Chiến lược khai thác, sử dụng bền vững tài nguyên và bảo vệ môi trường biển đến năm 2020, tầm nhìn đến năm 2030 (Phần 2)

Nội dung text: Chiến lược khai thác, sử dụng bền vững tài nguyên và bảo vệ môi trường biển đến năm 2020, tầm nhìn đến năm 2030 (Phần 2)

1. 1. TRÁCH NHIỆM TỔ CHỨC THỰC HIỆN CHIẾN LƯỢC a) Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường - Giúp Thủ tướng Chính phủ thống nhất tổ chức thực hiện Chiến lược khai thác, sử dụng tài nguyên và bảo vệ môi trường biển đến năm 2020, tầm nhìn đến năm 2030; hướng dẫn các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan thuộc Chính phủ, Ủy ban nhân dân các tỉnh, thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương ven biển thực hiện các mục tiêu, nhiệm vụ và giải pháp của Chiến lược. - Chủ trì, phối hợp với các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan thuộc Chính phủ, Ủy ban nhân dân các tỉnh, thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương ven biển giám sát, kiểm tra việc thực hiện Chiến lược; định kỳ hàng năm, 5 năm tổ chức sơ kết, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện, rút kinh nghiệm; trình Thủ tướng Chính phủ điều chỉnh mục tiêu, nhiệm vụ và giải pháp trong trường hợp cần thiết. b) Các Bộ: Bộ Tài nguyên và môi trường, Bộ Nông nghiệp và Phát triển nông thôn, Quốc phòng, Ngoại giao, Bộ, ngành có liên quan trong phạm vi thẩm quyền quản lý nhà nước có trách nhiệm tổ chức thực hiện các mục tiêu, nhiệm vụ liên quan đến tài nguyên, môi trường, nông nghiệp, nông thôn, quốc phòng, biên giới, lãnh hải; gắn khai thác, sử dụng tài nguyên và bảo vệ môi trường với bảo vệ vững chắc chủ quyền biển đảo; kết hợp chặt chẽ giữa chức năng quản lý IV. TỔ CHỨC THỰC HIỆN nhà nước tổng hợp và thống nhất với chức năng quản lý nhà nước chuyên ngành theo Quy chế phối hợp quản lý tổng hợp tài nguyên và bảo vệ môi trường biển, hải đảo được ban hành kèm theo Quyết định số 23/2013/QĐ-TTg ngày 26 tháng 4 năm 2013 của Thủ tướng Chính phủ. c) Bộ Kế hoạch và Đầu tư, Bộ Tài chính bố trí nguồn vốn và hướng dẫn việc sử dụng các nguồn vốn 5 năm, hàng năm để thực hiện các mục tiêu, chỉ tiêu, nhiệm vụ và giải pháp của Chiến lược. d) Bộ Tài chính chủ trì, phối hợp với Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường xây dựng; hoàn thiện các cơ chế, chính sách tài chính, huy động các thành phần kinh tế tham gia thực hiện các mục tiêu, nhiệm vụ và các giải pháp của Chiến lược. đ) Các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan trực thuộc Chính phủ, Ủy ban nhân dân tỉnh, thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương có biển trong phạm vi trách nhiệm được giao có trách nhiệm tổ chức thực hiện các mục tiêu, nhiệm vụ, giải pháp có liên quan quy định trong Chiến lược theo sự điều phối, hướng dẫn của Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường. 2. GIÁM SÁT, ĐÁNH GIÁ KẾT QUẢ THỰC HIỆN CHIẾN LƯỢC a) Danh mục các chỉ tiêu giám sát, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện Chiến lược quy định tại Phụ lục kèm theo Quyết định này. IV. TỔ CHỨC THỰC HIỆN 50 b) Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường có trách nhiệm tổng hợp, thống nhất việc giám sát, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện Chiến lược; các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan trực thuộc Chính phủ có trách nhiệm giám sát, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện các chỉ tiêu liên quan, hàng năm gửi kết quả về Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường để tổng hợp, báo cáo Thủ tướng Chính phủ.
2. 1. TRÁCH NHIỆM TỔ CHỨC THỰC HIỆN CHIẾN LƯỢC a) Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường - Giúp Thủ tướng Chính phủ thống nhất tổ chức thực hiện Chiến lược khai thác, sử dụng tài nguyên và bảo vệ môi trường biển đến năm 2020, tầm nhìn đến năm 2030; hướng dẫn các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan thuộc Chính phủ, Ủy ban nhân dân các tỉnh, thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương ven biển thực hiện các mục tiêu, nhiệm vụ và giải pháp của Chiến lược. - Chủ trì, phối hợp với các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan thuộc Chính phủ, Ủy ban nhân dân các tỉnh, thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương ven biển giám sát, kiểm tra việc thực hiện Chiến lược; định kỳ hàng năm, 5 năm tổ chức sơ kết, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện, rút kinh nghiệm; trình Thủ tướng Chính phủ điều chỉnh mục tiêu, nhiệm vụ và giải pháp trong trường hợp cần thiết. b) Các Bộ: Bộ Tài nguyên và môi trường, Bộ Nông nghiệp và Phát triển nông thôn, Quốc phòng, Ngoại giao, Bộ, ngành có liên quan trong phạm vi thẩm quyền quản lý nhà nước có trách nhiệm tổ chức thực hiện các mục tiêu, nhiệm vụ liên quan đến tài nguyên, môi trường, nông nghiệp, nông thôn, quốc phòng, biên giới, lãnh hải; gắn khai thác, sử dụng tài nguyên và bảo vệ môi trường với bảo vệ vững chắc chủ quyền biển đảo; kết hợp chặt chẽ giữa chức năng quản lý IV. TỔ CHỨC THỰC HIỆN nhà nước tổng hợp và thống nhất với chức năng quản lý nhà nước chuyên ngành theo Quy chế phối hợp quản lý tổng hợp tài nguyên và bảo vệ môi trường biển, hải đảo được ban hành kèm theo Quyết định số 23/2013/QĐ-TTg ngày 26 tháng 4 năm 2013 của Thủ tướng Chính phủ. c) Bộ Kế hoạch và Đầu tư, Bộ Tài chính bố trí nguồn vốn và hướng dẫn việc sử dụng các nguồn vốn 5 năm, hàng năm để thực hiện các mục tiêu, chỉ tiêu, nhiệm vụ và giải pháp của Chiến lược. d) Bộ Tài chính chủ trì, phối hợp với Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường xây dựng; hoàn thiện các cơ chế, chính sách tài chính, huy động các thành phần kinh tế tham gia thực hiện các mục tiêu, nhiệm vụ và các giải pháp của Chiến lược. đ) Các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan trực thuộc Chính phủ, Ủy ban nhân dân tỉnh, thành phố trực thuộc Trung ương có biển trong phạm vi trách nhiệm được giao có trách nhiệm tổ chức thực hiện các mục tiêu, nhiệm vụ, giải pháp có liên quan quy định trong Chiến lược theo sự điều phối, hướng dẫn của Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường. 2. GIÁM SÁT, ĐÁNH GIÁ KẾT QUẢ THỰC HIỆN CHIẾN LƯỢC a) Danh mục các chỉ tiêu giám sát, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện Chiến lược quy định tại Phụ lục kèm theo Quyết định này. IV. TỔ CHỨC THỰC HIỆN b) Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường có trách nhiệm tổng hợp, thống nhất việc giám sát, 51 đánh giá kết quả thực hiện Chiến lược; các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan trực thuộc Chính phủ có trách nhiệm giám sát, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện các chỉ tiêu liên quan, hàng năm gửi kết quả về Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường để tổng hợp, báo cáo Thủ tướng Chính phủ.
