Decision No. 81/2006/QĐ-TTg Approves the National Water Resources Strategy to 2020

 

DECISION OF THE PRIME MINISTER

Approving the National Water Resources Strategy until 2020

PRIME MINISTER

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

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

Pursuant to Decree No. 91/2002/NĐ-CP dated November 11, 2002 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

At the proposal of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment,

DECISION:

Article 1. Approves the National Water Resources Strategy until 2020 with the following main contents:

I. GUIDING VIEWS AND PRINCIPLES

A. Views

1. Water resources are a key component of the living environment and a particularly important factor ensuring the successful implementation of economic and social development strategies, plans, and national defense and security.

2. Water resources belong to the entire people and are uniformly managed by the State. All organizations and individuals have the right to exploit and use water resources for their daily life and production needs while having the responsibility to protect, develop sustainably water resources, and prevent and mitigate the adverse effects caused by water according to the law.

3. Management of water resources must be carried out in a comprehensive and unified manner based on river basins. The water usage structure must be appropriate to the structural transformation of the economy during the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country.

4. Water resources must be developed sustainably; exploitation and utilization must be economical, efficient, integrated, and multi-purpose. Water products must be considered as goods; the state monopoly system must be abolished early, and socialization of activities for protecting, developing water sources, and providing water services must be implemented.

5. Cooperation and sharing of benefits, ensuring fairness and rationality in the exploitation, utilization, protection, development of water resources, and prevention and mitigation of adverse effects caused by water must be ensured in international rivers and river basins on the principle of safeguarding sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national interests.

B. Guiding Principles

1. The National Water Resources Strategy must be implemented in a synchronized, phased, and focused manner. The implementation of the Strategy must be both urgent and long-term, contributing significantly to the acceleration of industrialization and modernization of the country from now until 2020 and beyond.

2. Management, protection, and development of water resources must ensure the systemic nature of river basins, not be divided along administrative boundaries, while also ensuring the natural succession of aquatic ecosystems, watersheds, and ecosystems, especially rare and valuable aquatic species with scientific and economic value; conservation and development of the unique diversity of Vietnam's aquatic ecosystems must be promoted.

3. Enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of state management over water resources; increase the responsibility of organizations and individuals in protecting, exploiting, and using water resources, preventing and mitigating the adverse effects caused by water.

4. Economic and social development must be linked to water resource capacity, with the aim of protecting and developing water resources. Exploitation and utilization of water resources must be comprehensive, multi-purpose, harmonizing the interests of each sector, locality, and community within the overall relationship between upstream and downstream areas, regions, ensuring balance and focus to achieve high socio-economic efficiency and environmental protection.

5. Investment in protecting and developing sustainable water resources is investment in development, yielding short-term and long-term socio-economic benefits. The State ensures necessary investment resources, while implementing policies to mobilize contributions from businesses, communities, and expand international cooperation to enhance investment in water resource management, protection, sustainable development, and prevention and mitigation of adverse effects caused by water.

II. OBJECTIVES

A. General Objectives

Protect, exploit effectively, and develop sustainably national water resources based on comprehensive and unified water resource management to meet the water needs for livelihoods, economic and social development, national defense, security, and environmental protection during the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country; proactively prevent, control, and minimize adverse effects caused by water; gradually form a diversified water economy suitable for a socialist-oriented market economy; enhance the effectiveness of cooperation, ensuring balanced interests among countries sharing water resources with Vietnam.

B. Specific Objectives

1. On protecting water resources

a) Restore polluted, degraded, and depleted rivers, reservoirs, aquifers, and wetlands, prioritizing rivers in the Nhu River - Day River basin, Cau River, Dong Nai River - Saigon River, Huong River;

b) Ensure minimum flow to maintain aquatic ecosystem according to the approved plan, focusing on rivers with large reservoirs and dams;

c) Preserve the integrity and effective use of wetlands and river mouths for key rivers and important aquifers;

d) End unauthorized exploration, exploitation, use of water resources, and discharge of wastewater into water sources without permission from competent authorities as prescribed by law;

đ) Control the situation of water source pollution. End the use of harmful chemicals in industrial, agricultural, and aquaculture production that cause water pollution and reduce biodiversity.

