Decision No. 187/2007/QĐ-TTg On approving the "Plan for Environmental Protection in the Dong Nai River Basin until 2020"

 Pursuant to …;

REGARDING THE APPROVAL OF THE "ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION PLAN FOR THE DON NAI RIVER BASIN UNTIL 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 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;
Considering the proposal of the Chairman of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, opinions of the People's Committees of 11 provinces within the Don Nai River Basin (Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Long An, Tay Ninh, Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan) and opinions of relevant Ministries and sectors,

DECISION:

Article 1. Approves the "Environment Protection Plan for the Don Nai River Basin until 2020" (hereinafter referred to as the Don Nai River Basin Plan) with the following main contents:

I. GUIDING PRINCIPLES

1. Protecting the environment of the Don Nai River Basin has particular importance for sustainable economic and social development of the 12 provinces and cities within the basin; it is a strategic, long-term, continuous task requiring concentrated investment resources with high determination from local authorities and people, supported by the central budget.

2. Protecting the environment of the Don Nai River Basin must be addressed comprehensively and uniformly throughout the basin, harmoniously combining administrative boundaries of the 12 centrally governed provinces and cities within the basin; concurrently maintaining water quality and quantity and protecting the environment to sustainably develop the entire Don Nai River Basin.

3. Prioritize preventive measures to reduce pollution and prevent environmental degradation; combine with gradually addressing hotspots of environmental pollution throughout the basin, especially those water sources used for domestic water supply.

4. Prioritize implementation of the Don Nai River Basin Plan in integration and linkage with other related projects and programs of Ministries, sectors, and localities within the basin.

5. Promote socialization, strengthen state management, and apply advanced science and technology, implement appropriate traditional solutions to address pollution and mitigate degradation; leverage internal capacity combined with expanded international cooperation to effectively protect the environment of the Don Nai River Basin.

6. New production facilities within the basin must adopt clean technologies causing minimal pollution and being environmentally friendly. Wastes from production facilities, industrial zones, and export processing zones within the basin must be treated to meet environmental standards before discharge.

II. GENERAL DIRECTIONS AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

1. General directions:

a) Effectively implement tasks for protecting the environment of the Don Nai River Basin according to 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; gradually address environmental pollution, improve and enhance water quality; achieve water balance to ensure safe domestic water supply, agricultural irrigation, other sustainable socio-economic development needs, and maintain natural landscape characteristics of the basin;

b) Establish a suitable model for managing the environment of the Don Nai River Basin that fits natural, socio-economic conditions, ensuring fairness for all subjects and sub-regions within the basin; link the benefits of resource exploitation and utilization with the responsibility to protect the environment for sustainable development of the river;

c) Develop, promulgate, and effectively implement mechanisms, policies, and advanced scientific and technological solutions to prevent the increase in pollution levels; restore, regenerate, protect, improve environmental quality, and develop basin resources.

2. Specific objectives by 2010:

a) Establish and operate the Don Nai River Basin Environment Protection Committee to coordinate inter-sectoral and inter-regional activities to implement the Don Nai River Basin Plan uniformly;

b) Continue implementing the treatment of serious pollution sources within the Don Nai River Basin 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", specifically as follows:

- 100% of new production facilities must adopt clean technologies causing minimal pollution and being environmentally friendly or be equipped with pollution reduction and waste treatment equipment meeting environmental standards;

- Strictly control the production and use of chemicals to ensure high safety, particularly hazardous chemicals; minimize the production and use of pesticides causing environmental pollution; widely apply integrated pest management methods;

c) Effectively improve the environmental quality and water quality of the Don Nai River System. Strive for 80% of industrial parks, export processing zones, and high-tech zones; 40% of new urban areas have centralized wastewater treatment systems. Collect 90% of household solid waste; 90% of industrial solid waste, 70% of hazardous waste, and 100% of medical waste, while building and implementing new wastewater treatment projects in urban and residential areas within the Don Nai River Basin;

d) Establish and put into use a monitoring system and database on natural resources and the environment to share timely information among provinces and cities within the basin;

đ) Limit and address unregulated sand extraction in the Don Nai River System; implement activities to combat riverbank erosion;

e) Protect the water environment of the Don Nai River System to meet Class A standards to ensure safe domestic water supply;

g) Address and remediate hotspots of water pollution in the Saigon River and its branches within the Don Nai River System;

h) Develop and implement an environmental plan for the entire system as a basis for synchronously and uniformly implementing the Don Nai River Basin Environmental Protection Plan.

i) Protect the upstream forest areas, protective forests, and conserve biodiversity throughout the Dong Nai River Basin.

