The Government of Vietnam and the Government of Canada signed a Memorandum of Understanding on May 2, 2008 which formalized their commitment to cooperation in environment sector through the Vietnam Provincial Environmental Governance Project (VPEG). The project goal is to support equitable economic growth through reforms that promote transparent and accountable governance. The project focuses on building capacity of local levels to address industrial pollution issues through the adoption of industrial pollution prevention approaches and the implementation of industrial pollution management (IPM) regulations. VPEG supports the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) in improving IPM policy & regulatory frameworks and providing support to provinces in the implementation of IPM regulations.
A workshop to develop the Communication & awareness raising plan for environmental protection and IPM was organized by Soc Trang DoNRE on 6 Feb 2012 with active participation of stakeholders including IPs Authorities, Department of Information & Communication, Environmental Police, Department of Industry and Trade, Provincial Women Union, Fatherland Front …and representatives from industries in the province. This was the final workshop where stakeholders involved in finalizing the plan based on comments from two previous workshops.
At the workshop, Women Union’s representative presented the requirements for possibility and approach to industries and IPs when implementing communication activities, IPs Authorities and industries committed to the cooperative implementation to ensure collaboration with agencies, mass organizations. Participants also committed and developed a joint action plan based on actual conditions of industries and mass organizations (Women Union, Youth Union) to best collaborate such as training for environmental staff of industries and mass organizations. Participants also proposed to use leaflets, loudspeakers, to establish clubs in order to deliver messages on IPM based on existing government regulations. From that, communication documents should have exact, simple and focused contents (because target audiences are production & business enterprises having limited time), documents should be also easy to use for communication staff.
The information management program of VPEG is built upon VCEP’s findings for data collecting, processing, storing and sharing within Vietnamese environment management agencies. There are differences among those agencies regarding information management services and systems for industrial pollution management (IPM), nonetheless, they all require improved information systems.
The VPEG information management strategy is redesigned in April 2011 with focus on helping DoNREs target improvements to specific activities that they perform such as database and regulation on providing, sharing environmental information and data for IPM, EIA review, environmental monitoring, inspection, industrial inventory, etc...
The Factsheet on Information Management Program providing updates of activity implementation and outputs can be downloaded from the VPEG Project’s website.
The Viet Nam Environment Administration on 10 Dec 2011, in collaboration with the VPEG Project organized a workshop on assessment of state of environmental management in industrial parks and orientation for development of the National Action Plan on environmental pollution control in IPs to 2020 in Son Tay. The workshop was chaired by VEA’s Deputy Director General Le Ke Son and attended by leaders of VEA units, representatives from Ha Noi DoNRE, University of Civil Engineering, researchers and scientists.
At his speech, the VEA’s Deputy Director General Le Ke Son said that the objective of the workshop was to review all information related to environmental pollution control in IPs including the state of environment in IPs, effectiveness of environmental protection activities in IPs such as effect of legal document system, organizational structure, effectiveness of budget use, monitoring system, environmental database in IPs … in order to propose for development of an effective environmental pollution control model in IPs to the Government.
The Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Binh Duong province, on 24 November 2011, organized a training workshop on “Developing relation and cooperating with the press as a stakeholder in industrial pollution management”.
The training course was designed as a workshop for sharing knowledge & experience in active collaboration with the press and journalists. More than 30 participants (Leaders of DoNRE, Environment Protection Agency, Inspection Division, Monitoring Centre …Industrial Parks Authority, Vietnam - Singapore Industrial Park Authority, Environmental Police and representatives from district/town’s Natural Resources and Environment Division in Binh Duong province) with support from VPEG communication consultants, discussed in detail necessary knowledge, skills and experiences to involve the press as an effective stakeholder in IPM.
Within the VPEG framework of strengthening IPM capacity, Bac Ninh DoNRE has implemented and is implementing a community-based environmental management demo model in Khac Niem Commune, Bac Ninh city, Bac Ninh province. Objective of this demo project is to develop an environmental management model at the village/commune level to support the state management on environment with the community’s effective participation as to improve IPM in small-scaled industrial production villages.
In 2011, the DoNRE implemented various activities of the demo project including baseline survey in the craft village, developing communication & awareness raising (CAR) plan, signing MoU to implement the project with stakeholders, establishing a community consulting group, supporting the development of environmental management regulation for Khac Niem commune and implementing the CAR program targeting to villagers. The recent Community participation in environmental management contest organized on 19 December 2011 was one of successful activities of the demo project in Bac Ninh.
Within the framework of VPEG Project, on 29-30 November 2011, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Soc Trang organized a training workshop on communication for environmental protection with focus on industrial pollution management. This is the first time for enterprises to involve in and contribute their comments to the provincial communication plan for environmental protection.
With technical supports from VPEG communication specialist, gender equality specialist, about 60 participants from state management agencies, mass organizations and representatives from 10 enterprises discussed in order to jointly develop a communication plan, in which they all have important roles in implementation and monitoring the result. The workshop also collected comments from participants to finalize the draft Communication handbook for environmental protection for Soc Trang Province.
The Environment Protection Department under the Ministry of Public Security stated on Wednesday that a review of its campaign to reduce environmental crimes in the southern regions, from Dec. 15, 2011 to Feb.15 2012, showed an increase in environment regulatory violations.
