Decision No. 174/2006/QĐ-TTg Approves the Comprehensive Plan for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development of the Ecosystem and Landscape in the Red River Basin

Pursuant to …;

Approving the Comprehensive Plan for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development

of the Ecosystem and Landscape in the Red River Basin

_________________

PRIME MINISTER

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

Pursuant to the Law on Environmental Protection dated December 12, 2005;

Pursuant to the National Environmental Protection Strategy until 2010 and orientations until 2020 issued pursuant to Decision No. 256/2003/QĐ-TTg dated December 2, 2003 of the Government.

Considering the proposal of the Chairpersons of the People's Committees of the provinces within the Red River Basin including Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Vinh Phuc, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong,

Pursuant to …;

Article 1. Approves the Comprehensive Plan for Environmental Protection and Sustainable Development of the Ecosystem and Landscape in the Red River Basin (hereinafter referred to as the Comprehensive Plan for the Red River Basin) with the following main contents:

I. GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Protecting the ecosystem and landscape of the Red River Basin is a long-term and continuous task that requires high determination, necessitating the concentration of investment resources from local authorities and people within the basin, with support from the central budget.

2. The protection of the ecosystem and landscape of the Red River Basin must be addressed comprehensively: throughout the entire basin combined with administrative boundaries; maintaining water quality while ensuring sufficient water volume.

3. Prevention and control of environmental degradation should be prioritized, combined with gradually addressing and mitigating hotspots of pollution across the entire basin. All new production facilities starting operations within the basin must use clean technology or technologies that ensure waste treatment meets environmental standards. Prioritize the implementation of the Comprehensive Plan for the Red River Basin by integrating it with other relevant state projects, programs of ministries and sectors, and localities within the basin.

4. Promote socialization, leverage internal capacity, and strengthen state management; apply advanced science and technology and traditional solutions to maintain a clean living environment for individual households and communities.

II. GENERAL DIRECTIONS AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

1. General direction until 2020:

- Implement Decision No. 256/2003/QĐ-TTg dated December 2, 2003 of the Prime Minister approving the National Environmental Protection Strategy until 2010 and orientations until 2020 in the Red River Basin, gradually address pollution, improve and enhance the quality of the river environment to bring the Red River back to cleanliness by 2020, ensuring water balance to effectively meet economic and social development needs in the basin, stable flow systems, safe and sustainable hydraulic works, and beautiful natural landscapes.

- Establish, issue, and effectively implement a system of mechanisms and policies with feasible solutions to prevent the increase in pollution levels, restore, protect, regenerate, and develop environmental resources in the Red River Basin; establish a suitable watershed environmental management model based on natural, economic, and social conditions, ensuring fairness for all subjects and sub-regions within the basin, linking rights with obligations of users in the long-term protection of the basin's ecological environment towards sustainable development.

2. Objectives by 2007:

- Complete the handling of serious pollution sources in the Red River Basin during Phase I (from 2003 to 2007) according to Decision No. 64/2003/QĐ-TTg dated April 22, 2003 of the Prime Minister approving the "Comprehensive Plan to Address Serious Pollution Sources", limit the increase in Red River water pollution, create initial positive changes in environmental handling throughout the basin.

- Address the unregulated extraction of sand and gravel in the river, protecting the natural cross-section stability of the river.

- Strengthen afforestation, ensuring forest quality according to prescribed standards to mitigate dry season water shortages; preserve, regenerate, and develop a clean natural environment, conserve biodiversity throughout the basin.

- Formulate and gradually complete the organizational model for watershed environmental management; establish necessary mechanisms and policies to facilitate enhanced state management and promote socialization in environmental protection in the basin.

3. Objectives by 2012:

- Completely prevent the increase in Red River water pollution. Continue implementing Decision No. 64/2003/QĐ-TTg dated April 22, 2003 of the Prime Minister approving the "Comprehensive Plan to Address Serious Pollution Sources", ensuring all serious pollution sources and the most heavily polluted areas in the Red River Basin are fully addressed.

- Ensure smooth flow throughout the entire river course, appropriately concrete the banks of essential river sections passing through urban areas.

- Preserve existing forest funds, increase forest coverage in the basin to at least 43% of total natural area, and basically restore degraded upstream forests.

- Basically complete the renovation and upgrading of stormwater drainage and wastewater systems in urban and industrial zones throughout the basin; 50% of production and business establishments in the six Red River Basin provinces obtain environmental standard certification or ISO 14001 certificates; 40% of urban areas, 70% of industrial and export processing zones in the basin have centralized wastewater treatment systems meeting environmental standards; collect 90% of industrial solid waste and household solid waste; treat 60% of hazardous waste, with medical waste reaching 100%.

III. MAIN TASKS AND SOLUTIONS

1. Duties:

a) Fully assess the current status and fundamentally prevent the increase in pollution levels in the Red River Basin:

- Investigate the current pollution status of various environmental components and resources (water, soil, air...) caused by industrial, handicraft, agricultural production, and human activities.

- Monitor and inspect pollution sources; strictly implement environmental impact assessments before project construction; manage environmental protection when projects are operational.

b) Remediate and restore the environment in areas and facilities causing severe pollution and environmental hotspots:

- Thoroughly address serious pollution sources within the watershed pursuant to Decision No. 64/2003/QĐ-TTg dated April 22, 2003 of the Prime Minister approving the "Plan for Thoroughly Addressing Serious Pollution Sources."

