Towards Equitable Society, Sustainable Development

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyen The Phuong, said the challenges in the transition from a low-income country model to a middle-income one are specified in the Socioeconomic Development Strategy (SEDS) 2011-2012 and the Socioeconomic Development Planning (SEDP) 2011-2015. The Joint Plan for Cooperation in 2012 - 2016 was signed by the Government of Vietnam and the United Nations in March 2012. This is the general framework for cooperation programmes of UN organisations in Vietnam. This document specifies a general working strategic programme in order to support Vietnam to solve priority issues for development in the next five years. The contents of the Joint Plan also clarify the continuing shift to high-quality policy advice and the further focus on technical assistance, capacity building and role of the UN in connecting other partners to join together and expanding new partnerships. Accordingly, Vietnam needs to change the overall economic structure more rapidly with the targets of rapid and sustainable growth. More importantly, the growth process must also ensure the principle of balancing economic growth and socioeconomic development goals, human and sustainable environment for all citizens to benefit from the development process and those who are vulnerable and most disadvantaged not to be left behind.

 

Mr Jong Ha - Bae, Chief Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) in Vietnam, said that based on national objectives outlined in the SEDP 2011 - 2015 signed by 17 UN agencies on March 27, 2012 marked the second generation of "joint action" by more focus on target results. And the Joint Plan 2012 - 2016 specified key areas: Supporting the Government to achieve sustainable growth and equality for all people; accessing to quality essential services and social security; and strengthening public governance and participation. These activities will help solve Vietnam's priority problems as outlined in the SEDS 2011-2020 and SEDP 2011-2015.

 

In fact, in 2012, green growth and economic structural reform were the policy focus of Vietnam. Public investment and state-owned enterprise reform was expressed in the Strategy 2013 - 2020 approved in February 2013 and the Vietnam Green Growth Strategy approved in September 2012 calling for greenhouse gas emissions reduction, green production. The Government was also committed to implementing new measures to encourage community development and participation in implementing and monitoring programmes as ongoing reform was quite slow.

 

Although the implementation is challenging, policies have strong ripple effects on citizens, businesspeople and all circles of society. However, according to many experts, Vietnam needs to address such obstacles as insufficient legal framework for statistical systems development, weak data collection and slow information sharing between the government and citizens. In some remote areas, living conditions of the people are difficult. Informal economy generates poorly paid jobs, substandard working conditions, and insufficient social insurance. Discriminations and gender salary differences still exist.

 

In the tasks of responding climate change and strengthening environmental management and disaster risk management, Vietnam has demonstrated its commitment to developing a low-carbon economy by adopting the Green Growth Strategy 2011 - 2020 with the goal of reducing GHG emissions by about 8-10 percent from the level in 2010 and reducing energy consumption by 1 - 1.5 percent a year. The country has also actively carried out environmental protection measures in 63 provinces, including training 602 staffs in the country and identifying 6,000 communities most vulnerable to risks based on the Composite Index. The Government prioritises investment for building up the resilience of communities in 20 most affected provinces. The National Programme for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) and the Action Plan coordinate and direct international support for REDD+ in Vietnam under a single framework. US$30 million was pledged for the United Nations Programme - REDD Vietnam, Phase 2, kicked off in 2013. And this marked the first time REDD+ was administered by the nation.

In 2014, experts recommended priorities for Vietnam, including determining the most important operational areas like improving risk management and climate change, integrating environmental management and natural resources and supporting the national target programme on new countryside construction.