3. Specific objectives for the period 2011-2015:

a) Complete the thorough treatment of over 90% of production facilities causing severe environmental pollution in the 12 provinces and cities within the Dong Nai River Basin. Prevent and control the increase in pollution levels to ensure that the water quality of the river meets natural clean water standards;

b) At least 60% of urban areas and 100% of industrial zones, export processing zones, and high-tech parks have centralized wastewater treatment systems meeting environmental standards;

c) Collect over 90% of household solid waste and treat 100% of hazardous waste;

d) Develop models of socialized environmental protection work suitable for the economic and social conditions and natural environment of the provinces and cities within the Dong Nai River Basin;

đ) Promote education and raise awareness, consciousness, and responsibility of the community in protecting the environment and sustainable development of the Dong Nai River Basin;

4. Specific objectives for the period 2016-2020:

a) Complete the thorough treatment of over 95% of facilities causing severe environmental pollution and effectively prevent the increase in pollution levels in the provinces and cities within the Dong Nai River Basin;

b) Increase and balance water resources throughout the Dong Nai River Basin;

c) At least 70% of urban areas and 100% of industrial zones, export processing zones, and high-tech parks have centralized wastewater treatment systems meeting environmental standards;

d) Collect over 95% of household solid waste and treat 100% of hazardous waste;

đ) Complete the model of socialized environmental protection work in the Dong Nai River Basin;

e) Increase forest coverage in the entire basin to at least 50% of the total area of natural forests, restore degraded upstream forests;

g) Achieve consensus and close cooperation between the people and authorities in environmental protection work in the Dong Nai River Basin.

III. MAJOR TASKS AND SOLUTIONS

1. Major tasks:

a) Investigate, analyze, and assess the current status of pollution sources to have sufficient grounds to implement measures to prevent, address, mitigate, and control environmental pollution in the Dong Nai River Basin;

b) Summarize and evaluate research topics and projects already implemented and ongoing; conduct supplementary investigations on the current state of pollution caused by industrial, small-scale industrial, agricultural production, and urban residents' activities;

c) Closely monitor and inspect compliance with environmental protection regulations before and after environmental impact assessments of investment projects. Establish black and green books for production facilities in the Dong Nai River Basin;

d) Regularly carry out water quality monitoring of the Dong Nai River system;

đ) Thoroughly address pollution, rehabilitate and improve the environment in areas and production facilities causing serious pollution, hotspots of environmental pollution:

- Complete the thorough treatment of facilities causing severe pollution in the basin according to the schedule set forth in Decision No. 64/2003/QĐ-TTg dated April 22, 2003, of the Government Prime Minister approving the "Plan for Thorough Treatment of Facilities Causing Severe Environmental Pollution";

- Address polluted sections of rivers important for domestic water supply purposes (Dong Nai River at Hoa An area,...), heavily polluted branches such as Thi Vai River, Sai Gon River, canals, and streams in urban centers; dredge and reinforce banks of critical sections of rivers;

- Conserve and develop biodiversity while actively improving the environmental quality of the Dong Nai River Basin to effectively serve sustainable socio-economic development throughout the basin;

- Restore and protect degraded protective and upstream forests; enhance water replenishment, construct water retention works to balance water resources in the Dong Nai River System, ensuring quantity and quality of water for socio-economic development needs in the basin;

- Protect the natural landscape and ecological environment of the Dong Nai River Basin, which is characteristic of the Southeast region and the southern key economic zone;

e) Develop, review, approve, and implement 16 core component projects with inter-sectoral and inter-regional characteristics under the Dong Nai River Basin Environmental Protection Program as follows:

- Establish the Dong Nai River Basin Environmental Protection Committee to direct and coordinate inter-sectoral and inter-regional efforts to implement the unified contents of the Dong Nai River Basin Program;

- Develop regulations for protecting water resources in the Saigon-Dong Nai River Basin;

- Develop a network of water quality monitoring stations for the provinces and cities in the Dong Nai River Basin;

- Develop a database on environmental quality in the Dong Nai River Basin;

- Prevent, control, and manage pollution to protect the water environment of the Dong Nai River;

- Protect the water environment of the Sai Gon River to ensure safe domestic water supply and urban landscape protection;

- Develop measures to protect the water quality of the Dong Nai River section for safe domestic water supply;

- Construct and operate centralized wastewater treatment plants in urban areas and residential zones within the Dong Nai River Basin;

- Inventory and classify pollution sources in the Dong Nai River Basin;

- Address sand mining and bank erosion issues in the Dong Nai River System;

- Protect and develop forests, increasing forest cover in the Dong Nai River Basin;

- Study and propose feasible measures to conserve mangrove forests and biodiversity in the lower reaches of the Dong Nai River Basin;

- Plan the environmental management of the Dong Nai River Basin;

- Conduct strategic environmental impact assessments for overall plans within the Dong Nai River Basin;

- Raise public awareness, consciousness, and responsibility in protecting the environment in the Dong Nai River Basin;

- Enhance and improve the capacity, effectiveness, and efficiency of state management of the environment in the Dong Nai River Basin.

The total estimated budget for implementing the 16 key component projects mentioned above is approximately 1,938 billion VND, to be mobilized from various sources including local budgets, central budgets, investment capital from businesses operating within the watershed area, and support and funding from other organizations and individuals both domestically and internationally.