- Address heavily polluted river sections, dredge and deepen important river sections, reinforce weak riverbanks where necessary.

c) Gradually revive the Cau River to conserve and develop natural environmental resources and biodiversity.

- Restore protective forests and headwater forests that have deteriorated, enhance water replenishment, construct water retention works to prevent depletion; ensure water quality and quantity to meet economic and social development needs; maintain stable and unobstructed natural flow, ensuring the sustainability of irrigation works within the watershed.

- Conserve biodiversity, protect natural landscapes, and ecological environments in the Cau River watershed.

2. Main solutions:

a) Implement socialization of environmental protection tasks, ecology, and landscape conservation in the Cau River watershed including:

- Strengthen communication activities, raise public awareness about the benefits and responsibilities related to the environment (the relationship between environmental hygiene and health and societal development...), organize community participation, implement mechanisms for coordinated actions by mass organizations, replicate self-management models, maintain regular community campaigns to protect the environment while focusing on specific projects and key tasks during certain periods.

- Vigorously apply economic tools, create employment in sustainable resource management and environmental protection in the Cau River watershed; establish and develop rural sanitation service markets according to state guidelines.

b) Enhance the effectiveness of state management throughout the entire watershed:

- Strictly implement national regulatory legal documents concerning resources, the environment, and related fields in sustainable resource management and environmental protection.

- Develop, complete, and operate a synchronized watershed management mechanism; establish a monitoring, surveillance, and forecasting system for resources and the environment, and a database of environmental resources.

- Develop, approve, and operate policy systems such as five-year plans, annual plans, international cooperation plans, financial mechanisms, investment incentives, programs, projects, and mechanisms for coordinated actions by management agencies and mass organizations...

c) Diversify investment resources to attract maximum and effectively utilize various resources with reasonable incentive mechanisms to address pollution, serve the protection, regeneration, and development of watershed environmental resources:

- All enterprises operating in the Cau River watershed must allocate their own capital to protect the environment and mitigate pollution caused by production and business activities. The State will consider providing partial funding support for this task in the form of targeted assistance for specific tasks and projects.

- The state budget will invest in addressing pollution from domestic wastewater discharged into the watershed and treating centralized waste disposal sites through targeted assistance for specific tasks and projects.

- Prioritize using environmental protection fees under the mechanism stipulated in Decision No. 82/2002/QĐ-TTg dated June 26, 2002 of the Prime Minister regarding the establishment, organization, and operation of the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund.

d) Promote international cooperation in various forms of multilateral and bilateral cooperation with countries, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations to seek cooperation and support in terms of experience, advanced technology, encourage and create conditions for ministries, sectors, and localities to mobilize international financial assistance and ODA funds from other countries and international organizations to expedite the implementation of this Comprehensive Program.

đ) Develop, approve, and implement programs under the Comprehensive Program for protecting the ecological environment and landscape of the Cau River watershed, specifically as follows:

- The program for thoroughly addressing serious pollution sources in the Cau River watershed has been identified in Decision No. 64/2003/QĐ-TTg dated March 24, 2003 of the Prime Minister approving the "Plan for Thoroughly Addressing Serious Pollution Sources."

- The program for protecting the Cau River watershed's environment in Decision No. 256/2003/QĐ-TTg dated December 2, 2003 of the Prime Minister approving the National Environmental Protection Strategy until 2010 and orientations until 2020.

- Programs and projects for handling, protecting the environment, organizing, and managing resources and the environment in the Cau River watershed (not included in the two programs above), managed by provinces.

These projects and programs are developed, managed, and implemented in accordance with the Investment and Construction Management Regulations issued together with Decrees No. 52/1999/NĐ-CP, No. 12/2000/NĐ-CP, No. 07/2003/NĐ-CP of the Government and Decision No. 82/2002/QĐ-TTg dated June 26, 2002 of the Prime Minister regarding the establishment, organization, and operation of the Vietnam Environmental Protection Fund and related documents.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

1. Responsibilities of central ministries and sectors:

- The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is responsible for: directing and supervising the implementation of this Program, compiling and reporting results every six months to the Prime Minister; directing the implementation of assigned programs and projects related to the Cau River watershed's environment; proposing to the Prime Minister the establishment of the Cau River Watershed Environmental Protection Committee comprising People's Committees of the Cau River watershed provinces including Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Vinh Phuc, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong, and representatives of relevant ministries and sectors to coordinate the implementation of the Comprehensive Cau River Program.

- The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall take the lead, coordinate with the Ministry of Finance to balance and allocate funds from the state budget and other sources annually and over five years, submit for approval according to current regulations, and monitor the correct implementation of state budget support funds already approved.

- Ministries of Science and Technology, Agriculture and Rural Development, Industry, Construction, and other relevant ministries and sectors shall, within their respective functions and powers of state management, develop mechanisms and policies related to the implementation of the Comprehensive Basin Management Plan for the Ca River and participate in its implementation according to their assigned tasks.

2. The Chairpersons of the People's Committees of the six provinces in the Ca River basin (Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Vinh Phuc, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong) shall be responsible for:

- Coordinating closely to organize and direct the successful implementation of the Plan.

- Proactively mobilizing internal resources and maximizing all available resources within the province to participate in implementing the Comprehensive Plan.

- Directing departments, agencies, and local authorities at all levels within the province to effectively implement the contents of the Plan on provincial territory.

Article 2. This Decision shall take effect fifteen days from the date of publication in the Official Gazette.

Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of government agencies, and Chairpersons of the People's Committees of the six provinces in the Ca River basin shall be responsible for enforcing this Decision./.