers at the local level;

b) Organize environmental status monitoring at the local level;

c) Report the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on the results of monitoring natural resources and the environment from monitoring stations and points managed and operated by the locality;

Article 2. This Decision shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette;

Article 3. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment is responsible for guiding and organizing the implementation of the contents of this Master Plan;

THE MINISTERS, HEADS OF GOVERNMENT-LEVEL MINISTRIES, HEADS OF GOVERNMENT-LEVEL AGENCIES, AND CHAIRMEN OF PROVINCE AND CITY PEOPLE'S COMMITTEES DIRECTLY UNDER THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT SHALL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ENFORCING THIS DECISION./.