Subjects required to undergo strategic environmental assessment in Vietnam

Subjects required to undergo strategic environmental assessment in Vietnam (Internet image)

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like to answer as follows:

1. What is a strategic environmental assessment?

Pursuant to Clause 5, Article 3 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, strategic environmental assessment means the process of identifying and predicting trends in major environmental issues to form a basis for incorporating environmental protection measures into a policy, strategy or planning.

2. Subjects required to undergo strategic environmental assessment in Vietnam

Specifically, Article 25 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 stipulates subjects required to undergo strategic environmental assessment as follows:

- National strategy for extraction and use of natural resources.

- National comprehensive planning; national marine spatial planning; national land use planning; regional planning; provincial planning; special administrative-economic unit planning.

- National and regional strategy for field and sector development, national sector planning and technical and specialized planning having great impacts on the environment on the list prescribed by the Government.

- Adjustments to the planning specified in Clauses 2 and 3 of Article 25 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020.

3. Regulations on carrying out strategic environmental assessment in Vietnam

According to Article 26 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020, regulations on carrying out strategic environmental assessment are as follows:

- Organizations assigned to formulate the strategy and planning specified in Article 25 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 shall carry out strategic environmental assessment in the process of formulating such strategy and planning.

- The result of strategic environmental assessment of the strategy specified in Clauses 1 and 3 Article 25 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 shall be incorporated in the application for approval of the strategy.

- The result of strategic environmental assessment of the planning specified in Clauses 2 and 3 Article 25 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 shall be presented in a report enclosed with the application for approval of the planning.

- The agency presiding over appraising planning shall appraise strategic environmental assessment result during the appraisal. The agency approving the strategy shall consider strategic environmental assessment result during the approval.

- The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall give its written opinions on contents of strategic environmental assessment of strategies and planning.

- The strategic environmental assessment result shall serve as one of the bases for the competent authority to consider approving a strategy or planning.

4. Contents of strategic environmental assessment in Vietnam

Contents of strategic environmental assessment in Vietnam are specified in Article 27 of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 as follows:

- Contents of strategic environmental assessment include:

+ Assessing conformity of the environmental protection policy with viewpoints, objectives and policies on environmental protection and sustainable development, and international environmental agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory and regulations of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020;

+ Proposing schemes for adjustment and completion of contents of conformity of the environmental protection policy with viewpoints, objectives and policies on environmental protection and sustainable development, and international environmental agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory and regulations of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020.

- Contents of strategic environmental assessment of the planning include:

+ Planning contents that may impact the environment;

+ Scope of strategic environmental assessment;

+ Environmental components and natural heritage sites that may be affected by the planning;

+ Strategic environmental assessment methods applied;

+ Comparing and assessing conformity of viewpoints and objectives of the planning with viewpoints, objectives and policies on environmental protection, national environmental protection strategy and planning, and environmental protection contents in the regional and provincial planning;

+ Results of identifying negative and positive major environmental issues in the planning;

+ Impacts of climate change;

+ Results of forecasting negative and positive trends of major environmental issues upon implementing the planning; solutions for maintaining positive trends and reducing negative trends of major environmental issues;

+ Orientations for environmental protection during the implementation of planning;

+ Results of consultation with relevant parties during the strategic environmental assessment;

+ Noteworthy environment protection-related issues (if any), proposed directions and solutions for resolution.

Ho Quoc Tuan

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