Too Many Issues in Environment Protection Law Need to Be Amended

At the 6^th meeting, Vietnam National Assembly discussed and gave opinions on the Draft Law on Environment Protection (amended). The Draft includes 20 chapters, 181 articles, of which some crucial issues should be further considered to be amended, supplemented or adjusted.

 

At a conference sharing international experiences in constructing law on environment protection jointly organised by the Vietnam National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment; Ministry of Natural Resource and Environment, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Hanoi, according to Mr Vo Tuan Nhan, Deputy Director of National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, many National Assembly deputies proposed that environment protection planning needs to ensure the simultaneousness, comprehensiveness, effectiveness and sustainability of environment protection activities. As for planning level, there are 2 different groups of opinions, however, according to the National Assembly Committee for Science, Technology and Environment, planning at national level and provincial level will be more appropriate because environment protection planning at national level will include environment protection of socio-economic regions. Environment protection planning must be simultaneous with other types of planning. It also has to suit with socio-economic development planning, land using planning, general provincial planning and other specific types of planning.

 

According to Ms Patricia Moore, International Consultant of UNDP, Vietnam should regulate clearly the combining of provincial and national environment planning with socio-economic development, land use; require relevant authorities to review and adjust periodically, not solely to report environment planning; at the same time, annual economic development must include report on implementing environment planning and affect of compliance or violations against environment planning.

 

Mr Nguyen Ngoc Sinh, Chairman of Vietnam National Resources and Environment Protection proposed that contents of environment protection must be gathered in a chapter or an article in the law; environment protection should not be combined with any planning, it should be in a comprehensive system with other plans.

NA deputies also believed that contents of environment planning should be segmented; there should be planned places for waste management measures and poisonous waste management measures; plans to handle polluted areas; plans to recover damaged ecosystems.

 

At the conference, many participants proposing regulating in detail what activities are violations against the environment, and sanctions against them, to handle with environment violations directly, timely and strictly.

 

Moreover, clarify the definition of environmental disputes; supplement a regulation to identify community as an object in dispute relationships; regulate the obligation to give proof in environmental lawsuit; at the same time, regulate more clearly criteria to evaluate damage of organisations, individuals because of environment pollution, environment crisis; regulate more clearly objects who are required to purchase responsibility insurance to compensate for environmental damages…

 

According to Ms Masnellyarti Hilman, former Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment of Indonesia, Vietnam should supervise the environment periodically and regulate compensation for environment pollution damages; as well as gather satellite images, meteorology, geographic data and expert assessment of different affects.

 

Ms Masnellyarti Hilman shared that in Indonesia, every environmental dispute could be solved with or without a lawsuit. Indonesian people could charge against any state management decision in cases as: authorities or state officers grant environment certificate for business activities, or other activities that require environment affect judgement; grant business certificate or conduct activities without environment certificate.

 

Indonesian law also requires every business, trading or activities using B3, producing or manage B3 waste and seriously threatening the environment must take a full responsibility for arising damages without explaining the wrongdoing.

 

Compensation depends on pollution and environment damage type and condition of owners of damaged or polluted environment.

 

According to Ms Masnellyarti Hilman, to deal with environmental disputes effectively, authorities must supervise environment periodically; conduct population investigation annually; clearly regulate compensation for environment pollution and/or environment damages evaluation. Every regulation on environmental standards must be regulated by the Government.

 

Mr Bakhodir Burkanov, UNDP Deputy Country Director, judged that with current management method, Vietnam will have a hard time realising the target of developing 7^th millennium on environment, especially in the fields of providing clear water, improving sanitation and biodiversity.

 

Mr Bakhodir Burkanov said that to manage the environment, the Law on Environment Protection should be simultaneous with state management and national development plan. Protecting land, water, biodiversity, minerals, marine and coastal resources must be combined with socio-economic development planning and national security planning.

 

“While the Draft recognizes rights and obligations of social and civil organisations, local community in protecting the environment, the Law should also create conditions for individuals and people’s organisations to participate in supervise environment pollutions, construct and approve measures for environment affect evaluation. Lawmakers should consider about applying new mechanisms to improve the supervision on law compliance. The mechanism should include not only regular inspection, but also unexpected on-site inspection, to have practical view and reveal threats. Especially, the law should allow the effective participation of the media and local people, as well as ensure open and transparent information related to law compliance and law compliance supervision,” Mr Bakhodir Burkanov suggested.