3. a) Danh mục các chỉ tiêu giám sát, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện Chiến lược quy định tại Phụ lục kèm theo Quyết định này. b) Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường có trách nhiệm tổng hợp, thống nhất việc giám sát, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện Chiến lược; các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan trực thuộc Chính phủ có trách nhiệm giám sát, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện các chỉ tiêu liên quan, hàng năm gửi kết quả về Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường để tổng hợp, báo cáo Thủ tướng Chính phủ. 52
4. a) Danh mục các chỉ tiêu giám sát, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện Chiến lược quy định tại Phụ lục kèm theo Quyết định này. b) Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường có trách nhiệm tổng hợp, thống nhất việc giám sát, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện Chiến lược; các Bộ, cơ quan ngang Bộ, cơ quan trực thuộc Chính phủ có trách nhiệm giám sát, đánh giá kết quả thực hiện các chỉ tiêu liên quan, hàng năm gửi kết quả về Bộ Tài nguyên và Môi trường để tổng hợp, báo cáo Thủ tướng Chính phủ. 53
5. THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE EXPLOITATION AND UTILIZATION OF MARINE NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION UNTIL 2020 AND VISION 2030
6. INTRODUCTION Vietnam lies to the west of the Bien Dong Sea and touches the sea on three direc- tions, with a long coastline of 3,260km and territorial sea of over 1 million km2 which triples that of the mainland. Covering an area of over 3.4km2, the Bien Dong Sea is an international route of commercial exchange connecting the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and other seas, which assumes strategic importance not only to states in the region but many other countries worldwide. The Bien Dong Sea is the second most vibrant navigation channel in the world (after the Mediterranean). Among the 10 largest marine commercial routes in the world, 5 go through or are related to the Bien Dong Sea. Apart from Vietnam, the Bien Dong Sea is surrounded by 8 countries, including China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Cambodia. It thus exerts direct impacts on the lives of over 300 million people. Vietnam’s seas are endowed with favorable natural conditions, rich resources and various original ecosystems which represent the region and the world. However, marine nat- ural and fishery resources are being overexploited and used in an unsustainable manner, resulting in their rapid depletion and degradation. Marine biodiversity is being strongly re- duced. Eco-functions and biological productivity of marine ecosystems are affected. Fishery resources are rapidly declining and are even becoming exhausted in coastal areas. Marine water quality is showing a downward trend. The 21st century is considered as the century of the seas and oceans. The Vietnam Marine Strategy to 2020 aims for the sea, generating wealth from the sea and turning the country into a powerful maritime nation. In order to concretize this Strategy in the field of natural resources and environment, the Prime Minister approved a Strategy for sustainable exploitation and utilization of marine natural resources and environment protection until 2020 and vision 2030. The Strategy’s overall objective is better understanding of the sea, including marine potentials, advantages, and adverse impacts; promotion of exploitation and use of marine resources in a sustainable way; preserving the quality of the marine environment; and main- taining ecological functions and biological productivity of marine ecosystems to contribute to the successful implementation of the Vietnam Marine Strategy to 2020, for the sustainable development of the country. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is pleased to introduce the Strategy for sustainable exploitation and utilization of marine natural resources and environ- ment protection until 2020 and vision 2030. NGUYEN MINH QUANG Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
7. CONTENTS Part One. OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE CONTEXT AND SITUATION OF MARINE NATURAL 62 RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT 64 I. CONTEXT 65 1. Domestic context 67 2. International context II. THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT 68 1. General situation 68 2. Marine baseline surveys and research 71 3. Exploitation and utilization of marine and coastal natural resources 75 4. Marine and coastal environmental problems 81 5. Problems, limitations and main causes 84 Part 2. ORIENTATION OF SUSTAINABLE EXTRACTION AND USE OF MARINE RESOURCES 86 AND PROTECTION OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT I. VIEWPOINTS, OBJECTIVES TO 2020, VISION TOWARD 2030 AND STRATEGIC 89 BREAKTHROUGHS 1. Viewpoints 90 2. Objectives 90 a) The overall objective 90 b) Specific objectives to 2020 91 3. Vision toward 2030 91 4. Strategic breakthroughs 91 II. MAJOR GROUPS OF CONTENT 92 1. Research, and conduct basic survey on marine resources and environment 93 2. Development of forecasting capacity, for warning of disasters, and of impacts of climate change on the seas 94 3. Exploit and use rationally and sustainably all space, water, natural resources, and marine geographic position resource for socio-economic development in coastal and island areas, for developing a sustainable marine economy 95 4. Control the sources of pollution of the seawater environment, and on islands 96 5. Conserve marine landscapes and biodiversity, enhance the resilience of marine ecosys tems to the effects of climate change 97 III. GENERAL SOLUTIONS 98 1. Public education to raise awareness about the sea, sustainable use of marine resources and protection of the marine environment in seas and on islands 99 2. Establish and operate smoothly institutions of integrated and unified management of marine resources and environment 99 3. Focus on training, mobilization and use of human resources for investigation and re search into the integrated and unified management of marine resources and marine and island environments 100 4. Strengthen and diversify funding for basic surveys, resource management and protection of the marine environment of seas and islands 101 5. Promote scientific research and application of high technology in the basic survey, exploitation and use of marine resources, and protection of the environment of seas and islands 101 6. Promote international cooperation in sustainable exploitation and use of marine natural resources and the protection of the marine environment,island 102 61 IV. IMPLEMENTATION 104 1. Responsibility for implementing the strategy 105 2. Monitor and evaluate the results of Strategy implementation. 105 Appendix 106
8. OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE CONTEXT AND SITUATION OF MARINE NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT
9. I. CONTEXT 64
10. 1. DOMESTIC CONTEXT The doi moi and open-door policies and guidelines so far have brought about several important socio-economic achievements. GDP growth has continuously maintained a high rate; social welfare has improved; people’s lives have continually modernized; poverty has sharply reduced; our country has escaped from the least developed group and joined the list of middle-in- come countries (MIC). Our country’s status and power have constantly strengthened, with the nation increasing its international impact and reputation. Marine resources and the marine environment have made significant contributions to the country’s general achievements, yet the sea currently faces degradation, depletion, pollution, loss of ecobalance and decline of biological productivity. The socio-economic development strategy 2011-2020 aims to continue enhancing industrialization and modernization; achieve rapid, efficient and sustainable development and transform growth patterns so as to be oriented towards broadening and deepening rational development, with a focus on quality growth; aiming at the target that by 2020, the country has become fundamentally industrialized for attaining modernization. The Strategy intends to put forward the requirement of connected spatial development of the mainland and the sea, the region and the world in the sea-ward direction, and the mastery of marine and maritime activities so as to contribute to successful delivery of socio-economic development goals in the coming period. The 4th Conference of the Central Party Committee (of the 10th Tenure) adopted the Vietnam Marine Strategy until 2020 with the objectives to turn the country into a powerful maritime nation, generate wealth from the sea, firmly protect the country’s sovereignty and national marine sovereign rights, which make critical contributions to the successful implementation of the country’s industrialization and modernization. The implementation of the Strategy will exert great pressure on marine resources and the environment, and therefore requires right and timely orientation so as to ensure sustainable exploitation and utilization of marine resources and proper protection of marine environment. The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (the 13th Tenure) adopted the Vietnam Law of the Sea, defined the baselines, internal waters, territorial seas, contiguous zones, exclusive economic zones, continental shelf, islands, Hoang Sa (Paracel) archipelago, Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelago and other archipelagoes under Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and national jurisdiction; operation in Vietnam’s seas; marine economic development; management and protection of the seas and islands. Thus, SMNRE until 2020 and vision 2030 provides orientations for exploitation and utilization of natural resources towards sustainability in combination with environmental protection for the coastal regions, islands, archipelagoes and marine areas under Vietnam’s sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction. I. CONTEXT The National Environmental Protection Strategy until 2020, vision 2030, and the National Strategy on Climate Change, which have been approved by the Prime Minister with general 65 orientations, tasks and solutions in relation to marine natural resources and environment, require linkages and reciprocal complementarities among strategies so as to unify the orientations for baseline surveys, exploitation and utilization of natural resources towards sustainability and marine environmental protection in the country.
11. On 1st March 2006, the Prime Minister promulgated Decision 47/2006/ QĐ-TTg on the approval of the “Comprehensive project on baseline surveys and management of marine resources and environment until 2010, vision 2020”. Results of the project’s implementation in Phase I contributed to the formulation and development of the policy and legal system, which marked a major advance in research and baseline surveys in marine resources and environment towards enhanced integrated and unified management. Currently, Phase II of the project is being formulated with priority given to the enhancement of marine baseline surveys, which constitutes 2. INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT part of the Strategy for sustainable exploitation and utilization of marine resources and environment until 2020 and vision 2030. To exercise integrated and unified management of the seas, Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE); Divisions for Seas and Islands under the provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment of 28 coastal provinces and cities have been established, creating a system of state agencies for integrated and unified marine management from central to local levels. The 21st century is considered the century of the seas and oceans. Most coastal states pay high attention to marine economic development, strengthening the exploitation of the space, surface, resources, potentials and advantages of the seas for socio-economic development in combination with the protection of sovereignty, sovereign rights and exclusive economic rights of the seas. Climate change (CC) and sea level rise (SLR) exert strong impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity and the lives of coastal populations, give rise to several consequences and threaten human survival. In order to proactively respond to CC, there is need for capacity development. Disputes over marine sovereignty are occurring in various places around the world, even in the Bien Dong Sea. However, the trend of cooperation for joint exploitation of marine resources, marine environmental protection, and nature and biodiversity conservation remains predominant in the coming decade. Sovereign disputes over the Bien Dong Sea continue their complicated evolution, which requires proper policies that combine marine resource management and environmental protection with the struggle to protect sovereignty over the seas and islands. The conduct of planning for the use of marine space and surface by connecting the mainland with the sea, expanding connections to the region, continent and oceans, ecosystem-based functional zoning, and integrated and unified marine management approaches have been widely applied in many countries around the world. Within the framework of the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), the Strategy for Sustainable Development in the Seas of East Asia has been developed with a view to enhancing sustainable use of marine and coastal resources, conservation of the seas with high biodiversity, conservation of valuable marine biological species, protection of marine and coastal ecosystems against the pressure of socio-economic development; ensuring sustainable marine economic development and environmental protection; strengthening and improving awareness; cooperating with partners inside and outside the region I. CONTEXT for the objectives of protecting the environment of the seas and for coastal areas in East Asia. 66
12. 2. INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT The 21st century is considered the century of the seas and oceans. Most coastal states pay high attention to marine economic development, strengthening the exploitation of the space, surface, resources, potentials and advantages of the seas for socio-economic development in combination with the protection of sovereignty, sovereign rights and exclusive economic rights of the seas. Climate change (CC) and sea level rise (SLR) exert strong impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity and the lives of coastal populations, give rise to several consequences and threaten human survival. In order to proactively respond to CC, there is need for capacity development. Disputes over marine sovereignty are occurring in various places around the world, even in the Bien Dong Sea. However, the trend of cooperation for joint exploitation of marine resources, marine environmental protection, and nature and biodiversity conservation remains predominant in the coming decade. Sovereign disputes over the Bien Dong Sea continue their complicated evolution, which requires proper policies that combine marine resource management and environmental protection with the struggle to protect sovereignty over the seas and islands. The conduct of planning for the use of marine space and surface by connecting the mainland with the sea, expanding connections to the region, continent and oceans, ecosystem-based functional zoning, and integrated and unified marine management approaches have been widely applied in many countries around the world. Within the framework of the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), the Strategy for Sustainable Development in the Seas of East Asia has been developed with a view to enhancing sustainable use of marine and coastal resources, conservation of the seas with high biodiversity, conservation of valuable marine biological species, protection of marine and coastal ecosystems against the pressure of socio-economic development; ensuring sustainable marine economic development and environmental protection; strengthening and improving awareness; cooperating with partners inside and outside the region I. CONTEXT for the objectives of protecting the environment of the seas and for coastal areas in East Asia. 67
13. II. THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT 68
14. 1. GENERAL SITUATION Vietnam lies alongside the Bien Dong Sea with a coastline of over 3,260km (excluding the coasts of islands), exclusive economic zones of approximately 1 million sq km, which triples the area of the mainland; on the average, there are around 4 sq km of territorial sea for every 1 sq km of the mainland, 1km of coast for every 100 sq km of the mainland, a ratio 1.6 times as high as that of the world. Coastal provinces and cities directly under the central government occupy an area of 208,560 sq km, i.e. 51% of the total area of the country, and have a population of over 40 million, accounting for nearly 50% of the country’s total population. There are over 3,000 islands in Vietnam’s seas distributed mostly along the northwestern shore of Bac Bo Gulf (i.e. the Gulf of Tonkin in the provinces of Quang Ninh and Hai Phong). Some coastal islands in the Central and Southwestern region, and the two offshore archipelagoes of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, belong to the City of Danang and the province of Khanh Hoa, respectively. Four provinces and cities directly under the central government with the highest numbers of islands are Quang Ninh with 2,078 islands (accounting for nearly 75% of the total number of islands), Hai Phong with 366 islands (over 8%), Kien Giang with 159 islands (nearly 6%), and Khanh Hoa with 106 islands (nearly 4%). Three large islands with an area of over 100 sq km each include Phu Quoc (583 sq km), Cai Bau (190 sq km), and Cat Ba (163 sq km); 7 others have smaller areas of between 20 and 100 sq km; 23 islands of 5-10 sq km; 51 islets of 1-5 sq km, with the rest mainly covering an area of less than 1 sq km each. Vietnam lies within the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere, so it is subject to various meteorological and hydrological factors typical of tropical seas. Solar radiation is high, and winds observe the fundamental rule: they gain strength as they get further from the shore and from south to north. On average, Vietnam is affected by 6-7 hurricanes per year, with winds of grades 8-12 in the Beaufort wind force scale. When reaching the Bien Dong Sea from the Pacific, semi-diurnal waves have apparently larger range than that of diurnal waves; this, in combination with hurricanes and monsoons, causes very dangerous water-level rise. The . general trend is declining tide amplitudes from Mong Cai to Thuan An mouth, then the amplitudes increase toward the south and decline again toward the Gulf of Thailand. The typical feature of the Vietnam sea’s current regime is the seasonal circulation with two entirely opposite patterns in correspondence with the two seasons of winds: Northeast (in winter) and Southwest (in summer). Sea water temperatures distribute vertically in winter and stratify in layers in summer. The land strips along the coast in coastal districts only cover an area of nearly 6 million II. THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT hectares, including over 2 million hectares of agricultural land, and around 1.8 million hectares of forestry land. Mangrove forests that remain in coastal areas cover around 250,000ha, mostly distributed in the southern and northern coastal areas, while very few mangrove forests remain in the Central area. Lagoons mostly concentrate in Central coastal areas from Thua Thien-Hue 69 to Binh Thuan, covering about 40,000ha. These are shallow water blocks (0.5-2.5m) with brackish and saline water, which are a highly favorable environment for fishery development. In addition, there are approximately 290,000ha of intertidal zones and tens of thousands of hectares of beach sand distributed along the Central coast.