2. On exploiting and utilizing water resources

a) Exploit and utilize water resources economically and efficiently. Ensure that water extraction does not exceed the limit for rivers and exploitable reserves for aquifers, focusing on major rivers in large river basins and important aquifers in key economic zones;

b) Allocate and share water resources harmoniously and reasonably among sectors and localities, prioritizing water use for daily living, high-value economic activities, and ensuring environmental flow; by 2010, ensure the allocation of water resources to effectively exploit 10.5 million hectares of annual and perennial crop land with the goal of achieving safe food production of 39 to 40 million tons per year; ensure the total capacity of hydropower plants reaches approximately 13,000 to 15,000 MW; freshwater aquaculture covering about 0.64 million hectares, brackish water aquaculture covering about 0.8 million hectares; increase industrial water supply by 70 to 80 percent compared to the level in 2000;

c) Achieve comprehensive economic, social, and environmental benefits during both flood and dry seasons in water storage systems, reservoirs, and dams, particularly focusing on the Red River - Thai Binh, Dong Nai - Sai Gon river basins, and major river basins in Central Vietnam and the Central Highlands;

d) Ensure consistency between economic and social development planning, land use planning, forest development planning, national defense and security requirements, and water resource exploitation and utilization planning and river basin planning at both national and regional and local levels;

đ) Establish a market for water service provision involving various economic components and a transfer market for water resource permits;

3. On Water Resource Development

a) Ensure the safety of water storage facilities, especially large reservoirs, those with concentrated residential areas, or important political, economic, cultural, and national defense and security facilities downstream;

b) Basically complete the construction of multi-purpose water storage facilities and artificial underground water replenishment projects, prioritizing water-scarce regions;

c) Ensure the integration of sustainable water resource development planning with water resource protection, exploitation, and utilization planning, flood prevention and control planning, forest protection and development planning, land use planning, economic and social development planning, and national defense and security planning;

d) Effectively address drought and water shortage issues during dry seasons, particularly focusing on the South Central Coast, Central Highlands, Mekong Delta, islands, and border regions;

4. On Minimizing Harm Caused by Water

a) Minimize human and property losses caused by floods, flash floods, mudslides, especially in areas frequently affected by floods and typhoons;

b) Ensure the safety of the Red River - Thai Binh dike system; enhance flood resistance levels of coastal dike systems in Central Vietnam, the Central Highlands, and Southeast Vietnam; strengthen sea dikes to protect residents and contribute to economic and social development and national defense and security in coastal areas; improve early warning capabilities for flash floods in mountainous provinces and reduce damage caused by flash floods;

c) Form flood-safe zones for low-lying areas, ensuring adaptive and safe conditions for deep-flooded areas in the Mekong Delta. By 2010, control major floods equivalent to the 1961 floods in main rivers and equivalent to the 2000 floods in inland areas; continue to raise flood control standards in subsequent phases;

d) Ensure that development plans, infrastructure construction standards, and community planning in flood-prone areas are consistent with flood control standards;

5. On Enhancing Water Resource Management Capabilities

a) Achieve adaptability and synchronization of policies, laws, standards, and quotas in the water resource sector and develop water services to strictly manage water resources, creating momentum for the sustainable development of a multi-component water economy in line with a socialist-oriented market economy;

b) Establish a synchronized and effective state management system for water resources at all levels; widely develop advisory, scientific and technological, and water supply organizations; clearly distinguish the functions and responsibilities between state agencies managing water resources and organizations managing and operating water resource exploitation and utilization facilities and water service providers;

c) The level of science and technology in the water resource sector reaches the average advanced level in Asia and some aspects reach the average advanced level globally;

III. MAJOR TASKS AND KEY SOLUTIONS

A. Major Tasks

1. Strengthening Water Source Protection and Aquatic Ecosystem Conservation

a) Classify surface water quality and set water quality targets for river basins, prioritizing the Red River - Thai Binh, Dong Nai - Sai Gon, Mekong, Vu Gia - Thu Bon river basins;

b) Classify groundwater quality and set water quality targets for all aquifers, initially in key economic regions;

c) Develop and implement plans for protecting water resources and aquatic ecosystems, ensuring water quality meets different water supply needs, particularly domestic water supply needs;

d) Implement comprehensive measures to prevent and control surface water and groundwater pollution; ensure minimum stream flows; prevent and address over-exploitation of water resources leading to degradation and depletion, protecting the integrity of aquatic ecosystems, wetlands, estuaries, and coastal areas;

