On April 4, 2017, the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam Nguyen Xuan Phuc issued Decree 36/2017/ND-CP stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. The Decree takes effect from the date of issuance and replaces Decree 21/2013/ND-CP dated March 4, 2013, of the Government of Vietnam. Compared to Decree 21/2013/ND-CP, this Decree introduces several important new points, ensuring comprehensive coverage of the assigned functions and tasks, clearly delineating the tasks and powers of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment with other Ministries and sectors, and contributing to enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of state management in the field of natural resources and environment.
Article table of contents
According to the Decree, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) is an agency of the Government of Vietnam, responsible for state management in the fields of: Land; water resources; mineral and geological resources; environment; hydrometeorology; climate change; surveying and mapping; integrated management of marine and island resources and environmental protection; remote sensing; state management of public services in the areas under the jurisdiction of the Ministry. The Decree has added the function of state management of remote sensing and revised the phrase "resources and environmental protection" in the function of state management of seas and islands to align with the Law on Marine and Island Resources and Environment. In addition to inheriting contents from Decree 21/2013/ND-CP, the new Decree has abolished some contents that are no longer appropriate; updated and added some tasks to ensure alignment with newly issued legal documents.
Some new points in Decree 36/2017/ND-CP
Regarding tasks and powers, for the group of general tasks and powers, the Decree adds the content "Submitting to the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam draft decisions, directives and other documents under the issuance authority of the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam" to conform with the provisions of Decree 123/2016/ND-CP.
Regarding water resources: additional tasks include planning for water exploitation and use; protecting water quality sources; monitoring and supervising water resources; coordinating water exploitation and use activities on river basins.
Regarding geology and minerals: revised and added tasks of inspecting and supervising mineral exploitation.
Regarding the environment: the state management task of biodiversity is separated into a distinct section, revised and added some tasks to ensure alignment with the Law on Environmental Protection 2014, aiming for clearer demarcation with other Ministries and sectors regarding environmental incident response, waste management, pollution remediation, environmental monitoring; environmental non-business funding.
Regarding nature conservation and biodiversity: aiming to enhance the role of nature conservation and biodiversity work in the context of sustainable development goals, and concurrently to coincide with the requirements and tasks prescribed in the Law on Biodiversity, the field of nature conservation and biodiversity is separated into a distinct field, adding some tasks regarding biodiversity conservation planning, managing biodiversity corridors, nature reserves, conservation of endangered wild animal and plant species.
Regarding hydrometeorology: revised and added some tasks to complete state management work on hydrometeorology, including monitoring, surveying, investigating meteorology and hydrology; forecasting and warning activities of hydrometeorological phenomena, earthquakes, tsunamis; data storage, exploitation, and usage of hydrometeorological information and climate change monitoring.
Regarding surveying and mapping: added the term "geographic information" to the name of this task group to ensure relevant content, practical management requirements, and international integration; concurrently adjusted, supplemented, and edited some specific tasks to comply with new regulations on place name databases, administrative boundaries, and infrastructure management of surveying and mapping.
Regarding integrated management of marine and island resources and environmental protection: implementing the Law on Marine and Island Resources and Environment, tasks, and powers of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in the field of integrated management of seas and islands are revised and supplemented comprehensively, focusing on the construction of mechanisms and policies; basic marine resource investigations, marine and oceanic science research; territorial sea zoning planning as a basis for resource management, exploitation, investment in socio-economic development, and national sovereignty protection; issues of integrated, inter-provincial management and exploitation of seas and islands.
Regarding climate change: revised, updated, and added some tasks to ensure compatibility with Vietnam's active and responsible participation in major global and regional forums on climate change.
Regarding remote sensing: more specific and detailed regulations in response to the expanding scope and management objects of the remote sensing field.
Regarding the organizational structure of the MNRE
The organizational structure remains largely unchanged, consisting of 23 units. 18 organizations remain as per Decree 21/2013/ND-CP, with some units consolidated to streamline operational heads and ensure uniform activity models among units, including: International Cooperation Department, Science and Technology Department, Legal Affairs Department, Emulation, Commendation and Propaganda Department, Personnel and Organization Department, Ministry Inspectorate, Ministry Office, Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands, Vietnam General Department of Geology and Minerals, General Department of Environment, General Department of Land Administration, Department of Water Resources Management, National Remote Sensing Department, Institute of Strategy and Policy on Natural Resources and Environment, Natural Resources and Environment News, Natural Resources and Environment Journal, National Center for Water Resources Planning and Investigation.
Some organizations have their names changed, including: the Department of Surveying and Mapping Vietnam renamed to the Department of Surveying, Mapping and Geographic Information Vietnam; the Department of Information Technology renamed to the Department of Information Technology and Natural Resources and Environment Data.
Organizations merged, reorganized, and supplemented into the Ministry's organizational structure include:
- Merging the Planning Department and Financial Department into the Planning - Finance Department to function as an advisor to the Minister in management of planning and finance within the Ministry's state management scope, ensuring streamlined operations as stipulated in Resolution 39-NQ/TW.- Reorganizing and converting the operational model of the National Center for Hydrometeorology and receiving the state management component on hydrometeorology at the Department of Hydrometeorology and CC to establish the General Department of Hydrometeorology.- Reorganizing and renaming the Department of Hydrometeorology and Climate Change to the Department of Climate Change after transferring the hydrometeorology state management component to the General Department of Hydrometeorology. The consolidation and establishment of a robust, specialized organizational structure are necessary to effectively execute state management functions on climate change from central to local levels, codifying policies into specific legal documents, and participating in bilateral and multilateral activities, elevating national status in climate change response.- Merging and reorganizing the training and retraining task force at Hanoi University of Natural Resources and Environment, General Department of Environment, General Department of Land Administration, Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands, National Center for Hydrometeorology, and Institute of Hydrometeorology and Climate Change into the Training and Retraining School of MNRE under the Ministry. This merger and reorganization of training and retraining units under the MNRE into a unit under the Ministry are necessary to enhance the training quality and efficiency of officials and public employees in the MNRE sector, reducing organizational heads without increasing staffing, meeting administrative reform requirements, and aligning with the Public Service Provider Network Plan under the MNRE to 2020, orientation to 2030 approved by the Prime Minister of the Government of Vietnam at Decision 2283/QD-TTg dated September 25, 2016.
Source: Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