15. Surface water resources of Vietnam coastal areas are distributed across large areas along the coast from Mong Cai to Ha Tien, with a diversity of types depending on the terrain and topography. This presents many challenges to the management of water resources. Groundwater in coastal areas and islands can allow for more than 14 million cubic meters to be extracted per day, i.e. it is relatively abundant. However, due to its mixed distribution with saline water, it is difficult to extract. Nonetheless, the quality of groundwater in coastal areas and islands generally satisfies permissible standards. Oil and gas reserves in Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zones are acknowledged as having great potential for extraction, with discovered stocks of around 4 billion cubic meter of oil equivalent (as of the end of 2010). Minerals in coastal areas and islands are also identified as having reasonable potential, with 300 iron mines and ore deposits, 59 titanium mines and ore deposits acknowledged. According to the latest surveys and assessment, Vietnam’s coastal areas contain a total reserve of over 600 million tons of titanium-ilmenite ores (including zirconium, monazite, etc.) Silica sand reserves in 13 mines have been explored and estimated to be over 144 million m3. Coastal areas are also the locale for a concentration of minerals for construction materials such as limestone, cement, clay, tiles and plaques, etc. Crystals of iron-manganese, ilmenite-zirconium-monazite mineral sand containing cassiterite and gold, non-metals, and benthic hydrate gases in deep seas also show signs of having huge potential and extractability. To date, approximately 11,000 living species have been found inhabiting our waters in over 20 types of typical ecosystems in 6 different marine biodiversity areas. Among the species discovered are about 6,000 benthic species, over 2,000 species of fish (including more than 100 species of commercial fish), 653 species of seaweed, 657 species of fauna plankton and 537 species of floral plankton, 94 species of mangrove plants, 225 species of sea prawns, 14 species of sea grass, 15 species of sea serpents, 12 species of sea mammals, 5 species of sea turtles and 43 species of waterfowls. Coral reefs, marine grass vegetation, sea weeds, mangrove forests, flora and fauna plankton, benthic species, fish, birds, mammals and reptiles, many of which have high economic values, have been and are being exploited to serve local livelihoods and socio-economic development in coastal areas and islands. 70
16. Resources with potentials for the development of sea ports, tourism, wind, solar and tidal energy, have also been and are being discovered, exploited and used for marine socio-economic development, national interests and local livelihoods. Water quality in coastal areas, river mouths and offshore areas remains fairly good, satisfying major standards and serving coastal socio-economic development. Typical ecosystems like island ecosystems, sand dunes, wetlands, river mouths, aquaculture ponds, coral reefs, sea weeds, mangrove forests, lagoons, swamps, coves, bays, gulfs, inlets, tidal zones, soft and hard seabeds, etc. create the diversity and richness of Vietnam’s seas. These ecosystems contain high economic and conservation values which have been acknowledged, enabling the country to become one of the world’s centers of biodiversity. 2. MARINE BASELINE SURVEYS AND RESEARCH a) Minerals and geology Prior to 1975, geological and mineral maps of 1:500,000, 1:200,000 and 1:50,000 in Northern seas and islands were measured and drawn by the General Department of Geology (now Vietnam’s General Department of Geology and Minerals); diagrams of sedimentary deposits on the surface layer of the seabed in Southeast Asia were established by Shepard at 1:6,000,000 scale; geological diagrams of the seabed of Bac Bo Gulf at 1:1,000,000 scale were drawn by Vietnamese and Chinese geologists; radiation abnormalities in Northern coastal areas were identified by Grozdev in 1963. Also during this period, maps of geology, environment and geological structure of Southern seas at 1:500,000 scale were measured and drawn by US companies. After 1975, geological and mineral maps at 1:500,000, 1:200,000 and 1:50,000 (1:25,000) were made by the geology-mineral sector for coastal areas. A number of State-level research projects, cooperative programs, and geological survey trips, such has those between Vietnam, the former Soviet Union, China, the UK, France, the US, and the Netherlands, have been conducted. Struc- tural maps of Vietnam’s continental shelf and Cenozoic deposit basins at 1:1,000,000 and 1:200,000 have been made by different authors in PetroVietnam. In 1991-2010, Vietnam’s coastal waters (0-30m deep) of over 100,000km2 were systematically surveyed, investigated and studied. At present, geological, geo-dynamic, geo-mineral, and geo-environmental features and forecasts of geological calamities in Vietnam’s waters continue to be investigated and assessed. To date, geologically, 21 Quarternary geological stratum locations have been identified and described as deposited in 4 marine areas: Mong Cai – Son Tra, Son Tra – Ca Na, Ca Na – Ca Mau, and Ca Mau – Ha Tien. In terms of minerals, over 50 points of marine mineral sand accumulation with ilmenite-zirconium-rare earth along Vietnam coastal strips and Fe-Manganese II. THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT crystalization, ilmenite-zirconium-monazite mineral sand containing cassiterite and gold have been discovered on the seabed, while18 fields of sand for construction materials have also been found in the waters of 0-30m depth. With regards to marine environment and geological calamities, 71 1:500,000 maps of coastal waters (0-30m depth) have clarified major geological and environmental features and geological calamities such as earthquakes and fracture, elevation, soil sink and erosion, sedimentation and accumulation, calamities related to SLR, and other forms of calamities.
17. Oil and gas reserves in Vietnam’s continental shelf and exclusive economic zones are acknowledged as having great potential for extraction, with discovered stocks of around 4 billion cubic meter of oil equivalent (as of the end of 2010). Minerals in coastal areas and islands are also identified as having reasonable potential, with 300 iron mines and ore deposits, 59 titanium mines and ore deposits acknowledged. According to the latest surveys and assessment, Vietnam’s coastal areas contain a total reserve of over 600 million tons of titanium-ilmenite ores (including zirconium, monazite, etc.) Silica sand reserves in 13 mines have been explored and estimated to be over 144 million m3. Coastal areas are also the locale for a concentration of minerals for construction materials such as limestone, cement, clay, tiles and plaques, etc. Crystals of iron-manganese, ilmenite-zirconium-monazite mineral sand containing cassiterite and gold, non-metals, and benthic hydrate gases in deep seas also show signs of having huge potential and extractability. Nevertheless, geological surveys and marine mineral investigations have mainly focused on shallow coastal waters at small and medium scale and not with very high precision. Large quantities of data have been gathered, but lack systematic management, so their use has suffered from limited effectiveness, which is largely due to outdated marine science and technology in general, and marine geological and mineral survey technology in particular. Funding investment is limited, with few other sources of capital failing to be mobilized, including foreign funding. Technical facilities are outdated, and badly coordinated, particularly with respect to equipment for verifying survey results and projections of mineral geostrata, etc. Vietnam still lacks a strategy for marine geological and mineral survey with clear objectives and tasks. Issues to be focused upon and completely resolved within designated time-frames have not yet been clearly identified. There remains the lack of effective coordination among ministries and sectors, so overlapping and fragmentation still exist in research tasks and basic marine surveys, resulting in the failure to create holistic strengths. There is a shortage of staff for surveys and scientific and technological research in geology and minerals, and remuneration is inadequate, which contributes to the shortage of human resources, especially highly qualified and internationally respected staff. International cooperation in marine geological and mineral explorations also remains limited. b) Measuring and cartographic work on seabed topography Topographical maps of the seabed have been prepared at different scales (major scales and others). Before 1990, marine measuring and cartographic work in our country was largely the re-editing of marine maps published by other countries. In early 1990s, the Ministry of Defense (the Navy, the Cartographic Department of the General Headquarter) established different units for marine measurement and cartography. Since then, the Ministry of Defense has measured and drawn various maps in the service of national security and defense of the sea and different economic sectors, including maps of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa Archipelagoes. During the same period, the former General Department of Cadastre also established units for measuring and mapping seabed topography with the main tasks of measuring and drawing a system of seabed topographical maps at major scales covering all of the country’s waters. Since 1992, a marine-control grid and a number of technical facilities in the service of marine measurement and cartography have been established; and a significant number of seabed topographical maps have been drawn at 1:10,000 and 1:50,000. Marine measurement and cartographic work has made significant contributions to the delimitation of marine boundaries between our country and neighboring countries, including the delimitation of the Bac Bo Gulf (i.e. the Gulf of Tonkin) between Vietnam and China (signed on 25 December 2000); the delimitation of marine boundaries between 2 countries in the Gulf of Thailand (signed on 9 August 1997); the delimitation of the continental shelf between Vietnam and Indonesia (signed on 26 June 2003); and the application to the negotiations on marine boundary delimitation between Vietnam and Malaysia, Vietnam and Cambodia. Coordinates have been identified, and seabed topographical maps of 1:10,000 have been made for 37 points expected to be baseline points for the territorial sea, which shall assist in the proclamation of baselines for the state’s territorial seas, territorial waters and marine exclusive economic zones. The system of coastal fixed GPS stations provides service for marine navigation and positioning. The system of coordinate grids and altitudes has been developed, ensuring the requirement for entire control of planes and altitudes, providing mathematical bases for marine measuring and cartographic work at 1:10,000; 1:50,000 for the coastal areas, and 1:100,000 and 1:250,000 for the entirety of Vietnam’s waters. A huge number of marine maps at different scales for all of 72 Vietnam’s waters have also been published. Currently, the Project “Development of the system of marine maps, river estuaries, sea harbors in service of the defense tasks of Vietnam People’s Navy and marine management tasks of concerned ministries, sectors and localities” within the “Masterplan for baseline surveys and marine resource and environmental management until 2010, vision 2020” is being performed.