đ) Develop and implement plans to protect and restore water quality in rivers and aquifers according to water quality targets serving economic and social development tasks and ensuring national defense and security at each stage;

e) Strictly control drilling and exploration activities for groundwater and discharges into water sources; limit and eventually ban the use of harmful chemicals in agriculture and aquaculture that pollute water sources;

2. Ensuring Sustainability and Efficiency in Water Resource Exploitation and Utilization

a) Establishing river basin plans, water resource planning for territorial regions, and managing the implementation of such plans. Implementing water regulation and distribution across river basins to ensure reasonable allocation, exploitation, and utilization of water resources among industries and localities. Prioritizing water supply for domestic use, large cities, industrial zones, concentrated economic areas, and high-value production sectors. Ensuring appropriate irrigation water for crops;

 b) Specifying policies prioritizing water usage for domestic purposes in water supply activities, in the construction and operation of water resource extraction and utilization facilities;

c) Determining the amount of water needed to ensure water supply requirements for all rivers, reservoirs, and underground aquifers nationwide, with emphasis on Central Vietnam, the Central Highlands, and water-scarce regions;

d) Strengthening control over water resource extraction and utilization. Promoting coordination in the construction and operation of water resource extraction facilities in river basins towards comprehensive and multi-purpose exploitation and utilization; prioritizing water for domestic use; ensuring flood prevention, power generation, and inland navigation requirements as stipulated for important reservoirs;

đ) Combining the rational exploitation and utilization of surface water and groundwater; focusing on protecting and storing groundwater; limiting groundwater extraction where surface water can be accessed;

e) Managing water demand, encouraging water conservation and reuse. Establishing legal foundations for the formation and development of water service markets and the transfer and exchange of water resource permits;

3. Sustainable Development of Water Resources

a) Enhancing protection and development of forests, primarily upstream protective forests. Maintaining and developing the natural water sources of rivers and reservoirs;

b) Increasing safety standards for waterworks and enhancing storage capacity of existing reservoirs;

c) Accelerating water resource development planning in river basins based on integration with land use planning, forest development planning, national, regional, and local socio-economic development planning;

d) Developing water resources by increasing the value of water resources combined with enhanced construction of reservoirs and dams to improve flow regulation capabilities, focusing on multi-purpose and comprehensive water resource extraction and utilization projects, water storage facilities in South Central Vietnam and the Central Highlands, and salinity intrusion prevention and freshwater retention projects in the Mekong Delta;

đ) Strengthening artificial groundwater recharge measures, particularly in water-scarce areas. Implementing water transfers to river basins experiencing water shortages;

4. Minimizing Harm Caused by Water

a) Completing, upgrading, and modernizing flood monitoring, warning, and forecasting systems; establishing flash flood and debris flow warning systems, primarily for northern and central mountainous regions;

b) Zoning floods and flood-prone areas in river basins, focusing on those with high disaster risks;

c) Planning and implementing flood prevention, mitigation, and reduction measures for major river basins and coastal rivers in central Vietnam, harmonizing engineering and non-engineering methods to ensure safety and minimize damage;

d) Intensifying scientific research, comprehensively evaluating the benefits and drawbacks of floods, and formulating strategies to exploit flood benefits. Establishing flood resistance standards for flood-prone areas;

đ) Continuously reviewing flood development plans and construction standards in flood-prone areas to align with flood resistance standards;

e) Improving drought prediction quality, classifying drought severity levels across all river basins; creating drought zoning maps for all water-scarce regions, focusing on coastal central Vietnam, the Central Highlands, and northern mountainous regions;

g) Establishing and completing water quality monitoring networks; information networks on water quality and pollution incidents across all river basins, focusing on the Red River - Thai Binh, Vu Gia - Thu Bon, Dong Nai - Sai Gon, and Mekong River basins;

