Lawmakers urged to play greater role in climate change issue

The role of legislators needs to be promoted in policy and legal planning, negotiation and the supervision of conventions, treaties, international commitments on sustainable development and climate change.

This was agreed among the delegates who attended a seminar on the role of the Asian-Pacific Parliamentary Francophone Assembly (APF) in the environmental field and climate change, which was organised by the APF, the International Francophone Organisation (OIF) and Vietnam’s National Assembly in Hanoi on December 15.

On addressing the opening ceremony, Nguyen Van Son, the chairman of Vietnam’s NA’s Committee for External Affairs, said that the event is meaningful in the context of the 16 th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 16) that has just finished in Cancun, Mexico.

“The seminar stresses the responsibilities of Francophone member countries in the face of common global challenges in Asia-the Pacific region”, said Son.

At the event, delegates from APF member countries such as Laos and the South Pacific nation of Vanuatu as well as experts from the Institute for Energy and Environment of Francophone Countries (IEPF), representatives of Vietnam’s ministries, along with scientists agreed that environmental protection is always an essential factor in sustainable socio-economic development.

In reality, in a global economy, climate change poses challenges to many countries around the world, especially poor and developing countries, of whom many are members of the Francophone bloc.

The delegates were also briefed on Vietnam’s progress in the implementation of solutions on climate change as well as the NA’s role in sustainable development.

According to Jean Luc Lala, the Secretary General of Administration for the APF, the crucial point is to find a balance between the economic benefits and environmental protection, so all concerned parties must take own responsibility after signing conventions and international treaties in this area./.

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Fair showcases youth inventors

HA NOI — Seventy-four top entries from the 6th Nationwide Creative Competition for Youth and Children will be displayed at the 7th International Exhibition for Young Inventors (IEYI) on December 16-18.

The announcement was made by the Viet Nam Fund for Supporting Technological Creations (Vifotec) in Ha Noi on Monday.

Dr. Kim Chi, representing the creative competition's jury, said the majority of entries this year focused on three main areas ­ – toys and entertainment, environmental protection and economic development.

Top designs put safety as a priority or were mechanised and automated children's toys, she said.

Vifotec's director Le Duy Tien said IEYI was the first of its kind in Viet Nam, and aimed to promote creativity and allow Vietnamese children and youth to engage with international friends.

Young inventors, aged between 6 to 19, will present their inventions in 200 booths, focusing on learning aids, software, children's toys, environmental protection and energy-saving measures, he said.

The event was expected to attract the participation of 400 inventors from 40 countries and organisations worldwide. — VNS

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Young inventors honoured for creativity

Seventy-four top entries from the 6 th Nationwide Creative Competition for Youth and Children will be displayed at the 7 th International Exhibition for Young Inventors (IEYI) on Dec. 16-18.

The announcement was made by the Vietnam Fund for Supporting Technological Creations (Vifotec) in Hanoi on Dec. 13.

Dr. Kim Chi, representing the creative competition’s jury, said the majority of entries this year focused on three main areas ­ – toys and entertainment facilities, environmental protection and economic development.

Top designs put safety as a priority or were mechanised and automated children’s toys, she said.

Vifotec’s director Le Duy Tien said IEYI, the first of its kind in Vietnam , aimed to promote creativity and allow Vietnamese children and youth to engage with international friends.

Young inventors, aged between 6 to 19, will present their inventions in 200 booths, focusing on five areas of learning aids, software, children’s toys, environmental protection and energy-saving measures, he said.

The event was expected to attract the participation of 400 inventors from 40 countries and organisations worldwide./.

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Vision needed to reduce pollution costs

A senior government leader warned that the nation will pay more dearly for having neither a vision nor a full understanding of environmental protection, as he sounded the alert on rampant violations of environment law, with violators becoming more cunning and sophisticated in their actions.

Addressing the third National Environment Conference in Hanoi on Nov. 18, Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh Trong emphasised the need to put vision and understanding in every planning decision, plan and project from central to grassroots level.

“Environmental protection must be a task of the entire political system and every single citizen. Ministries, sectors and localities should regard environmental protection as their prioritised duty,” the Government leader said.

Noting improvements in the quality of the environment, Trong reflected that this improving process had been still slow as pollution continued to occur, particularly in the lower areas of the Cau, Nhue and Day rivers in the north and the Saigon and Dong Nai rivers in the south.

Improper exploitation of natural resources, illegal hunting and trading of wild plants and animals and the import of harmful foreign creatures were causing environmental pollution and challenging protection efforts, he said.

However, Trong recognised the establishment of a system of State environmental protection management agencies from central to grassroots level and a furtherance in policies and laws pertaining to environmental protection.

From 2005 to 2010, 66 under-law documents, including 23 governmental- level documents and 43 ministerial-level ones, were stipulated, helping shape a comprehensive and consistent legal system for the stronger protection of the environment throughout the country.

According to incomplete statistics, about 60 strategic projects to assess the environment have been carried out and 7,000 invested projects have conducted environmental impact assessments since 2005.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is watching the treatment of hazardous wastes at the Hyundai-Vinashin shipbuilding plant, the Bai Bang paper plant, the Lam Thao chemical plant and the Miwon mill.