18. Prior to 1975, geological and mineral maps of 1:500,000, 1:200,000 and 1:50,000 in Northern seas and islands were measured and drawn by the General Department of Geology (now Vietnam’s General Department of Geology and Minerals); diagrams of sedimentary deposits on the surface layer of the seabed in Southeast Asia were established by Shepard at 1:6,000,000 scale; geological diagrams of the seabed of Bac Bo Gulf at 1:1,000,000 scale were drawn by Vietnamese and Chinese geologists; radiation abnormalities in Northern coastal areas were identified by Grozdev in 1963. Also during this period, maps of geology, environment and geological structure of Southern seas at 1:500,000 scale were measured and drawn by US companies. After 1975, geological and mineral maps at 1:500,000, 1:200,000 and 1:50,000 (1:25,000) were made by the geology-mineral sector for coastal areas. A number of State-level research projects, cooperative programs, and geological survey trips, such has those between Vietnam, the former Soviet Union, China, the UK, France, the US, and the Netherlands, have been conducted. Struc- tural maps of Vietnam’s continental shelf and Cenozoic deposit basins at 1:1,000,000 and 1:200,000 have been made by different authors in PetroVietnam. In 1991-2010, Vietnam’s coastal waters (0-30m deep) of over 100,000km2 were systematically surveyed, investigated and studied. At present, geological, geo-dynamic, geo-mineral, and geo-environmental features and forecasts of geological calamities in Vietnam’s waters continue to be investigated and assessed. To date, geologically, 21 Quarternary geological stratum locations have been identified and described as deposited in 4 marine areas: Mong Cai – Son Tra, Son Tra – Ca Na, Ca Na – Ca Mau, and Ca Mau – Ha Tien. In terms of minerals, over 50 points of marine mineral sand accumulation with ilmenite-zirconium-rare earth along Vietnam coastal strips and Fe-Manganese crystalization, ilmenite-zirconium-monazite mineral sand containing cassiterite and gold have been discovered on the seabed, while18 fields of sand for construction materials have also been found in the waters of 0-30m depth. With regards to marine environment and geological calamities, 1:500,000 maps of coastal waters (0-30m depth) have clarified major geological and environmental features and geological calamities such as earthquakes and fracture, elevation, soil sink and erosion, sedimentation and accumulation, calamities related to SLR, and other forms of calamities. Nevertheless, there remain a number of problems in seabed measuring and topographical cartographic work, including mismatched and out-dated measurement technologies; insufficient equipment for measuring all waters; lack of staff – there are only enough personnel to conduct measurement within our territorial seas, not all Vietnam’s waters; marine measurement work has not been incorporated in a unified plan and leadership concerning marine surveys and exploration of marine resources and environment, resulting in overlapping, waste and lack of coordination among agencies and projects, and low efficiency of management and use of marine baseline survey results; and annual investment from the State Budget in marine measurement work remains limited and inadequate to ensure its leading role progresses. c) Marine meteorological and hydrological monitoring In the past, the French administration had established the nation-wide network for measuring sea levels, and organized marine exploration missions to gather physical and environmental data for formulating maps of marine climatic features. After the August Revolution in 1945, a widespread meteorological monitoring system was established, along with the foundation of the Vietnam Meteorological Bureau and the inheritance of previous monitoring stations in the Indochinese meteorological measuring and monitoring system. Subsequently, the unified meteorological monitoring network was organized from Central to local levels, with several measuring stations from mountainous provinces to coastal areas and islands. In the South, fixed stations such as Vung Tau, Nha Trang, Mui Nai meteorological stations continue to maintain their operations. Since 1975, the Party and Government of Vietnam have paid attention to investing in the construction of the marine meteorological and hydrological monitoring network. Currently, there are 17 monitoring stations along the coast and on islands, excluding 4 stations which have been planned but remain under construction, such as automatic floating stations in Ha Tinh, Quang Ngai and Truong Sa-Khanh Hoa. Apart from the said marine meteorological and hydrological monitoring stations, there are 158 other stations in all of Vietnam’s waters. Based on the results of processed meteorological and hydrological monitoring and exploration data, tidal charts and tidal water level estimates for Vietnam coastal and island stations have been published. Monitoring and forecast results have been used by the Voice of Vietnam radio station for its daily marine forecasts. Marine monitoring, meteorological and hydrological research work has provided timely information on the state of the sea, meteorological, hydrological and environmental conditions of the Bien Dong Sea and Vietnam’s continental shelf and coastal strips; information on marine weather forecasts; forecasts of the state of the sea surface (seawater temperature, waves, salinity, etc.); provided projection data on tidal water levels for key ports in Vietnam and for several international ports, through annually published tidal charts; provided research results on regular patterns and evolution of different factors like winds, pressure, atmospheric temperature, humidity, precipitation, seawater temperature, waves and currents for each region of the Bien Dong Sea; all of these provide direct services to the operation of oil and gas exploitation, the laying of communication cables, etc. II. THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT However, marine meteorological and hydrological monitoring and research work still suffers from certain deficiencies, including such major problems as: improper assessment of the role of baseline monitoring and surveys of marine meteorology and hydrology, which results in low, scattered and un-focused investment; monitoring and continental shelf exploration points are 73 too sparsely and unevenly distributed; strategic master planning for baseline hydro-meteorological surveys is not yet in place; purpose-built technical structures continue to degrade; measuring equipment is outdated, mismatched and obsolete with no spare parts or identical ones for replacement.
19. d) Monitoring and assessment of evolution of marine water environmental quality At present, the marine environmental monitoring network is controlled by the Vietnam Environment Administration (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment MONRE). Water quality and coastal deposition monitoring has been conducted at 7 points in the North (Tra Co, Cua Luc, Do Son, Ba Lat, Sam Son, Cua Lo and Bach Long Vi), 8 points in the Central (Deo Ngang, Con Co, Dong Hoi, Thuan An, Da Nang, Dung Quat, Sa Huynh and Quy Nhon), 7 points in the South (Nha Trang, Phan Thiet, Phu Quy, Vung Tau, Dinh An, Ca Mau and Rach Gia), 87 offshore points in the Southeast (areas of oil and gas exploitation, potential oil and gas reserves, and along the west coast of Truong Sa archipelago) and 17 offshore points in the Southwest and Con Son. Coastal stations conduct monitoring 4 times a year, offshore stations twice a year with consistent parameters, sampling and analytical methods (including the implementation of quality control and assurance programs). In general, monitoring work and assessment of seawater environmental quality remain preliminary and fail to satisfy requirements; they need focused investment and gradual increases in development in the near future. 74
20. 3. EXPLOITATION AND UTILIZATION OF MARINE AND COASTAL NATURAL RESOURCES a) Exploitation and utilization of coastal and island land The total natural area of coastal areas and islands reaches approximately 5,847,483ha, accounting for 17.66% of the country’s total natural area. Average natural land area here is about 2, 677 m2 per capita, lower than the national average (approximately 4.037 m2 per capita). Land use in coastal areas is structured as follows: - Land for agricultural production averages around 814m2 p.c., lower than the national average (2.424 m2 p.c.). Between 1996 and 2008, land for agricultural production shrank by nearly 90,464ha, i.e. nearly 7,000ha p.a. on average. In the last 13 years, land for rice cultivation has been on a sharp decline with a reduction p.a. of nearly 2,000ha. In the period 2001-2005 alone, the average decrease in land for rice cultivation amounted to nearly 3,000ha p.a., 1.9 times more than in 1996-2000. Unlike rice cultivation land, areas for perennial and annual trees has tended to increase. - Protective forests cover about 792,216ha, accounting for 40.79% of forestry land, with an increase of 158,542ha in the year 2000. Protective forests are mostly concentrated in the South Central coastal area (308,225ha), the North Central area (266,386ha), and the Red River Delta (92,787ha). - Special use forests cover an area of approximately 304,919ha, accounting for 15.70% of forestry land, an increase of 126,805ha compared to 2000. They include: around 238,579ha of land with special use natural forests; approx. 18,874ha of land with special use planted forests; about 24,493ha of enclosed land for special use forest restoration; and approximately 22,973ha of land for planting special use forests. Special use forested land is concentrated in regions such as the North Central (150,465ha), South Central coast (59,416ha), and the Mekong Delta (49,051ha). - Coastal non-agricultural land covers an area of about 1,005,562ha, accounting for 17.20% of natural land and 28.99% of non-agricultural land of the whole country. On average, non-agricultural land area reaches 460 m2 p.c. Over recent years, non-agricultural land has II. THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT increased by nearly 154,519ha, i.e. nearly 12,000ha p.a. on average. From 1996 to 2008, the urban residential land area increased by nearly 15,861ha, i.e. over 1,000ha p.a. on average. Within the period 2000-2005 alone, it increased by 9,109ha, mostly in major cities like Hai Phong, Hue, Da Nang, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City. Rural residential land has sharply increased in 75 recent years: around 21,027ha in 1996-2008, i.e. over 1,500ha p.a. on average, with a 23,671ha increase in 2001-2005 alone. The area of this type of land has been increasing in all regions, but most strongly in the North Central (10,667ha), South Central coast (8,442ha), and the Red River Delta (3,091ha) areas.