5. Perfecting Institutional Framework and Organization

a) Amending and supplementing the Law on Water Resources and related regulatory legal documents to meet the requirements of comprehensive and unified water resource management; shifting from administrative management and provision to demand-based management, treating water as a commodity; specifically adjusting riverbed, bank, and delta wetland management objects; implementing river basin management, protecting aquatic ecosystems and wetlands;

b) Strengthening the use of economic tools in preventing and addressing water resource pollution; in water resource extraction and utilization, and socializing water supply and service use;

c) Issuing fee, tax, and charge policies; regulations on unit prices and economic-technical norms in the water resources sector. Ensuring water service providers have financial self-sufficiency and proactively maintain and repair water resource extraction infrastructure. Encouraging communities, organizations, and individuals to invest in water supply services, ensuring comprehensive and multi-purpose water use, efficiency, water security, and environmental protection;

d) Vigorously reforming administrative procedures in the water resources sector by revising and supplementing the functions and responsibilities of state management agencies at central and grassroots levels, clarifying the division of labor between ministries and departments, and strengthening decentralization to localities in comprehensive water resource management;

6. Enhancing Capacity for Investigation, Research, and Technological Development

a) Strengthening investigations and assessments of water quantity and quality, water resource extraction and utilization conditions, water pollution, and factors affecting water resources;

b) Promoting scientific and technological research, technological development, and the application of scientific and technological advancements in water resource management, protection, extraction, utilization, flood prevention, and harm reduction caused by water.

c) Gradually automate and widely apply digital technology to monitoring and supervising activities related to water resource exploitation, utilization, and discharge into water sources;

d) Regularly inventory water resources; inventory the current status of water resource exploitation, utilization, and discharge into water sources. Vigorously build and effectively exploit the national water resources information and data system.

B. Main solutions

1. Propaganda, education, raising awareness, and encouraging community participation

Develop and implement communication programs with appropriate content and forms of propaganda for each target group in society. Leverage the role of mass media in enhancing people's understanding of policies and laws on water resources. Organize contests to understand and create artistic works about water and life.

Launch mass movements to participate in protecting water resources, first in large cities, concentrated residential areas, and heavily polluted water source regions. Establish appropriate mechanisms to facilitate or strongly support citizens' participation in monitoring and protecting water resources, combating and preventing actions that degrade or pollute water sources. Build and expand exemplary individuals, groups, and communities in water resource protection.

Strengthen the involvement of social organizations in the process of planning, inspecting, and supervising the implementation of river basin plans and projects related to water resources.

Incorporate water resource education into teaching in the national education system.

2. Strengthen legal measures

Enhance the enforcement of laws on water resources. In addition to educating awareness of law compliance, it is necessary to strengthen supervision of the enforcement of laws on water resources.

Build specialized inspection forces on water resources; regularly and unexpectedly inspect, investigate, and promptly and thoroughly handle violations of laws on water resources.

Highlight the role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front, people's mass organizations, and social organizations in promoting and mobilizing the public to implement and supervise the enforcement of laws on water resources. Integrate water resource protection work into the activities of neighborhood associations, villages, hamlets, communities.

3. Increase investment and promote socialization of water services

Strengthen investment and use funds from the state budget efficiently for water resource investigation, assessment, and forecasting; river basin planning and planning for water resource exploitation, utilization, and protection; restoring polluted, degraded, and depleted water sources; and scientific research, application, and development of technology in the field of water resources.

Maximize and use effectively official development assistance (ODA) funds for the water resources sector. Mobilize social investment for water resource protection work.

Promptly establish mechanisms and policies to eliminate subsidies in water supply services, ensuring that service prices are accurately and fully calculated. Implement policies to share benefits and financial responsibilities among organizations and individuals exploiting and using water resources in major and important river basins based on the comprehensive economic, social, and environmental benefits of integrated multi-purpose water projects.

4. Develop human resources, science, and technology

Increase the scale of training human resources for water resource management, protection, exploitation, and prevention of water-related hazards. Focus on training high-level human resources.

Continue to develop and improve the organizational structure and operational mechanisms of institutions researching, training, and implementing water resource programs, including centers, institutes, and schools.

