Approval of the National environmental protection planning for the period 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050 in Vietnam

Approval of the National environmental protection planning for the period 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050 in Vietnam (Internet image)

On July 8, 2024, the Prime Minister of Vietnam issued Decision No. 611/QD-TTg approving the National Environmental Protection Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050.

Approval of the National environmental protection planning for the period 2021-2030 with a vision to 2050 in Vietnam

The Prime Minister of Vietnam approves the National Environmental Protection Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, with the following objectives and visions:

(1) General Objectives

Proactively prevent and control pollution and environmental degradation; restore and improve environmental quality; halt biodiversity decline and enhance biodiversity quality, to ensure the right of the people to live in a clean environment by logically organizing and orienting spatial distribution, zoning management of environmental quality; orient the establishment of protected areas, nature conservation sites, and biodiversity zones; formulating concentrated waste treatment zones at national, regional, and provincial levels; orienting the construction of a national and provincial environmental monitoring and warning network; developing a sustainable socio-economic pathway geared toward a green economy, circular economy, low-carbon economy, harmonious with nature, and environmentally friendly, actively responding to climate change.

(2) Specific Objectives

- Regarding environmental zoning: Orient a unified environmental zoning across the entire country based on the criteria of sensitive environmental factors vulnerable to pollution impacts, aiming to minimize negative impacts on the normal life and development of humans and organisms.

- Regarding nature conservation and biodiversity: Orient the conservation of natural values and biodiversity, and natural heritage aiming to restore and maintain natural ecosystems, halt the trend of biodiversity decline based on strengthening, expanding, newly establishing, and effectively managing nature conservation zones, biodiversity corridors, high biodiversity areas, important natural landscapes, important wetlands, and conservation facilities to retain, conserve, and develop endemic, endangered, precious, rare genes, plant seeds, and animal breeds.

By 2030, increase the area of nature conservation areas; protect and restore important natural ecosystems, enhance biodiversity quality; aim for a total area of approximately 6.7 million hectares of the national conservation system.

Specific targets for natural conservation and biodiversity are defined in the National Biodiversity Conservation Planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050.

- Regarding centralized waste treatment zones: Orient the formation of a synchronized system of centralized waste treatment zones at national, regional, and provincial levels with appropriate capacity and treatment technology, meeting the requirements to receive and handle all domestic solid waste, common industrial solid waste, and hazardous waste generated nationwide, minimizing the amount of direct landfill waste, implementing waste sorting at the source, promoting recycling and reuse activities. Simultaneously, establish favorable mechanisms and policies to boost private investment and attract investment from the private sector and foreign sources in waste treatment activities. Specific targets by 2030:

+ Orient the formation of at least 02 national-level centralized waste treatment zones;

+ Orient the formation of at least 07 regional centralized waste treatment zones in socio-economic regions during the planning period;

+ Orient the formation of at least 01 provincial centralized waste treatment zone in each province and centrally governed city.

- Regarding the environmental monitoring and warning network: Orient the establishment of a unified, modern, interconnected national and provincial environmental monitoring and warning network across the country to proactively monitor the current status and build initial capacity for forecasting environmental quality trends and pollution warnings; ensuring timely information provision serves the environmental state management task. To be specific:

+ Concerning the national environmental monitoring and warning network: orient the establishment of a national environmental quality monitoring network in inter-regional, inter-provincial, cross-border areas, focusing on monitoring key areas, areas of significant importance for nature conservation and socio-economic development of the country. The national environmental monitoring and warning network must be integrated and linked with provincial environmental monitoring systems.

+ Concerning the provincial environmental monitoring and warning network: orient for provinces and centrally governed cities to establish local environmental quality monitoring networks, focusing on areas at risk of pollution due to socio-economic development activities, areas influenced by many waste sources, and vital landscape, ecology, and environmental areas within the jurisdiction of local authorities, coordinated and closely linked with the national environmental monitoring and warning network to efficiently use nationwide environmental quality monitoring data.

(3) Vision to 2050:

Vietnam will have good environmental quality, ensuring a clean living environment for the people; effectively conserve biodiversity and maintain ecological balance; proactively respond to climate change; society develops harmoniously with nature, the country achieves sustainable development geared towards green transformation based on the development of a circular economy, green economy, low-carbon economy aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050; ensuring environmental security associated with the goal of fast and sustainable socio-economic development.

More details can be found in Decision No. 611/QD-TTg, which comes into force in Vietnam from July 8, 2024.

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