21. - Special use land is unevenly distributed across coastal areas and has tended to increase sharply in the last 10 years. In the period 1996-2008, special use land expanded by 138,928ha, i.e. nearly 11,000ha p.a. Land for industrial zones and clusters, and economic regions covers an area as large as 25,334ha. Land for mineral exploitation extends to around 7,359ha, land for transport about 124,504ha, and land for irrigation about 100,173ha; the average ratio of land for irrigation to land for farming is 5.64%. Scenic and historical heritage land accounts for 7,426ha, while landfill and waste treatment sites spread over 1,258ha. - There remains about 548,507ha of unused land, accounting for 9.38% of natural areas, and 12.17% of unused land in the whole country. In the period 1996-2008, the area of unused land has shrunk by over 872,369ha, i.e. a reduction of approximately 67,000ha p.a., as it has been converted to other uses such as tree planting, enclosure for reforestation and forest planting, infrastructure and residential development, or unused surface water areas in rivers or streams have been filled in or converted to non-agricultural land. There are over 3,000 islands, large and small, in our waters, covering an area of over 2,720km2. Based on their strategic locations, geo-economic and population features, islands and archipelagoes can be divided as follows: the system of outpost islands which assume critical positions in the national construction and protection, including Hoang Sa, Truong Sa, Chang Tay, Tho Chu, Phu Quoc, Con Dao, Phu Quy, Ly Son, Con Co, Co To, Bach Long Vi, etc. Large islands with favorable conditions for socio-economic development include Co To, Cat Ba, Cu Lao Cham, Ly Son, Phu Quy, Con Dao, and Phu Quoc. Coastal islands also have potential for fishery and tourism development while functioning as bases for the protection of order and security in our country’s waters and shoreline, e.g. islands in the island districts of Cat Hai, Bach Long Vi (Hai Phong), Phu Quy (Binh Thuan), Con Son (Ba Ria-Vung Tau), Lu Son (Quang Ngai), Phu Quoc (Kien Giang), Kien Hai (Kien Giang), Hon Khoai (Ca Mau), etc. This overview on the land use situation in coastal areas reveals that, apart from a reduction in area due to conversion in use, coastal agricultural land tends to suffer from declining fertility. The main culprits include the use of chemical fertilizers and overexploitation with little nutrient replenishment. A lot of shortcomings remain in the use of forestry land, worsened by spontaneous deforestation; this seriously affects soil and environmental quality in the region. Massive unplanned aquaculture, lacking linkages with the construction of irrigation and wastewater treatment systems, etc., results in various detriments not only to the fishery sector but also to other sectors, and increases soil degradation. 76
22. b) Exploitation and utilization of coastal wetlands Nation-wide, there are around 2,629,114ha of wetlands, including about 112,034ha in the Red River Delta, 92,938ha in the North Central, 577,205ha in the South Central, 166,463ha in the Southeast, and 1,680,474ha in the Mekong Delta. In terms of uses, coastal wetlands are categorized as follows: approx. 660,895ha for aquaculture (25.14%); 125,685ha for mangrove forests (4,78%); 3,459ha for seaports (0.13%); 5,746ha for holiday beaches (0.22%); 4,140ha of riparian and coastal sedimentation beaches (0.16%); 65,306ha of sandbars (2.48%); 1,403,845ha of shallow waters and swamps from a depth of 6m at most to the shore (53,40%); 9,955ha of areas with submarine rocks and shoals (0.38%); and 729ha of rocks above the water (0.03%), etc. Wetlands in coastal areas and islands contain high potential for tourism, aquaculture, fishery, and shipping services, which play an important role in localities’ socio-economic development. However, the use of wetlands faces certain difficulties and problems. This area of land is changeable with ill-defined boundaries, which gives rise to frequent insoluble disputes not only confined to households, communes and districts adjacent to the waters. Most wetlands do not have clear planning procedures or specific land use plans; if such plans exist, they are merely part of coastal economic development planning for a single sector, with priority given to exploitation in the absence of management and protection plans. Resource exploitation is not strictly controlled, which destroys coastal ecological balance. Biological productivity and biodiversity are both significantly declining, threatening sea dykes, causing loss of winter refuge for waterfowls, decreasing aquatic life stocks, depleting coastal natural resources, degrading coastal waters, increasing variability and changes in the shoreline, and increasing conflicts of interest among communities, sectors and levels of authorities in the same localities. Coastal areas are also places of overlapping interest among different sectors in the same localities (tourism, seaport, fishing, aquaculture, etc.), yet there is a lack of coordination in the management and efficient exploitation of this type of land, both in vertical coordination from Central to local levels, and in horizontal coordination among various sectors in the same localities, presenting huge challenges. II. THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT 77
23. c) Exploitation of surface and groundwater sources in coastal areas Surface water resources in our country’s coastal areas are being exploited for different uses, most predominantly for fishing and aquaculture, marine transport development, tourism, salt production, marine ecosystem development and other sectors. However, much other potential of coastal surface water resources, including tidal energy, sea currents, fresh water production, etc., remain unstudied, unassessed and unexploited. In recent years, aquaculture generally in coastal shallow waters and lagoons has proliferated. A preliminary assessment shows that Vietnam has approximately 400,000ha of brackish waters (including intertidal zones, lagoons, coves, etc.), and many shallow water zones and brackish lagoons which have been planned and enclosed for aquaculture. River estuaries, lagoons and coastal strips offer favorable conditions for water transport and seaport development. Most coastal provinces have constructed and put into operation at least 2-3 seaports, to serve marine shipping and fishing. Vietnam is also one of those countries with a range of superb beaches offering great potential for tourism, recreation and leisure development. Concentrated exploitation remains the key mode of broad-scale groundwater extraction and is dominant in our country’s coastal areas. In addition, small-scale water extraction by various institutions, agencies, factories, enterprises or industrial zones for their own on-site self-supply of water also prevails in coastal areas and islands. Such boreholes can extract dozens to hundreds of cubic meters of water a day. Rural water extraction is mostly by means of dug-out wells or boreholes in the UNICEF-model, which are formulated in an ad hoc manner so as to supply water to households with varied demand-responsive time-frames. By and large, water resource exploitation and use, in coastal areas in particular and in marine areas in general, has not received management attention at both Central and local levels. 78
24. d) Exploitation of oil, gas and other minerals With regards to oil and gas, sources of petroleum stocks which have been discovered to date are all situated on the continental shelf under 200m of water. The development and exploitation of offshore reserves require not only financial investment but also professional knowledge in exploration, quantitative verification, development and extraction. It is necessary to identify the stock and exploitability of oil wells and their value limits so as to calculate investment and operational costs and the life of such projects in an offshore environment. Vietnam’s offshore oil output has grown rapidly from 0.04 million tons/year (1986) to over 20.34 million tons/year (2004). However, annual oil and gas production remains low, around 24 million tons on the average. In the first 5 months in 2012, PetroVietnam could only extract 10.86 million tons of oil and gas. Meanwhile, Vietnam ranks the 4th for oil and the 7th for gas in terms of exploitable reserves in the Asia-Pacific (BP, 2010), and the 25th and 30th in the world respectively. Therefore, Vietnam’s reserve/pro- duction coefficient (R/P) is very high: crude oil R/P is 32.6 times (top of the Asia-Pacific and 10th of the world), while gas R/P is 66 times (top of the Asia-Pacific and 6th of the world), which demonstrates that the developmental potential of the sector remain very high. Mining activities in the whole country in general and in coastal areas in particular are at small and medium scale, giving rise to several adverse impacts, specifically i) inefficient use of natural mineral resources; (ii) affected scenic landscapes and environmental patterns; (iii) accumulation or dispersal of solid waste, which contaminates water, contains II. THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT hidden risks of acidic waste flows from mines, and causes air and soil pollution; (iv) impacts on biodiversity; and (v) impacts on community health and safety. 79
25. đ) Exploitation of seafood resources and aquaculture The seas provide increasing and diverse sources of materials for fishery processing industries, including fish, crabs, shrimps, shells, clams, squids, cuttlefish, sea weeds, pearls, etc. through natural fishing and aquaculture activities. It is estimated that fish stocks in all Vietnam’s waters can reach approximately 4.2 million tons, including around 1.7m tons offshore at the sustainable exploitation threshold of 1.4-1.7m tons p.a. Fishery production in coastal areas and the continental shelf accounts for approximately 80% of national fishery production, while coastal brackish water aquaculture contributes nearly 90% of total national fishery production. Total fishery production in 2012 reached over 2.65m tons, i.e. an increase of 6% compared to 2011, including 2.44m tons of seafood with an increase of 6.1% compared to 2011. The production of atlantic tuna (Yellowfin tuna Thunnus albacares and Big-eye tuna, Thunnus obesus) was also higher than that of 2011 – it was estimated to have reached approximately 18,000 tons (Binh Dinh 8,389 tons, Phu Yen 6,100 tons and Khanh Hoa 3,500 tons). However, fishery resource exploitation is presenting huge problems that need to be solved in the near future. Overexploitation and under-size catch in coastal areas result in exhaustion of resources, as evident in declined fishing productivity and smaller fish sizes. Serious changes occur in the variety of the catch, with sharp decrease of traditional high-value fish species such as Lutianus erythropterus, grouper, Pampus argenteus, Penaeidae shrimp, etc.; instead, more low-quality and low-value fish show up in the catch (Leiognathidae, Ambassidae, Balistidae, Aluterus monoceros, etc.) Biodiversity decline is also evident in the decrease of the number of species of economic values. Large fish of economic values such as Lutianidae, Pomadasyidae, or Sannida undosquamis reduce considerably, giving way to the increase of low-quality and low-value fish. Within less than 30 years 80 (1961-1988), Lutianus erythropterus fishing product sank from 11.6% to 3.46%, Pomadasyidae from 12% to 0.30%, Mullidae from 4.81% to 0.13%, and Sannida undosquamis from 44.3% to 1.1%.