Promote scientific research, technical development, and technology transfer for water resource protection, exploitation, and efficient use; solutions to prevent and mitigate water-related hazards; wastewater treatment technologies; artificial groundwater recharge solutions; combined surface and groundwater use solutions; and the construction and improvement of river basin integrated management models.

5. Expand and enhance the effectiveness of international cooperation

Diversify forms of international cooperation, strengthen regional and international integration on water resources through multilateral and bilateral programs and projects based on respecting and strictly implementing international conventions to which Vietnam has acceded.

Continue to intensify international cooperation with countries in the Mekong River Commission under the framework of the 1995 Mekong Agreement. Strengthen cooperation on water resources with countries in the Mekong Subregion.

Proactively propose cooperation in the Red River Basin and other shared rivers with neighboring countries, aiming to establish agreements and regulations for managing, exploiting, and protecting transboundary water resources.

Strengthen cooperation with international organizations such as UNDP, ADB, WB, government and non-governmental organizations to maximize support for the water resources sector, focusing on cooperation in education, training, and research on water resources.

Actively participate in regional and global forums on water resources, including information exchange, experience sharing, organizing seminars, and other cooperative activities on water resources.

6. Reform financial mechanisms

State budget investment in the water resources sector focuses mainly on strengthening management, protection, and development capabilities of water resources and preventing water-related hazards, implementing basic survey projects, river basin planning projects, local and territorial water resource planning projects.

Encourage financial organizations to participate in providing finance for the cause of protecting, exploiting, utilizing, developing water resources, and preventing water-related hazards.

The State encourages and protects the legitimate rights and interests of organizations and individuals investing in the water resources sector. There shall be mechanisms to mobilize enterprises from various economic sectors to invest in activities for protecting water resources, exploiting and using them efficiently, developing sustainable water resources, and preventing and mitigating adverse effects caused by water.

Organizations and individuals benefiting from services related to the protection, exploitation, and use of water resources, as well as prevention and mitigation of adverse effects caused by water, shall have the responsibility to pay for such services provided by the supplying organizations.

Increase the proportion of Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds for projects aimed at protecting water resources and preventing and mitigating adverse effects caused by water. Encourage foreign direct investment (FDI) projects in the sector of water resource exploitation and utilization, and the development of the water resource protection industry.

Budget estimates for implementing tasks related to water resources by ministries, sectors, and localities shall be consolidated into the state budget estimate according to the provisions of the State Budget Law.

Article 2. Implementation

1. The National Council on Water Resources shall be responsible for advising the Government and the Prime Minister on important decisions regarding water resources; deciding on measures to ensure coordination of activities among ministries, sectors, and localities to effectively implement the National Strategy on Water Resources until 2020.

2. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall be responsible for:

- Organizing and directing the implementation of the contents of the Strategy; guiding and urging ministries, sectors, and localities to build and implement programs, plans, projects, and schemes based on their assigned functions and tasks, ensuring consistency with the objectives, contents, and solutions of this Strategy.

Directing the review, statistics, evaluation, and coordinating with relevant ministries, sectors, and localities to implement priority projects and schemes (as detailed in Appendix I attached to this Decision), thereby establishing specific programs, clearly defining priorities, and assigning responsibilities to ministries, sectors, and localities.

- Taking the lead and coordinating with relevant ministries, sectors, localities, and competent agencies to inspect and supervise the implementation of this Strategy; conducting annual and five-year reviews, summaries, evaluations, and lessons learned from the implementation of the Strategy; submitting to the Prime Minister for decision-making on adjustments to the Strategy's objectives and contents when necessary.

3. The Ministry of Planning and Investment and the Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and other relevant ministries and sectors, shall balance and allocate annual investment capital according to the provisions of the State Budget Law to effectively implement the contents of the Strategy.

4. Ministries, sectors, and localities, based on their assigned functions and tasks, shall be responsible for organizing the implementation of priority projects and schemes of the Strategy (as detailed in Appendix I attached to this Decision) and the contents, objectives, and solutions of the Strategy that are relevant to their respective ministries, sectors, and localities.

Article 3. This Decision shall take effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette.

Article 4Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chair of the National Council on Water Resources, and Chairmen of provincial and municipal People's Committees directly under the Central Government shall be responsible for enforcing this Decision./.