Better laws, better policing and be

Better laws, better policing and better technology could make for environmentally cleaner industry in Vietnam, but while some stakeholders are true believers, some are still not clear why it is necessary to bother
The National Environmental Police, under the Ministry of Public Security, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, both committed themselves, in announcements early this year, to 2010 as their year of the environment. There would be heavier punishments for polluters, especially at enterprises and industrial parks, to set about making Vietnamese industry cleaner.
Stronger regulations
Violators faced stiffer penalties beginning March 1, when Decree No. 117/2009/ND-CP came into effect. The maximum penalty is now VND500 million, seven times higher than before. Enterprises discharging untreated wastewater are fined from VND100,000 to VND500 million. Discharging wastewater 10 times over the standard brings a fine of VND300 million and radioactive water (over the standard) brings a fine of VND400-500 million. Gas and dust emissions are fined VND500,000 to VND500 million.
There are additional punishments, including revocation of business licenses, confiscation of exhibits and coerced destruction of polluting agents. Waste importers violating environmental regulations can be fined VND20-500 million and have their licenses revoked for 6-12 months. Polluting factories can have their operations suspended until their conduct improves and/or be forced to move to a remote place.
The HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (Hepza) has recently held a training course on the newest environmental protection methods for 1,150 enterprises from three export processing zones and 10 industrial parks around the city. The deputy head of Hepza, Ngo Anh Tuan, said the course had focused on new standards for discharging industrial wastewater and smoke and other environmental knowledge.
According to Hepza, many enterprises in the city’s industrial parks and export processing zones are aware of environmental protection. At the same time, many are still discharging untreated wastewater and smoke.
The Ministry of Planning and Investment says that at the end of 2009 there were 249 registered industrial parks nationwide, covering 63,200ha, and 162 of them had been put into operation, attracting over 3,600 foreign direct investment (FDI) projects with an investment of US$47 billion. There were 3,200 locally invested projects worth VND254 trillion.
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said at a conference on June 1 in Hanoi to announce the National Environment Report 2009, entitled “Environment in Vietnam’s industrial parks,” that every day more than 70% of over one million cubic meters of wastewater from industrial parks was discharged into rivers and lakes without treatment. About 43% of operational industrial parks had wastewater treatment systems.
Stronger action
Phap Luat TPHCM newspaper reported that the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Pham Khoi Nguyen, said that many of the parks, especially in the southeastern region, which had had wastewater treatment systems were not operating them properly.
According to the department, the case of the Thi Vai River was the most prominent and serious pollution case, with the VND127 billion (US$13.1 million) in environmental fees that Taiwanese monosodium glutamate producer Vedan Vietnam had been required to pay. The highest fine levied in other cases was VND100 million. The Vedan case was a warning that enterprises had to pay much more attention to environmental protection and equip their factories with proper systems.
Three other serious environmental problems facing the country are air pollution around industrial parks, inadequate treatment of hospital waste and dangers posed by importing waste from other countries to recycle.
The National Environmental Police and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment asked Tung Kuang Co., in the northern province of Hai Duong, last month to temporarily stop manufacturing pending inspection results and improvement of processing. The company has released untreated wastewater and fumes.
Hiep Phuoc Power Plant and foreign-invested Diwa Luce, both in HCM City, are other examples among hundreds of environmental violators discovered since early this year. The former was punished for releasing dust to a much higher degree than permissible and the latter buried a large amount of untreated solid waste on its site.
Nguyen said one feasible solution was to force investors in industrial parks till the end of this year to build and have proper wastewater treatment systems.
Authorities must increase inspection, checking via electricity consumption, daily operation diaries and documents on the purchase of chemicals for treatment systems.
Enterprises in industrial parks must carry out initial treatment steps with water to go into the park’s general system. At parks that did not yet have treatment systems, enterprises must treat waste fully.
“Localities have already announced this principle to industrial parks,” Nguyen said. “Any park that has not set up its general wastewater treatment system by the end of this year must close its doors. An enterprise that commits a violation in terms of wastewater release will be punished severely.”
Luong Minh Thao, deputy director of the National Environmental Police, told Tuoi Tre newspaper on June 5 that continued inspection after punishment was crucial. The police gave close attention to violators like Vedan or Miwon, to make sure they improved and operated the treatment systems well.
Stronger awareness
Thao and experts at an announcement of a hot line for reporting environmental violations on June 4 in Hanoi said punishment was a band-aid measure and it was necessary to increase awareness of the need for environmental protection among not only enterprises but also cities and provinces.
If localities in the first place are more careful in licensing foreign-invested or domestic projects, cases of projects violating the environment will decrease. This point has received more interest since Danang City’s refusal in November 2007 of licenses to two foreign-invested projects worth US$2.5 billion, for fear that the steel and paper projects might cause pollution.