26. 4. MARINE AND COASTAL ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS a) Marine pollution from mainland-generated sources and marine activities Activities of coastal residents generate different kinds of waste which are released into the environment and discharged into the sea from rivers and canals. These amounts continuously keep rising, most strongly in coastal cities where socio-economic development activities concentrate and attract labor from other provinces and cities in the country. Domestic waste and wastewater from tourism services are the direct cause of surface water pollution in proximity to hotels, guesthouses and tourism service providers. In Vietnam, coastal wastewater, most of which is contributed by tourism, accounts for one quarter of the country’s total wastewater amount. As of 2008, coastal provinces boast over 30,000 aquaculture facilities, mostly concentrating in the Mekong Delta provinces. The area of aquaculture does not rise, while intensive culture and increased crop cycles lead to increased water pollution in coastal areas due to residues of feeds and antibiotics from the rearing processes, wastewater and domestic solid waste. Several localities conduct aquaculture in river estuaries and mouths, which cause degradation or reduction in areas of natural ecosystems such as mangrove forests, sea grass and tidal zones. Furthermore, the use of toxic chemicals in fishing also increases risks of pollution. Marine operations also contain enormous threats of pollution, particularly water pollution by wastewater normally from vessels, means of navigation, shipbuilding and repair docks, seaports, cargo handling and storage areas. Meanwhile, industrial wastewater from vessels, usually containing oils, minerals, cleaning chemicals and heavy metals, threatens to reduce seawater quality in places where wastewater is discharged. In addition, ship collisions at sea, leading to oil spills, dispersion of toxic chemicals etc., are one of the causes of adverse impacts on the marine environment and coastal ecosystems. Oil and grease contaminants along the coast have been problems of special concern due to their serious impacts on the coastal environment and direct influence on marine economic activities. The mining sector is also the source of many influential factors affecting the environment. Wastewater from coal mines exerts negative impacts on the coastal environment, including deposition, loss of aquatic life and degradation of water quality. Wastewater from coal mining II. THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT reaches up to 25-30 million m3/year, with high acidity (pH of mine wastewater ranges from 3.1-6.5). Solid waste from coal mining amounts to approximately 150 million m3/year. Dumpsites for waste in Quang Ninh, especially near Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay result in serious 81 pollution and impacts on the local marine environment. Similarly, oil and gas exploitation involves risks of oil spills in the process of extracting, transferring, and transporting, and also a relatively high risk of toxic pollution.
27. . Apart from the afore-mentioned reasons, the amounts of pollutants washed out by streams and rivers to the sea also account for a considerable rate. Due to the said pressure from economic development, Vietnam’s marine environment has been increasingly complicated, especially coastal areas near focal economic zones, which are showing signs of serious degradation. b) Oil spill pollution of the sea Vietnam’s waters connect the Pacific and the Indian Oceans through large straits that serve as one of the critical navigation axes with huge marine traffic, including over 70% of oil tankers. Since 1989, there have been over 100 oil spill incidents due to ship accidents that released dozens to hundreds of tons of oil. Such oil spills tend to occur in March-April every year in the Central region and May-June in the North. Reality has shown recurrent oil spill cases for many years. Studies show that in case of oil spills, ecosystems seriously suffer, with reduced resilience, flexibility and recoverability, particularly mangrove ecosystems, sea grass, intertidal sandy zones, lagoons and coral reefs. Adverse impacts of oil spills over ecosystems are ranked at 3 levels: damage, degradation and destruction. 82
28. c) Decline in biodiversity in the sea and coastal areas The areas of mangrove forests are rapidly shrinking in our country. From 1943-1995, mangrove areas in the Mekong Delta went from over 154.000ha to less than 15,174ha, i.e. 2,670 ha/year on average. Mangrove forests in Quang Ninh and Hai Phong have also been massively destroyed for land reclamation and seaward encroachment. Thousands of hectares of mangrove forests in Yen My, Dong Rui, Cai Dam (Quang Ninh); Dinh Vu, Tien Lang (Hai Phong) have been enclosed as aquaculture ponds. Particularly, in the Mekong Delta, for economic gains, the locals have destroyed both natural forests and forests planted after the war so as to have ponds for extensive shrimp culture, which has led to severe degradation of these forests. Enclosures for aquaculture account for 50-80% of mangrove forest areas distributed in high tidal zones. Studies on tidal ecosystems also present a similar picture. Seaward encroachment for land reclamation in the estuary of the Red River normally absorbs as much as 1,000ha p.a., while alluvia sedimentation can only cover an area of about 345ha p.a. This means each year tidal zones here shrink by about 500-600ha p.a. In 1988-1992, Bach Dang River estuary and Tien Yen and Ha Coi regions have 14,738ha and 1,000-2,000ha of high tidal zones being converted into agricultural land respectively. Having been used for a while, such areas become salinized or acidified (Thionic Fluvisols), and consequently are abandoned or yield very low crop productivity. Areas of coral reef distribution have been significantly reduced. In the southeast of Cat Ba island, 11 out of the 19 coral reefs checked (58%) are being destroyed or degraded, with their surface fully covered with dead corals and very few living corals remaining. In Nha Trang bay, out of the 6 points examined, Hon Mun was the only island around which living corals could reach 26.7% coverage. Not only coastal but also offshore coral reefs such as Bach Long Vi have been severely reduced. While the development of coral reefs in the northeast of Bach Long Vi island between 1993-1999 were being monitored, rapid reduction was observed: 95% coverage in 1993 dropped to 47.6% in 1996 and down to about 20% in 1999. Environmental pollution causes ecosystem degradation, resulting in considerable reduction of resources. In 1995-1998, benthic fauna resources such as Asaphis dichotoma and Neritidae suffered from a decrease of 17-43.23% in density and 15.5-45.76% in reproductive quantity; Haliolis diversicolor production declined from 35-50 tons p.a. (before 1990) to a few hundred kilograms p.a. Marine fish resources have also gradually reduced their stocks and production since 1984. Vietnam’s marine benthic fish stock of about 1,840,619 tons in 1984 fell to around 1,029,040 tons in 1990-1994. So, in 10 years, marine fish stocks diminished by 46%, leading to incessant reduction of fishing productivity, most sharply in the area of Vung Tau – Con Dao. This reduction, due to overexploitation in coastal waters and pollution, caused the deaths of fish eggs and young spawns. In Vietnam’s waters, there are 37 species of marine fish, 5 species of shrimp, 27 II. THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT species of mollusk and 3 species of Cephalopoda which have been enumerated as precious and rare, endangered and in risk of extinction. Clupanodon thrissa, Haliotis diversicolor and other species of fish dwelling in coral reefs in Cat Ba, Ha Long, Bach Long Vi and Co To (in the Bac Bo Gulf); sea turtles, dugongs, sharks and dolphins in areas with abundant sea grass from Thua 83 Thien-Hue to Binh Thuan (in the Central region); lobsters mostly residing in submarine rocks in Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan waters; dugongs, sea turtles and seahorses in river estuaries of the Mekong, the islands of Phu Quy, Con Dao and Phu Quoc, etc., are endangered and on the verge of extinction.
29. 5. PROBLEMS, LIMITATIONS AND MAIN CAUSES Baseline surveys and studies, the situation of natural resource exploitation and use, and environmental problems analyzed above reveal a number of major issues to be solved in the near future: - insufficient and limited understanding of the sea; lack of information and data on the sea; existing data are incompatible and not managed in a unified manner; the mechanism for information sharing and provision remains inappropriate; - functional zoning of the seas has not been conducted, resulting in conflicts between economic development, exploitation, protection and conservation, even to an extreme extent in several places; the situation is worsened by a lack of master planning, so spatial developmental in coastal areas is restricted with limited capability for seaward extension, and lack of spatial connection with the outer seas, the region and the world; - Coastal and island land and resources are inefficiently and unsustainably exploited and used in many localities; fishery and several other resources are over-exploited and are being rapidly depleted and degraded; - Different ecosystems in coastal wetlands, mangrove forests, coral reefs and sea grass vegetation have diminished within their locales, and degraded in quality, and many marine living species are threatened with extinction; marine biodiversity is in rapid decline; the network of marine protected conservation areas is slow to be established; some existing protected areas have not received due attention for investment and have not been adequately managed; - Increasing waste sources from the mainland, higher marine pollution; more frequent environmental calamities; and transboundary pollution is exerting strong impacts on our country’s waters, with an alarming rate of pollution in certain areas; - Marine resources and environment, particularly marine ecosystems continue to suffer from intense pressures of marine economic development, coastal socio-economic development, climate change and sea level rise. 84
30. A number of key causes to the aforementioned problems can be identified as follows: - The Government has issued Decree 25/ NĐ-CP on integrated management of marine and island resources and environmental protection, and established the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI). However, the system of policies and laws, and organization of marine resource and environmental management work continue to rely on mono-sectoral, fragmented approaches, resulting in overlapping, even in conflicts. The legal framework and managerial organization structures for each marine area, and for islands and archipelagoes, especially uninhabited islands and archipelagoes, are still lacking; - The integrated and unified mechanism for marine management remains unclearly specified and is not smoothly operated; there is a lack of strategic orientations, planning, legal provisions, standards, technical specifications, norms and quotas, and supportive instruments, etc.; integrated supervision mechanism for marine, coastal and island operations is also lacking; - The organization and human resources for research, baseline surveys, resource management, environmental protection, integrated and unified marine management remain deficient; management tasks are dispersed, overlapping and incompatible; several gaps remain in the State management of marine resources and environment; - there exist many deficiencies in investment and recurrent spending from the State budget, and mechanism the for mobilization and utilization of financial resources for integrated and unified marine management; - Scientific research, technological development for baseline surveys, exploitation and use of natural resources, environmental protection, integrated and unified marine management have not received adequate attention; - International cooperation in marine resources and environment has not been able to realize its full effectiveness; there is still a lack of efficient collaboration with countries in the region; we are still passive and only participate when provided with foreign assistance or act upon international organizations’ initiatives; we have not been proactive in identifying and proposing issues which require international cooperation in research, baseline surveys, sustainable exploitation and use of natural resources and protection of marine environment. II. THE SITUATION OF OUR COUNTRY’S MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT 85
31. I. VIEWPOINTS, OBJECTIVES TO 2020, VISION TOWARD 2030 AND STRATEGIC BREAKTHROUGHS
32. 1. VIEWPOINTS - Marine resources and environment have a very significant meaning and role, closely associated with sovereignty, national sovereign rights, economic privileges and national security at sea, and are a solid foundation for advancement in all marine areas, a resource for our country to become a strong maritime nation, and to achieve marine-based prosperity. - There needs to be a re-thinking of how to develop the sea, moving from a less passive to a more active position, knowing more about the sea’s potentials, advantages and adverse effects, mastering all activities at sea, linking land-based development areas to the waters, islands and adjacent international waters - A basic survey of marine resources and environment must be one step ahead of immediate requirements, especially for islands, outpost archipelagoes, and islands with important roles in socio-economic development, security and defense. Additionally, it is a must to prioritize investigation and research on the deep sea and remote sea in order to discover new resources and establish a database of marine resources and environment as well as islands. That would contribute to enhancing capabilities in forecasting and warning of both natural disasters and impacts of climate change on waters. - To set up and operate smoothly integrated sea management institutions based on marine functional zoning, marine spatial planning and implementing an integrated monitoring mechanism is the most important solution for accelerating and improving the efficiency of research, basic survey, sustainable extraction and use of marine resources and protection of the marine environment. - Adapting to climate change based on ecosystems, natural resources exploitation in terms of recovery limits; ensuring mutual efficiency of economic, social and environmental factors; constraining to the lowest level conflicts between protection and conservation on one hand and resources exploitation and economic development on the other; and paying attention to climate change adaptation for difficult and vulnerable communities are all fundamental principles for sustainable development. - Vietnam Sea is an integral part of the East Sea, within the seas and oceans of the world; efforts to promote the exploitation and use of natural resources in a sustainable manner, and protecting the marine environment of Vietnam is part of the joint effort of all humanity to protect marine resources and environment as part of sustainable development. It is necessary to create a close and visible connection between activities in investigating, exploiting and sustainably using marine resources and environment as well as marine economic development with the protection of sovereignty and sovereign rights over the sea and islands. 2. OBJECTIVES a) The overall objective 90 Better understanding of the sea, including marine potentials, advantages, and adverse impacts; promotion of exploitation and use of marine resources in a sustainable way; preserving the quality of the marine environment; and maintaining ecological functions and biological productivity of marine ecosystems to contribute to the successful implementation of the Vietnam Marine Strategy to 2020, for the sustainable development of the country.
