Almost all of 1,500 craft villages in Vietnam have been polluted, according to latest report of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
The report, National Environmental Report 2008: Vietnam Craft Village Environment, is part of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE)’s five-year master report on the environment.
It provides an overview of the villages’ development and actions to deal with pollution.
Dividing craft villages into six main groups, the report said they all faced serious threats from water, solid waste and air pollution.
"Depending on the type of production, villages suffer different forms of pollution," the report said.
Common to most villages was uncollected solid waste, dumped directly into the environment.
Almost half of the 52 surveyed villages have polluted water, which comes from villages processing food, animal husbandry and slaughtering and those working in paper and metal recycling and cloth weaving and dying.
Air pollution from construction materials and stone work is common in pottery villages.
The environment in most of the villages was below accepted standards and workers constantly worked with the threat of pollution. The report said 95 per cent worked with dust, 85.9 per cent with heat problems and nearly 60 per cent with dangerous chemicals.
Speaking at the report launch in Hanoi April 20, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen said it was time to tackle most environmental problems in the villages.
"Craft villages are one of the characteristics of the rural area and they have played an important part in social and economic development, as well as helping the country shift towards industrialization and modernization," Nguyen said.
"The development of craft villages towards sustainability has not received close management, or instructions from authorities," he said.
"The report’s analysis proves the effects of environment pollution to people’s health and to social and economic development as a result," he said.
"It also evaluates management in environmental protection, successes and problems, and suggests solutions," he added.
Nguyen said the report would soon be translated into English for foreign readers. (VNS, Countryside Today)
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