Danang City Party Secretary Nguyen Ba Thanh commented on the city’s official website that the city was changing its economic structure to strive for the tourism industry. Industrial projects must be of a kind that did not bring pollution.
Danang City’s chairman, Tran Van Minh, according to Tuoi Tre, has asked the Department of Planning and Investment and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to provide regulations as to not licensing manufacturing or service projects that have high risks of causing pollution.
HCM City’s vice chairwoman Nguyen Thi Hong, in a speech at the recent Saigon Times Top 40 Awards – Green Values 2009, in HCM City, advocated discovering and praising foreign-invested enterprises that had effectively applied green ideas to their production and business and contributed to the community at a time when the environment was deteriorating because many other enterprises were seeking short-term gains.
Le Vinh Thai, director of engineering of Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon, said that every year the hotel works out a number of plans and programs for sustainable development. “We have just completed a new electric pumping system to replace the old one. The new system will help the hotel save some US$140,000 within two and a half years on expenditures like electricity and petrol. Moreover, the system will create a fresh and clean working environment for staff. We are also making plans for the months to come: the basements will be renovated to create fresh air for staff to work in.”
Big C supermarket chain has instituted reusable bags. Its other activities include the collection of used batteries and the selection of only environmentally friendly suppliers.
When enterprises were asked what difficulties they encountered in implementing their environmental protection programs, some said that budget constraints were minor compared with raising awareness among stakeholders.
It is apparent that environmentalism will be bringing real results for Vietnam only when the number of violators decreases year by year. Then, the World Environmental Day (June 5), a community affair, will be more meaningful.

Kết quả (Việt) 1:

Tốt hơn pháp luật, công nghệ lập chính sách tốt hơn và tốt hơn có thể làm cho ngành công nghiệp môi trường sạch hơn tại Việt Nam, nhưng trong khi một số bên liên quan là tín hữu thật sự, một số là vẫn không rõ ràng lý do tại sao nó là cần thiết để bận tâmCác cảnh sát môi trường quốc gia, thuộc bộ an ninh công cộng, và bộ tài nguyên và môi trường, cả hai cam kết chính mình, trong thông báo đầu năm nay, đến năm 2010 là năm của họ về môi trường. Sẽ có các hình phạt nặng hơn cho gây ô nhiễm, đặc biệt là tại các doanh nghiệp và khu công nghiệp, để thiết lập về làm cho ngành công nghiệp Việt Nam sạch hơn.Mạnh mẽ hơn quy địnhVi phạm phải đối mặt với hình phạt cứng bắt đầu từ 1 tháng 3, khi nghị định số 117/2009/NĐ-CP đã có hiệu lực. Các hình phạt tối đa là bây giờ 500 triệu, bảy lần cao hơn so với trước khi. Các doanh nghiệp xử lý nước thải không được điều trị đang bị phạt từ VND100, 000 đến 500 triệu. Xử lý nước thải 10 lần trong tiêu chuẩn mang lại một Mỹ VND300 triệu và phóng xạ nước (trên các tiêu chuẩn) mang một phạt VND400-500 triệu. Lượng phát thải các khí và bụi bị phạt 500, 000 đến 500 triệu.Không có hình phạt bổ sung, bao gồm cả việc thu hồi giấy phép kinh doanh, bị tịch thu của cuộc triển lãm và tiêu hủy ép gây ô nhiễm đại lý. Chất thải nhà nhập khẩu vi phạm môi trường quy định có thể bị phạt VND20-500 triệu và có giấy phép của họ bị thu hồi cho 6-12 tháng. Gây ô nhiễm nhà máy có thể có hoạt động của họ bị đình chỉ cho đến khi hành vi của cải thiện và/hoặc bị buộc phải di chuyển đến một địa điểm từ xa.HCM City xuất khẩu chế biến và thẩm quyền khu công nghiệp (20.000m2) đã mới tổ chức một khóa đào tạo về các phương pháp bảo vệ môi trường mới nhất cho các doanh nghiệp 1.150 từ ba khu chế xuất và khu công nghiệp 10 xung quanh thành phố. Phó trong 20.000m2, Phi chính phủ Anh Tuấn, cho biết các khóa học đã tập trung vào các tiêu chuẩn mới cho xử lý nước thải công nghiệp và khói và kiến thức môi trường khác.Theo 20.000m2, nhiều doanh nghiệp trong khu công nghiệp và khu chế xuất của thành phố là nhận thức của bảo vệ môi trường. Cùng một lúc, nhiều người vẫn đang xả nước thải không được điều trị và khói.Bộ kế hoạch và đầu tư nói rằng cuối năm 2009 đã có 249 khu công nghiệp đã đăng ký trên toàn quốc, bao gồm 63, 200ha, và 162 của họ đã được đưa vào hoạt động, thu hút hơn 3.600 dự án đầu tư trực tiếp nước ngoài (FDI) với đầu tư 47 tỷ USD. Đã có 3.200 tại địa phương có vốn đầu tư dự án trị giá VND254 tỷ đồng.Bộ tài nguyên và môi trường nói tại một hội nghị vào ngày 1 tháng 6 tại Hà Nội thông báo quốc gia môi trường báo cáo 2009, mang tên "Môi trường khu công nghiệp Việt Nam," mà mỗi ngày hơn 70% của một triệu mét khối nước thải từ khu công nghiệp được thải vào sông và hồ mà không cần điều trị. Khoảng 43% hoạt động các khu công nghiệp có hệ thống xử lý nước thải.Stronger actionPhap Luat TPHCM newspaper reported that the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment, Pham Khoi Nguyen, said that many of the parks, especially in the southeastern region, which had had wastewater treatment systems were not operating them properly.According