33. b) Specific objectives to 2020 - Partially obtain basic information and technology infrastructure to meet marine resources and environment needs; provide information about disaster forecasting, climate change in a timely and reliable manner, sufficient to support the development of a marine economy and of socio-economic development in coastal and island areas; - Mitigate the degradation and depletion of natural resources and curb increased pollution rates in coastal and island areas; - Enhance the ability to adapt to climate change, maintain the ecological functions and biological productivity of marine ecosystems to protect marine biodiversity and marine resources; - Strengthen capacity and improve management efficiency of basic survey, exploitation and use of marine resources in a sustainable manner, to protect the marine environment. 3. VISION TOWARD 2030 To achieve a basic understanding of potentials of marine resources and environment, advantages, and adverse impacts of Vietnamese waters and adjacent international ones on sustainable socio-economic development, including deep, far sea and seabed; and to stop and reverse increasing environmental pollution trends, resource depletion and declining marine biodiversity, in order to ensure ecological balance is kept at a stable level. 4. STRATEGIC BREAKTHROUGHS - Renew thinking; to change from a passive to active position on the basis of knowledge of the sea, to master maritime activities, and to combine sustainable extraction, and use of marine potentials and advantages with mitigating adverse marine impacts. - Establish functional zoning to avoid conflicts between exploitation and economic development on the one hand and protection and conservation demands on the other hand; to undertake seaward-oriented coastal spatial planning, connecting local level land space with sea space, and linking to regional, continental and global levels to maximize the potentials and advantages of Vietnam's sea and to keep to the lowest possible level damages caused by impacts of climate change, natural hazards and conflicts over marine environment, including rising sea levels . I. VIEWPOINTS, OBJECTIVES TO 2020, VISION TOWARD 2030 AND STRATEGIC BREAKTHROUGHS - Establish uniform and smooth operation of integrated management institutions dealing with sea and islands in order to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of state management of 91 basic survey, marine resource management and protection of marine environment.
34. a) The overall objective Better understanding of the sea, including marine potentials, advantages, and adverse impacts; promotion of exploitation and use of marine resources in a sustainable way; preserving the quality of the marine environment; and maintaining ecological functions and biological productivity of marine ecosystems to contribute to the successful implementation of the Vietnam Marine Strategy to 2020, for the sustainable development of the country. II. MAJOR GROUPS OF CONTENT 92
35. 1. RESEARCH, AND CONDUCT BASIC SURVEY ON MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT - Prepare master planning, organize investigation, assessment, identify more clearly the possibility of natural hazards consisting of geodynamic hazards (earthquakes, faults, eruptions, tsunamis, seafloor landslides, changes in tectonics of seabed), meteorological and hydrology hazards (storms, whirlwinds, lifting water, erosion, changes of seabed topography, narrow passages, floating sand waves) and hazards related to environmental incidents and disasters; characteristics of seabed foundation (topography, composition and physical properties). These would serve the planning on marine economic development and the exploitation of marine resources, islands as well as the development of marine construction and other works for security – defense. Providing clearer identification of the possibility of earthquakes along the faults or the fault intersections, particularly in low-lying Red River Delta, Nga Son - Deo Ngang, Tam Ky - Phuoc Son, Da Nang - An Hoa, Da Rang - Ca Na ; assessment of changes, mapping areas of subsidence, erosion, elevation, alluvial fans, sand bars, dunes, floating islands, and sea caves, especially those calamities that have been clearly identified such as drifts in the East Peninsula Do Son, seabed elevation in Ha Tien - Hai Tac - Phu Quoc, and the emerging islands in Hai Tac, Truong Sa. - Promote the geodesic mapping of seafloor topography at basic rates (1:50,000, 1:100,000 and 1:250,000) for all national seas in order to make a marine ground database, building a system of geographic information about the seas, naming islands and archipelagoes. Measure and make nautical charts of rates for all of Vietnam's seas. Perform measurement and large-scale mapping of seafloor topography to serve the development of marine economic sectors and key economic regions, with the aim of geodesic mapping to serve maritime administration. - Concerning mineral resources, concentrate on investigating and evaluating to clarify the potential of ilmenite - zircon - rare earths and precious metals along the coastline and shallow seas, petroleum on the seas; discover signs and the favorable environment of East Sea iron nodules - manganese, mineral sand with cassiterite and gold in the seabed, gas hydrates in the II. MAJOR GROUPS OF CONTENT deep sea and so on. Evaluate, and identify resources and reserves of minerals, construction materials in coastal areas, especially in sand, including offshore from the 100m depth. Pay attention to investment in vehicles, equipments and modern technology for investigation, 93 research and discovery of new resources, and resources in the deep sea, the remote sea and on offshore islands.
36. - Investigate, evaluate and map wetland ecosystems, mangrove forests, coral reefs, sea-grass beds, unique ecosystems, areas of high biodiversity, breeding grounds and migration patterns of sea creatures, areas for migratory birds and for avoiding low temperature, or storms; clarify reserves for potential exploitation of marine resources, fishing streams, fishing places in our seas; clarify and establish a data bank of sea creatures, especially economically valuable species, species prioritized for protection, and invasive species, including seabirds. Organize the investigation of current state of marine environment; assess the sensitivity and resilience of seas, islands to natural hazards; discover signs of environmental conflicts contributing to orient socio-economic development of coastal areas.5) Perform a general survey and comprehensive assessment of meteorological, oceanographicmarine resources and environment, geology, topography, land resources, surface water, ground water, mangrove ecosystems, wetlands, rare wildlife, positions for port development, tourism, potential exploitation of wind energy, solar energy, wave energy, tidal energy in coastal areas, islands, archipelagoes, island groups, and nearshore seas, along the big islands from Mong Cai to Ha Tien in order to develop the marine economy in accordance with security – defense. Note the coordination, information and exchange of results of the survey projects, for achieving integrated and unified marine research to increase the effectiveness of investigation and research on the sea. 2. DEVELOPMENT OF FORECASTING CAPACITY, FOR WARNING OF DISASTERS, AND OF IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE SEAS - Prepare master planning, step by step, to build new, additional monitoring meteorological stations for coastal waters and offshore islands, with marine monitoring equipment to ensure sufficient data and information serving for the forecast of weather, meteorological, oceanographic, disaster warning and warnings of impacts of climate change on the sea. - Upgrade and gradually modernize, and automate, oceanographic observation stations, associated with environmental monitoring stations, upgrade, setup automatic transmission, connect the monitoring stations to regional meteorological oceanographic centers, and the National Center for Hydro-meteorological Forecasting and interconnect with the system of oceanographic meteorological monitoring at regional and global levels. - Modernization of the system of forecasting for tropical depressions, and hurricanes at sufficient accuracy; study rules of change, and direction, in regularly affected areas in order to establish preventive measures and proactive response to deal with hurricanes and tropical depressions at sea, and in coastal waters. - Establish early warning systems for tsunamis linked with regional and world warning systems; undertake investigation, observation, and mapping of the flow and direction of East Sea ocean currents and in the seas seasonally; identify dangerous whirlpool places and areas regularly or seasonally dangerous, and give notice to fishermen and marine vehicles to prevent disaster. - Research and assess changes, simulate and predict the morphological changes of 94 hydrodynamics and sediment transport regimes of the river basins to coastal areas and effects upon the marine environment in the context of climate change; build, supplement and strengthen surveillance systems to detect environmental incidents, including marine oil spills.
37. - Research and evaluate events associated with the phenomena El-Nino, La-Nina, including impact on coastal areas, to take measures for the prevention and mitigation of damages; undertake investigation, evaluation, identification of deviation from standard of magnetism, and errors in standard surface water height levels in Vietnam's waters for assisting navigation, and for marine investigation and assessment. - Monitor and determine the tidal regime, length of waves, water surges, and accurately map intertidal areas; note changing trends relating to socio-economic development of the intertidal zones in inshore seas, coastal islands, archipelagoes, island groups. - Research scenarios, forecasting, monitoring of changes in the impact of climate change in coastal seas, nearshore areas, mangrove forest ecosystems, forests blocking waves, sand, reef coral, seagrass beds, and use research findings to assess the resilience of marine ecosystems to identify approaches and offer suitable solutions to adapt to climate change. - Research and forecast likely crop outcomes and movement of aquatic resources, ensuring accuracy, as the basis for organizing fishermen to operate fishing activities sustainably and efficiently exploit fishery resources in fishing grounds. - Investigate, research and mapping coordinates of safe maritime areas, and of areas to avoid in times of dangerous waves and storms, and to announce these regularly in the media to fishermen, organizations, individuals ensuring they are known, for use during operations at sea. 3. EXPLOIT AND USE RATIONALLY AND SUSTAINABLY ALL SPACE, WATER, NATURAL RESOURCES, AND MARINE GEOGRAPHIC POSITION RESOURCE FOR SOCIOECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT IN COASTAL AND ISLAND AREAS, FOR DEVELOPING A SUSTAINABLE MARINE ECONOMY - Research and construct marine spatial development orientation in harmony with spatial socio-economic development on the mainland, linking to spatial development in Southeast Asia, and other continents, oceans and the globe with a vision towards the ASEAN Community, and to economic centers of the world such as China, North East Asia, India, North America and Western Europe, to serve for sea-focused enrichment and development, and to build Vietnam into a strong maritime nation. - Establish a mechanism for co-management and the right to exploit and benefit from the coastal sea surface, and along the islands, being both market-oriented and regulated by the State, following the principle of space, water and marine resources being under public ownership, with State agreement on management. - Examine the structure of coastal land use, in terms of the need to meet environmental II. MAJOR GROUPS OF CONTENT requirements, consistent with the ecological characteristics of each region and the proximity to the seas for potential changes in the long term; establish land use planning to ensure coastal land use efficiently, reasonably, consistent with the ecological characteristics of each region, and 95 protecting wetlands, mangrove forests, and forests providing protection from waves and sand encroachment.
