Environmental Impact Assessment in Vietnam

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Environmental Impact Assessment in Vietnam

• Presenter Vu Thi Thanh Huan
• Department of Environmental Engineering

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CONTENTS

• The Global Environmental challenges
• Whats Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)?
• Its philosophy
• What projects need to have EIA?
• When EIA will be written?
• Outline of EIA report.
• Conclusion

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The Global Environmental challenges

• Throughout history, the ecosystems of the world
  have been significantly altered by human
  development. 
• Major events in history continue to affect the
  environment many years after they happened
  Chernobyl Accident, the Dust Bowl in USA,...
• Consequences are Acid Rain, Air Pollution, Global
  Warming, Hazardous Waste, Ozone Depletion, Smog,
  Water Pollution, Overpopulation, Rain Forest
  Destruction,..

The Dust Bowl in USA (1935)
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Whats EIA?

• EIA means analysis and forecast of impacts on
  the environment to be exerted by specific
  projects so as to work out measures to protect
  the environment when such projects are carried
  out.
• (Law on Environmental Protection of Vietnam
  2005)

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• The Philosophy
• Impact assessment is designed as a preventive
  measure.
• It should give environmental considerations equal
  weight with technical and economic aspects.
• Environmental considerations should be introduced
  early on in the planning processes
• Broad and public participation should ensure wide
  acceptance of projects implemented.

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What projects need to EIA? (1/2)

• In Vietnam, Law on Environmental Protection
  provides
• Projects of national importance
• Projects planned to use part of land or exerting
  adverse impacts on the natural sanctuaries,
  national parks,
• Projects to potentially exert adverse impacts on
  the river watershed, coastal areas or areas of
  protected ecosystems

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What projects need to EIA? (2/2)

• Projects to construct infrastructure works in
  economics zones, craft village areas,
• Projects to construct new urban centers,..
• Projects to exploit and use groundwater or
  natural resources on a large scale.
• Other projects having potential risks or adverse
  impacts on the environment.
• (please see at Annex 1 of Decree No.
  80/2006/ND-CP attached)

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When the EIA will be written?

• EIA must be elaborated simultaneously with
  formulation of feasibility study reports of
  projects.

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Outline of EIA report (1/2)

• General Introduction
• Chapter 1 Brief description of project
• Chapter 2 Natural, Environmental, economic and
  social condition
• Chapter 3 Assessment of environmental impacts
• Chapter 4 Solutions and measures to minimize
  negative impacts, to prevent and cope with
  environmental problems

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Outline of EIA report (2/2)

• Chapter 5 Commitments to implementation of
  environmental protection measures
• Chapter 6 Construction works of environmental
  treatment and environmental monitoring and
  management program
• Chapter 7 Cost estimation for environmental
  construction
• Chapter 8 Community consultation
• Chapter 9 Bibliography data sources and
  assessment methods
• Conclusion and recommendation.

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GENERAL INTRODUCTION

• Project profile Summary of project in which
  indicating what type the projects are, new,
  additional, expanded or other projects.
• Legal and technical basis for E.I.A legal and
  technical documents, on which the project E.I.A.
  and E.I.A. report base.
• Organization of E.I.A. implementation Summary
  of E.I.A. implementation and E.I.A. reports
  conducted.

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1. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT

• 1.1. Name of project
• 1.2. Project owner
• 1.3. Location of project co-ordinates,
  boundaries in relation with natural factors (road
  network system of rivers, streams,..), social
  and economic factors (resident areas, urban
  living squares.
• 1.4. Main contents of project
• Enumeration and detailed description of the
  projects construction components, construction
  area, time and workload operational technology
  for each component and the entire project.

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2. NATURAL, ENVIRONMENTAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
CONDITION

• Overall assessment of possible environmental
  status at the project site and neighboring areas
  the sensitivity and load capacity of the
  environment.
• 2.1. Natural and environmental condition
• Geographical and geological condition
• Meteorological and hydrographical condition
• Current condition of natural environmental
  factors
• 2.2. Economic and social condition
• Economic condition
• Social condition

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3. ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS (1/2)

• Detailed assessment of possible environmental
  impact when the project is executed and
  environmental components and socio-economic
  elements to be impacted by the project
  prediction of environmental incidents possibly
  caused by the project.
• 3.1. Causes of impacts
• Impacts that relate to waste
• Impacts that do not relate to wastes
• Forecasting environmental risks that project may
  take during implementation and operation.

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3. ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS (2/2)

• 3.2. Objects and scope of impacts natural,
  economic, cultural, social, religious objects,
  historical, relics and other objects in the
  project areas and neighboring areas.
• 3.3. Impact assessment Impact assessment must
  concretized by causes of impacts and objects of
  impacts. Each impact should be assessed at very
  detail extent in term of degree, scope, time and
  location.
• 3.4. Methodology assessment Assessment on
  reliability of E.I.A. methods used, reliability
  of available and uncertain points in assessments.

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4. SOLUTIONS AND MEASURES TO MINIMIZE NEGATIVE
IMPACTS, TO PREVENT AND COPE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS

• For negative impacts Each negative impact that
  is already identified should go with relevant
  solutions to minimize it. It needs to prove that
  after solutions have been applied to what extent
  the negative impacts are minimized.
• For environmental problems Proposing a general
  solution to prevent and to cope with problems.

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5. COMMITMENTS TO IMPLEMENTATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL
PROTECTION MEASURES

• Commitments of project owners to implementation
  of measures to minimize the above mentioned
  negative impacts also, commitments to
  implementation of all measures and general
  regulations on environmental protection and
  relating to project implementation.

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6. CONSTRUCTION WORKS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TREATMENT
AND ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND MANAGEMENT
PROGRAM

• 6.1. List of construction works of environmental
  treatment list of construction works of
  environmental treatment for solid, liquid, air
  and other wastes within the project and
  construction works of environmental treatment for
  non-waste factors, such as eroded, slide,
  collapsed, and sunk land
• 6.2. Environmental monitoring and management
  program
• Environmental management program
• Environmental monitoring program

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7. COST ESTIMATION FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRUCTION

• Cost estimation must be made for building and
  operating environmental constructions during
  project implementation and operation.

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8. COMMUNITY CONSULTATION

• Opinion of the commune/ward or township Peoples
  Committees in the place where the project is
  located opinions against the projects location
  or against environmental protection solutions
  must be presented in the environmental impact
  assessment report.

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9. BIBLIOGRAPHY DATA SOURCES AND ASSESSMENT
METHODS

• 9.1. Data sources
• Data of reference
• Data and information created by project owners
• 9.2. Methods applied in the E.I.A. process
• Full list of methods applied
• Evaluation of reliable degree of applied methods
  
• 9.3. Comments on detail and reliable degree of
  evaluations possible impacts and changing trend
  of natural, environmental, economic and social
  condition during and not during project
  implementation.

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CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

• Conclusion impacts are fully recognized and
  assessed or not, what remains overall assessment
  on scope and scale of identified impacts
  feasibility of measures and solutions to minimize
  impacts what negative impacts cannot be
  minimized or have no solutions due to exceeding
  project owners capacity, and what
  recommendation.
• Recommendation asking assistance to solve
  problems that exceed project owners capacity.

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Conclusion

• Vietnam is a developing country. With the policy
  to grant land and tax preferences, Vietnam
  attract to investment in the country, foreign
  organizations and individuals.
• However, Vietnam must deal with Environmental
  challenges such as air pollution, waste
  disposal, water pollution,So, the EIA is a tool
  to protect the environment when project running
  and an assistant tool for environmental
  management and sustainable development.

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Thank you for your attention