International donors to back VN’s sustainable development

VietnamNews — The international community has promised to help Viet Nam overcome the difficulties it will face to achieve its sustainable development targets during integration into the international community.

Addressing a recent donors’ meeting on environment and natural resources in the capital, Danish Ambassador to Viet Nam Peter Lysholt Hansen voiced appreciation for Viet Nam’s decision to allocate one per cent of its State budget to environmental protection from 2006.

Continued pressure
Tran Thi Minh Ha, Director of the Department for International Co-operation at the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, said Viet Nam is facing many challenges following admission into the World Trade Organisation.

"Development opportunities are many, so are the challenges," said Ha.

According to Ha, the biggest challenges come from exploitation of the country’s natural resources and environmental pollution.

She said mobilisation and exploitation of the country’s natural resources to meet the demands of rapid economic growth and cross-border pollution would seriously degrade the environment and cause an imbalance in the natural ecosystem. This would have a negative impact on sustainable development, the people’s health and quality of life, Ha said, adding that these problems were also the result of the country’s industrialisation and modernisation.

Pollution caused by waste water, industrial waste, household waste and emissions from industrial parks and urban areas across the nation have become a barrier to development, she said.

Environmental goals
Environmental protection is one of the country’s top priorities. That was the conclusion of bilateral negotiations with the European Union for accession to the WTO in July 2004. It has subsequently become one of the 11 service commitments Viet Nam has made for joining the WTO.

The country’s environmental commitments include waste water and industrial waste treatment, and controls on air and noise pollution.

Foreign invested enterprises, in which the foreign partner will be allowed to hold up to 51 per cent of the firm’s chartered capital within four years following Viet Nam’s accession to the WTO, are permitted to provide these environmental services. After four years, the foreign partner will have the right to set up on its own - but not as a branch - in Viet Nam.

Mai Ai Truc, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, said to comply with the country’s commitments to the WTO, Viet Nam needed to ensure the legal framework governing the environment was in place.

The increase in economic exchanges among nations could turn Viet Nam into a "dumping ground" for unfriendly environmental products, Truc said.

Not enough
Though the government has allocated one per cent of the state budget to environmental protection, the sum is not enough, said Truc. He said it was forecast that over the next few years capital coming from Official Development Assistance would be reduced, particularly non-refundable loans.

To cope with this situation, Viet Nam should encourage foreign investment in environmental protection, the Minister said, adding that environmental protection should be part and parcel of all government policy.

According to a Swedish environmental expert, Viet Nam should only grant investment licences to inves tors who have included in their proposals good environmental treatment measures. He also suggested that Viet Nam should develop a national target programme on environmental protection and sustainable development which investors could participate in.

Klaus Rohland, the World Bank country representative suggested that Viet Nam should encourage enterprises to adopt business-development strategies based on sustainable development. He suggested the government come up with a proper sanction mechanism for enterprises that violate environmental laws and regulations.