to the department, the case of the Thi Vai River was the most prominent and serious pollution case, with the VND127 billion (US$13.1 million) in environmental fees that Taiwanese monosodium glutamate producer Vedan Vietnam had been required to pay. The highest fine levied in other cases was VND100 million. The Vedan case was a warning that enterprises had to pay much more attention to environmental protection and equip their factories with proper systems.Three other serious environmental problems facing the country are air pollution around industrial parks, inadequate treatment of hospital waste and dangers posed by importing waste from other countries to recycle.The National Environmental Police and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment asked Tung Kuang Co., in the northern province of Hai Duong, last month to temporarily stop manufacturing pending inspection results and improvement of processing. The company has released untreated wastewater and fumes.Hiep Phuoc Power Plant and foreign-invested Diwa Luce, both in HCM City, are other examples among hundreds of environmental violators discovered since early this year. The former was punished for releasing dust to a much higher degree than permissible and the latter buried a large amount of untreated solid waste on its site.Nguyen said one feasible solution was to force investors in industrial parks till the end of this year to build and have proper wastewater treatment systems.Authorities must increase inspection, checking via electricity consumption, daily operation diaries and documents on the purchase of chemicals for treatment systems.Enterprises in industrial parks must carry out initial treatment steps with water to go into the park’s general system. At parks that did not yet have treatment systems, enterprises must treat waste fully.“Localities have already announced this principle to industrial parks,” Nguyen said. “Any park that has not set up its general wastewater treatment system by the end of this year must close its doors. An enterprise that commits a violation in terms of wastewater release will be punished severely.”Luong Minh Thao, deputy director of the National Environmental Police, told Tuoi Tre newspaper on June 5 that continued inspection after punishment was crucial. The police gave close attention to violators like Vedan or Miwon, to make sure they improved and operated the treatment systems well.Stronger awareness
Thao and experts at an announcement of a hot line for reporting environmental violations on June 4 in Hanoi said punishment was a band-aid measure and it was necessary to increase awareness of the need for environmental protection among not only enterprises but also cities and provinces.
If localities in the first place are more careful in licensing foreign-invested or domestic projects, cases of projects violating the environment will decrease. This point has received more interest since Danang City’s refusal in November 2007 of licenses to two foreign-invested projects worth US$2.5 billion, for fear that the steel and paper projects might cause pollution.
Danang City Party Secretary Nguyen Ba Thanh commented on the city’s official website that the city was changing its economic structure to strive for the tourism industry. Industrial projects must be of a kind that did not bring pollution.
Danang City’s chairman, Tran Van Minh, according to Tuoi Tre, has asked the Department of Planning and Investment and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to provide regulations as to not licensing manufacturing or service projects that have high risks of causing pollution.
HCM City’s vice chairwoman Nguyen Thi Hong, in a speech at the recent Saigon Times Top 40 Awards – Green Values 2009, in HCM City, advocated discovering and praising foreign-invested enterprises that had effectively applied green ideas to their production and business and contributed to the community at a time when the environment was deteriorating because many other enterprises were seeking short-term gains.
Le Vinh Thai, director of engineering of Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon, said that every year the hotel works out a number of plans and programs for sustainable development. “We have just completed a new electric pumping system to replace the old one. The new system will help the hotel save some US$140,000 within two and a half years on expenditures like electricity and petrol. Moreover, the system will create a fresh and clean working environment for staff. We are also making plans for the months to come: the basements will be renovated to create fresh air for staff to work in.”
Big C supermarket chain has instituted reusable bags. Its other activities include the collection of used batteries and the selection of only environmentally friendly suppliers.
When enterprises were asked what difficulties they encountered in implementing their environmental protection programs, some said that budget constraints were minor compared with raising awareness among stakeholders.
It is apparent that environmentalism will be bringing real results for Vietnam only when the number of violators decreases year by year. Then, the World Environmental Day (June 5), a community affair, will be more meaningful.