It is monitoring the implementation of environmental assessment at the Lam Dong and Nhan Co-Dak Nong bauxite complex and has completed the settlement of payments for economic and environment damage caused by the Vedan monosodium glutamate company for farmers living along the Thi Vai river which runs through Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai and Ba Ria-Vung Tau provinces./.

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Miss Earth beauties share environmental ideas

Twenty candidates of the beauty pageant Miss Earth 2010 on Nov. 8 made a visit to the Da Phuoc Solid Waste Treatment Complex in Binh Chanh district, Ho Chi Minh City and met with local women to share environmental protection ideas.

The visit is the kick-start of the beauty competition -- hosted by Vietnam for the first time -- affirming the contest’s target of raising the public’s awareness of environmental protection.

At the meeting with women from Binh Chanh districts, the beauties shared their wishes that women and all people would pay more attention to the environment, waste, air pollution and water resources, and join hands in environmental protection for a better life.

Miss Earth 2009, Larrissa Ramos of Brazil said her country and many other countries, especially developing ones she has visited, are facing major environmental issues. She said waste in urban areas was an important issue and Vietnam and other countries needed to formulate effective management measures to protect the living environment and scenic urban areas.

Other beauties also stressed people’s responsibility in environmental protection. The host representative, Miss Vietnam World 2010 Luu Thi Diem Huong said attention should be paid to educating children and women on the importance of environmental protection.

The Miss Earth pageant, initiated by the Caruosel Production Group of the Philippines in 2001, is one of the five biggest beauty contests in the world.
This year’s contest gathers 90 delegates from countries and territories around the world, with various activities taking place in many localities nationwide from Nov. 4-Dec. 4. The final will be held in Vinpearl Land, Nha Trang coastal city, in the central province of Khanh Hoa./.

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Firms avoid environmental protection fees in HCM City

Many enterprises in HCM City have become debtors of the Municipal Environmental Protection Sub-department, not paying charges fixed by the city, a report says.

According to the sub-department, as of this month, more than 30 enterprises had not paid environment protection charges of about 3 billion VND (154,000 USD) for wastewater treatment alone.

Tran Ngoc Dinh, an official of the sub-department, said environmental protection charges had been collected since 2004 under Prime Minister's Decree 67.

However many enterprises in the city were still trying to avoid their obligations, he said.

Some of the enterprises had evaded payments for several years, Dinh said.

The Phan Muoi Company in Hoc Mon district, for instance, owes environmental protection fees of 51 million VND (2,600 USD), but to date, it has paid nothing, he said.

The Hau Sanh Company in Tan Binh District owed the department 55 million VND (2,800 USD), and while the Binh Trung Dong Company in district 2 owed 57 million VND (2,900 USD).

"We have many times sent warning letters to the enterprises. We have also discussed this issue several times with them. However, the situation has not changed," Dinh said.

While some of the establishments had closed, many were still in operation.

Nguyen Minh Hoang, deputy director of the municipal Environmental Protection Sub-department, attributed the evasion to a lack of serious punitive measures.

The sub-department was tasked to collect environmental protection charges from local enterprises but it did not have the authority to penalise violations, Hoang said.

Current environmental protection charges are very low, accounting for a small part of the total costs the city has to pay for processing wastewater and improving the environment, he said.

Enterprises in the city have to pay just 250 VND for one kilo of contaminated water that exceeds chemical-oxygen-demand (COD) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) specifications, he said.

The report shows that many enterprises that have not paid their environmental protection dues continue to discharge polluted water into the environment, but have not been penalised.

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Firms evade environmental protection fees in HCMC

A number of enterprises based in Ho Chi Minh City have become debtors of the Municipal Environmental Protection Sub-department, not paying charges fixed by the city, a report says.

According to the sub-department, as of this month, more than 30 enterprises had not paid environment protection charges of about VND3 billion (US$154,000) for wastewater treatment alone.

Tran Ngoc Dinh, an official of the sub-department, said environmental protection charges had been collected since 2004 under Prime Minister's Decree 67.

However many enterprises in the city were still trying to avoid their obligations, he said.

Some of the enterprises had evaded payments for several years, Dinh said.

The Phan Muoi Company in Hoc Mon district, for instance, owes environmental protection fees of VND51 million ($2,600), but to date, it has paid nothing, he said.

The Hau Sanh Company in Tan Binh District owed the department VND55 million ($2,800), and while the Binh Trung Dong Company in district 2 owed VND57 million ($2,900).

"We have many times sent warning letters to the enterprises. We have also discussed this issue several times with them. However, the situation has not changed," Dinh said.

While some of the establishments had closed, many were still in operation.

Nguyen Minh Hoang, deputy director of the municipal Environmental Protection Sub-department, attributed the evasion to a lack of serious punitive measures.

The sub-department was tasked to collect environmental protection charges from local enterprises but it did not have the authority to penalize violations, Hoang said.

Current environmental protection charges are very low, accounting for a small part of the total costs the city has to pay for processing wastewater and improving the environment, he said.

Enterprises in the city have to pay just VND250 for one kilo of contaminated water that exceeds chemical-oxygen-demand (COD) and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) specifications, he said.

The report shows that many enterprises that have not paid their environmental protection dues continue to discharge polluted water into the environment, but have not been penalized.

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