2. Main solutions:

a) Enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of state management in environmental protection throughout the entire watershed:

- Promptly establish and put into operation the Dong Nai River Basin Environmental Protection Committee with streamlined criteria, ensuring effectiveness and efficiency to direct and coordinate inter-sectoral and inter-regional activities to implement the unified contents of the Dong Nai River Project;

- Vigorously develop and promulgate regulatory legal documents on environmental protection in the river basin, while strictly implementing the relevant regulations of the legal system concerning natural resource management, environmental protection, and sustainable development related to the Dong Nai River system watershed;

- Promptly complete and put into use the monitoring, surveillance, and forecasting network for the natural environment in the river basin, and build a database on natural resources and the environment in the Dong Nai River system watershed;

- Strengthen the work of planning, reviewing, approving, and implementing plans and programs for environmental protection in the Dong Nai River system watershed;

- Promote the application of economic tools in the rational exploitation, sustainable use, and protection of natural resources and the environment in the Dong Nai River system watershed. Encourage the formation and development of a market for environmental protection advisory services and natural landscape conservation in the river basin.

b) Promoting socialization, raising awareness, increasing responsibility, and encouraging community participation in environmental protection in the Dong Nai River system watershed:

- Vigorously promote and encourage socialization of environmental protection activities, prevention, reduction, treatment of pollution, and restoration of degraded environments in the river basin;

- Strengthen communication activities to educate and raise public awareness, consciousness, and responsibility in environmental protection in the river basin; create favorable conditions and mechanisms to enhance community participation in environmental protection in the Dong Nai River system watershed.

c) Increasing and diversifying investment resources from the state budget (central and local), businesses, communities, organizations, and individuals both domestically and internationally, while having preferential policies and incentives to effectively attract investment for environmental protection in the Dong Nai River system watershed, including:

- Businesses, industrial zones, export processing zones, high-tech parks operating in the Dong Nai River system watershed must invest their own funds to implement wastewater treatment works before discharging into the environment or treating pollution caused by their facilities according to legal provisions. The State will consider providing partial financial support for specific projects;

- The state budget (central and local) will invest in environmental protection projects in the public interest sector;

- Projects implementing environmental protection tasks under the Dong Nai River Project will be prioritized for preferential loans and use of support funds from the Vietnam Environment Protection Fund established by Decision No. 82/2002/QĐ-TTg dated June 26, 2002, of the Prime Minister.

d) Expanding and strengthening bilateral and multilateral international cooperation with foreign countries, organizations, and individuals to seek assistance in experience, intelligence, finance, technology, and attracting investment to effectively protect the environment in the Dong Nai River system watershed.

IV. IMPLEMENTATION

1. Responsibilities of Central Ministries and Agencies:

a) The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is responsible for: taking the lead and coordinating with the People's Committee Chairmen of the 12 provinces and centrally governed cities in the Dong Nai River system watershed (including Ho Chi Minh City, the provinces of Dong Nai, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Long An, Tay Ninh, Lam Dong, Dak Lak, Dak Nong, Ninh Thuan, and Binh Thuan) to direct, urge, and organize the implementation of this project, annually compiling and reporting results to the Prime Minister. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment will submit to the Prime Minister the establishment of the Dong Nai River Basin Environmental Protection Committee, including representatives from the People's Committees of the 12 provinces and centrally governed cities in the watershed, representatives from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and relevant ministries and agencies to coordinate inter-sectoral and inter-regional activities to implement the unified and effective contents of the "Dong Nai River System Watershed Environmental Protection Program until 2020";

b) The Ministry of Planning and Investment leads and coordinates with the Ministry of Finance to balance and allocate state budget funds and other sources annually and over five years to ensure the effective and timely implementation of the tasks and projects of the Dong Nai River Project;

c) Relevant ministries such as the Ministry of Science and Technology, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Ministry of Construction, and other relevant ministries and agencies according to their respective functions and areas of state management shall develop mechanisms and policies related to the implementation of the tasks of the Dong Nai River Project and participate in its implementation according to their assigned roles.

2. Responsibilities of the Chairmen of the People's Committees of the 12 provinces and centrally governed cities in the Dong Nai River system watershed:

- Closely coordinate inter-regionally and inter-sectorally to uniformly and effectively implement the contents of the Dong Nai River Project in accordance with the schedule;

- Proactively leverage internal strength and mobilize the highest possible resources within the province/city to participate in the Dong Nai River Project;

- Direct departments, branches, and all levels of government under their jurisdiction to effectively implement the contents of the Dong Nai River Project within their provincial territory and across provinces.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect 15 days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Ministers, Heads of ministerial-level agencies, Heads of governmental agencies, and Chairmen of the People's Committees of the 12 provinces and centrally governed cities in the Dong Nai River system watershed are responsible for implementing this Decision./.