Vietnam moves towards smart governance of water resources
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) has said it will step up digital transformation and maintain the operation of the online surveillance system over water exploitation and use for about 600 works licensed by it in 2024.
Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) has said it will step up digital transformation and maintain the operation of the online surveillance system over water exploitation and use for about 600 works licensed by it in 2024.
This move aims to ensure the effective management, exploitation and protection of water resources online based on smart governance.
Chau Tran Vinh, Director of the ministry’s Department of Water Resources Management, said that this year, the department and related units will build and submit for approval three decrees and four circulars guiding the implementation of the Law on Water Resources 2023, organise the implementation of a project on the overall assessment of impacts of other countries' development of hydropower plants on the main stream of the Mekong River along with response solutions, and build a draft water resources scenario for early 2025 to submit to the ministry for announcement, helping ministries, sectors and localities to develop water use plans.
Illustrative image (Photo: VNA)
The department will work with the Pollution Control Department to submit to the MoNRE the load capacity of inter-provincial water sources and a plan for surface water quality management in the basin of Ky Cung, Ma, Ba, Tra Khuc, Kon, Se San and Srepok rivers.
Water resources management has gradually come into order, creating a large source of revenue for the State budget, with about 7.5 trillion VND (306.18 million USD) a year collected from water resources tax, and around 1.5 trillion VND a year from water exploitation right license.
The Departments of Natural Resources and Environment of provinces and centrally-run cities also actively advised their People's Committees in the promulgation of 122 legal documents and guiding documents to strengthen water resources management in the localities./.
VNA
Related News
National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong Dinh Hue suggested reviewing provisions on water resources management, while addressing the 25th session of the NA Standing Committee in Hanoi on August 14 during which the draft revised Law on Water Resources is among the documents tabled for discussion.
Climate change has and is deeply affecting Vietnam's water resources, changing the water cycle in nature and causing extreme phenomena such as flooding, drought, and saline intrusion, thus prompting the urgent need for strengthening management of water resources.
Six countries along the Mekong River – Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Thailand - have committed to working together to tackle climate change issues, according to Surasee Kittimonthon, Secretary-General of Thailand’s Office of the National Water Resources (ONWR).
The Phuoc Thuan Border Guard Station and competent units in Ho Tram commune, Ho Chi Minh City, on June 4 rescued a rare sea turtle caught in a fishing net and safely released it back into the sea.
The elongated tortoise is one of the most beautiful and rare terrestrial tortoise species, listed in both the Vietnam Red Data Book and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. It typically inhabits tropical and subtropical forests and plays an important role in maintaining ecological balance. However, due to illegal trade and habitat loss, its wild population has been declining sharply.
The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)-funded technical cooperation project on drainage management for climate resilience in Can Tho aims to improve planning capacity for wastewater collection, enhance operations and management of existing treatment plants, and the city’s ability to run public awareness campaigns.
A series of environmental and marine-related events to held in the central province of Nghe An from June 4-6 will generate a broad social impact, helping transform awareness into action and commitments into concrete results, and contributing to Vietnam’s goals of green growth, circular economy development, net-zero emissions and harmonious coexistence between people and nature.
According to marine experts, the repeated appearance of dolphins near the shore of Cai Chien Island is a positive sign that the local marine environment is well protected.
According to the Department of Forestry and Forest Protection, as of May 12, more than 1,350 communes and wards nationwide were under the highest forest fire warning of Level 5, while 294 others at Level 4.
To support conservation efforts, the national park has invested in a comprehensive system of breeding enclosures, quarantine areas, reproductive research facilities, wastewater treatment systems and surveillance cameras.
The climate resilience and sustainable infrastructure project in Lang Son consists of two main components, focusing on sustainable infrastructure and environmental improvement; and technical assistance and capacity building, with AFD experts expected to train project management officials and local agencies in disaster response and climate adaptation.
Beyond helping Hai Phong tackle environmental issues, Eco Hopia's primary objective is to transfer advanced technologies to Vietnam, enabling local partners to master them and contribute to the sustainable development of the country's agricultural sector.
The number and activity of tropical cyclones and depressions over the East Sea, internationally known as the South China Sea, and their direct impacts on mainland Vietnam are expected to be comparable to the multi-year average. The long-term average over the East Sea is 5.2 typhoons, with 1.9 making landfall.
Launched in 2021 with funding from the Norwegian people through WWF-Norway and WWF-Vietnam, the “Hue – Plastic Smart City in Central Vietnam” project aims to help Hue protect rivers, wetlands and coastal ecosystems from plastic pollution while building the city into a model plastic-reduced urban area in central Vietnam.
The Bac Lieu Forest Protection Unit under the provincial Forest Protection Sub-Department said that it had completed procedures to transfer and release the animal into its natural habitat.
Initiatives on biodiversity finance, carbon credits, public – private partnerships, nature-based tourism, and private sector investment are creating more opportunities to increase resources for ecosystem conservation and restoration, said an official.
Vietnam has established a network of 180 terrestrial and marine nature reserve covering more than 2.67 million hectares. These sites are being further strengthened to improve ecological connectivity, restore habitats and conserve endangered species. Forest cover remains stable at over 42%, contributing to water protection, climate adaptation and carbon absorption.
The animals included two masked palm civets, four stump-tailed macaques, and seven rhesus macaques. All belong to Group IIB under Circular No. 85/2025/TT-BNNMT issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on the management of endangered, precious and rare species, as well as the implementation of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The animal was identified as a clouded monitor (Varanus nebulosus), weighing approximately two kilograms and measuring around 70 centimetres in length. The species belongs to Group IB — a category of endangered and rare forest wildlife species given the highest level of protection in Vietnam, with all forms of commercial exploitation and use strictly prohibited.
The stump-tailed macaque, scientifically known as Macaca arctoides, is classified as a rare and endangered species under Group IIB in Vietnam’s regulations on endangered wildlife management.
Ho Chi Minh City aims to push urban green coverage above 1 sq.m per person by 2030, while stepping up greenhouse gas reduction initiatives on the way to Net Zero by 2050.
Designed to process 2,000 tonnes of waste per day and generate 45MW of electricity for the national grid, the project is the first high-tech waste-to-energy plant in southwestern Hanoi, where large-scale solid waste treatment facilities have long been lacking.
The figure includes losses of 6.7 billion VND in Cao Bang province and 3.5 billion VND in Dak Lak province, while Quang Ninh and Thanh Hoa provinces have yet to report estimated damages.