38. - Control of the exploitation of surface water and ground water in coastal areas and on islands in terms of water recovery limits; freshwater search, construction of rainwater reserving systems or use of processing technology to change sea water into fresh water, to overcome a lack of fresh water locally or seasonally and meet the requirements of socio-economic development in coastal areas, on islands and for all maritime activities. - Improve economic efficiency, with reasonable and fair allocation of benefits obtained, and ensure that all environmental requirements are met in the extraction of oil and gas and in mining, including mining for building materials, especially in coastal areas, so as to execute the mining strategy to meet domestic demand, in line with favourable developments in the world market; prioritize high-tech in mining in seabed, particularly environmentally-friendly technology. - Develop a mechanism for co-management of the right to exploit and benefit from aquatic resources, for access mechanisms and market instruments simultaneously with the application of administrative measures and appropriate sanctions to deal with exploitation of marine resources in terms of recovery limits, especially in the coastal waters, protecting and enhancing the resilience of ecosystems to the effects of climate change. - Plan the exploitation and use of geographic position and other potential advantages of the sea for connecting land open to the sea, linking regions and areas with different advantages, and opening access to the surrounding region, oceans and the globe. 4. CONTROL THE SOURCES OF POLLUTION OF THE SEAWATER ENVIRONMENT, AND ON ISLANDS - Control the direct source of pollutant emissions resulting in environmental degradation of coastal waters, especially in urban areas, industrial zones, export processing zones, aquaculture facilities, and commercial operations along the coast, on the islands and in island groups, ensuring that wastewater must be treated to meet technical regulations before discharge into the sea. - Monitor and assess the extent and severity of the impact of pollution sources from land to sea, especially from estuaries, and from coastal farming using chemicals or insecticides derived from chemicals; plan treatment facilities in coastal areas to reduce pollution and improve water source quality in contaminated and degraded watersheds, coastal estuaries, and coastal waters. - Carry out a strategic environmental assessment for strategic planning, development planning and projects to expand the economic development of the sea, making adjustments as necessary or design plans to prevent marine pollution sources; ensure strict implementation of regulations on environmental impact assessment for socio-economic development projects in coastal areas, seas, islands and island groups; ensure examination and certification of environmental requirements before allowing operation. - Identify and promptly take measures to prevent or localize the scope of influence and to respond quickly and efficiently to oil pollution, or other environmental incidents at sea or in 96 coastal estuaries; control and strictly supervise requirements on the condition and capacity of vessels transporting oil or hazardous chemicals operating at sea or passing through the waters of our country to prevent and respond to such incidents; control and strictly supervise the storage of petroleum, hazardous chemicals and plant protection chemicals in coastal areas and on islands.
39. - Strictly implement environmental impact assessment requirements; strictly control projects making dikes or polders, dumping rock, sand, gravel, or building materials into the sea; prevent totally the dumping of hazardous waste into the sea under any circumstances. 5. CONSERVE MARINE LANDSCAPES AND BIODIVERSITY, ENHANCE THE RESILIENCE OF MARINE ECOSYSTEMS TO THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE - Research and clarify the ecological functions and biological productivity of marine ecosystems, especially ecosystems in coastal wetlands, mangrove forests and coral reefs, including sea grass, seaweed, zooplankton and phytoplankton; assess pressures from socio-economic development in coastal areas and economic activities on marine ecosystems and their ability to withstand the impacts of climate change. - Research and evaluate characteristics and representation of marine ecosystems, coastal areas, areas of residence, natural habitats of permanent or seasonal marine species on the list of protection priorities; review and consider how to meet the criteria for establishing national parks, nature reserves, species-habitat protected areas and protected landscape areas in accordance with the Law on Biodiversity and other relevant laws; plan the establishment of new or the expansion of existing parks to gradually establish a system of marine protected areas for nature conservation. - Assess the threat level of extinction of valued marine species, including waterfowl, and consider how to meet the criteria for these to be included in the priority list of protected species under the provisions of the Law on Biodiversity to be submitted to the Prime Minister for approval; undertake construction and implementation of conservation programs for priority-level protected species. - Evaluate and determine the main causes leading to degradation of aquatic resources, especially in the waters near the shore; list of aquatic species and establish restricted areas, closed seasons or limited exploitation and enforcement mechanisms to ensure the implementation of their protection in practice; ensure implementation of the overall solution, as determined, in order to prevent the early decline of fishery resources in Vietnam's waters, and to gradually recover and supplement aquatic resources in nearshore waters. II. MAJOR GROUPS OF CONTENT - Make a plan to protect existing mangrove forests, and to provide for the restoration and regeneration of natural mangrove forests, and for forest development in key areas, to form coastal forests blocking waves and sand encroachment in order to form a coastal green belt from 97 Mong Cai to Ha Tien.
40. III. GENERAL SOLUTIONS 98
41. 1. PUBLIC EDUCATION TO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE SEA, SUSTAINABLE USE OF MARINE RESOURCES AND PROTECTION OF THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT IN SEAS AND ON ISLANDS Promote the implementation of Decision No 373/QD-TTg March 23, 2010 of the Prime Minister approving the Scheme on accelerating communication about management, protection and sustainable development of Vietnam’s seas and islands. Focus on public information and raising public awareness about the sea, about sustainable use of natural resources and about protection of the marine environment through the special information and education campaigns and through focusing on appropriate events relating to the environment, oceans and seas such as World Environment Day (5/6), World Oceans Day, or Week of Vietnam Seas and Islands (1-8/6). Promote legal education to enhance knowledge, and thereby acquire a sense of the importance of environmental protection, planting, restoration and protection of mangroves, to encourage the population to consciously abide by the law of the sea in society. Specifically, undertake propagation and dissemination of knowledge for coastal and island communities concerning climate change and adaptation skills for living with climate change. Advocate that fishermen do not use destructive measures or practices leading to lack of sustainability in fishing, and not to fish in prohibited areas, not catch aquatic species on the prohibited list and to be accountable for protecting aquatic species on the priority list for protection. Vietnam Television, Voice of Vietnam, websites and other media have categories of documentary and educational material relating to natural resources, the environment and people's responsibilities in the protection and exploitation and sustainable use of natural resources, in preservation of the quality of the marine environment; these media should be active in disseminating knowledge about prevention, response, control, disaster recovery, marine environment incidents and in raising awareness of cooperation, integration and protection of sovereignty over marine resources and the marine environment Bring educational content about resources, environment, and maritime sovereignty into the curriculum at high school level, and in vocational schools, colleges and universities to provide information and basic knowledge of marine resources and our country's marine environment, the sustainable use of natural resources and the need for protection of the marine environment to generations of pupils and students. Promote the role of the Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations in advocacy, education and raising awareness of sustainable exploitation and use of natural resources and protection of the marine environment. 2. ESTABLISH AND OPERATE SMOOTHLY INSTITUTIONS OF INTEGRATED AND UNIFIED MANAGEMENT OF MARINE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENT III. GENERAL SOLUTIONS Concentrate on establishing and improving the law on integrated and unified management of marine resources and environment as well as islands. Urgently issue adequate mechanisms and 99 policies on mobilizing and efficiently using the entire resources to fully exploit the potential of marine resources
42. Further improve the organizational structure of the integrated and unified management of marine resources and environment, directly from Central to local administrations in a centralized and unified manner; identify functions and tasks as well as overcome the fragmentation and overlapping. Concentrate on consolidating and strengthening the structure and improving the management capability of Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands. Undertake research on establishing a mechanism for coordinating inter-agency and inter-regional cooperation. Foster the development of business organizations, including state corporations with high capacity for basic investigation and comprehensive survey of marine resources and environment. Establish a mechanism for integrated and unified monitoring operations related to marine resources and the environment in Vietnam's seas and on islands. Strengthen abilities of the functional force and bring into full play their roles in implementing regulations on coordination in integrated management of marine resources and environment as well as islands, which is issued in Decision No. 23/2013/QĐ-TTg dated 26th April, 2013 of the Prime Minister. Develop a full, comprehensive and consistent database system; establish exchanges and sharing of maritime information, especially information on meteorological, oceanographic, and natural conditions, to serve fishermen at sea, and to support socio-economic development and coastal marine economic activities. Undertake investigation, assessment, spatial planning, and ecosystem-based functional zoning of territorial waters; restrict and prohibit exploitation of natural resources, and identify priority areas and economic activities in order to limit as far as possible conflicts between the protection and conservation of natural resources and the exploitation of resources for economic development. 3. FOCUS ON TRAINING, MOBILIZATION AND USE OF HUMAN RESOURCES FOR INVESTIGATION AND RESEARCH INTO THE INTEGRATED AND UNIFIED MANAGEMENT OF MARINE RESOURCES AND MARINE AND ISLAND ENVIRONMENTS. The State shall encourage local universities to provide training in specific subjects relating to the sea, especially the integrated and unified management of seas and islands. The State shall invest in training, or access foreign affiliates for specialized training in subjects which are not available or are inadequately available in domestic institutions and ensure adequate supply of human resources for research, basic surveys, resource management, and environmental protection, integrated and unified management of seas. The State shall support or prioritize post-graduate training abroad for the sectors related to integrated management of marine resources. Develop and implement comprehensive policies on treatment, support, and encouragement, to attract experienced scientists, professionals, and skilled workers, in the fields of research, basic survey, resource management, environmental protection, especially in the integrated and 100 unified management of marine resources and environment. Apply research priority mechanisms, special treatment, compensate for staff who frequently or most of the time have to work in the seas, on islands, and especially offshore islands, as part of the task of protecting maritime sovereignty.