14/06/2016
Today, environmental protection has obtained special interests from the State, authorities, organisations and individuals. In Việt Nam, environmental protection legislations are gradually concretized in term of constitution. This writing introduces legislative stipulation for citizens and communities’ rights and obligations of Environment Protection in general, and water environment protection in particular, after the 2013 Constitution and 2014 Law on Environmental Protection was put into effect.
The 2013 Constitution which has been effective since 2014, comprises a number of fundamental and vital legislations for citizen rights in environment protection. The legislations are explained as follow:
Article 28 regulates that citizens have the right to participate in the State and social management. They also have the right to discuss with the State about problems of localities and propose solutions for such problems. The State should create favourable conditions for citizens to participate in State and social management, publicly and transparently receive and respond to the opinions and petitions of citizens.
Article 30, Clause 1 stipulates that everyone has the right to lodge complaints or denunciations about illegal acts of agencies, organisations or individuals with competent agencies, organisations or persons.
Article 43 regulates that everyone has the right to live in a clean environment and has the obligation to protect the environment.
Article 63 assigns that the State shall adopt environmental protection policies; effectively manage and use natural resources in an efficient and sustainable manner; conserve nature and biodiversity; and take the initiative in preventing and controlling natural disasters and responding to climate change. The State shall encourage all activities for environmental protection and the development and use of new energy and renewable energy. Organisations and individuals that cause environmental pollution, natural resource exhaustion or biodiversity depletion shall be strictly punished and shall rectify and compensate for damage.
At the 7th session of the National Assembly XIII, the NA approved the 2014 Law on Environmental Protection including the first step to concretise the constitutional regulations on the rights and obligations of individuals, residential communities in environmental protection in general, and in water environmental protection in particular. The concretisation was explained as follow:
Article 5, Clause 1 says the State shall facilitate the involvement of organizations, family households and individuals in the environmental protection activities; inspect and supervise the performance of environmental protection activities in accordance with laws. Clause 10 regulates that the State shall recognise and reward agencies, organisations, households and individuals for their active role in environmental protection activities.
Article 6, Clause 9 regulates that the State shall encourage citizen and public communities to build eco-friendly villages and hamlets in mountainous areas and minority communities, and residential zones; develop environmental sanitation organisations and services in various forms, which shall be autonomously managed by the residential community (Clause10); form good life styles and habits towards the environmental sanitation; eradicate depraved customs that can pose risks to the environment (Clause11).
Article 7 cites a number of prohibited environmental pollution acts such as the discharge of untreated wastes or sewage which have not met the rigorous standards stipulated in technical regulations on environment; spreading toxics, radioactive substances and other hazardous substances out to the land, water and air (Clause 5); the discharge of hazardous wastewater, waste substances and microorganisms and other poisonous agents which can impose risks to human beings and creatures into water sources (Clause 6); the concealing of acts of environmental depletion as well as interfering with the environmental protection and misrepresenting the information that can cause bad effects on the environment (Clause 15); the abuse of authorizing power, overuse of powers or lack of responsibilities for the competent entities to infringe upon the regulations on environmental management (Clause16).
Article 56 regulates that the reserve and quality of lake, pond, canal and ditch water sources must be investigated, assessed and protected for the purpose of water moderation. Lake, pond, canal and ditch located in the urban and residential area must be renovated and protected to meet the requirements set out in the planning. Organisations or individuals are not allowed to encroach upon and illegally with houses and structures built on the water surface or near lake, pond, canal and ditch; sand-filling of lake and pond in the urban and residential area are restricted. Provincial People’s Committees take responsibility for investigating and assessing the reserve and quality of water as well as set up plans for protection and moderation of water flows on lake, pond, canal and ditch; formulate and develop the plan for renovation or relocation of residential zones, clusters and structures built on the lake, pond, canal and ditch that can cause environmental pollution and block the water current as well as degrade the wetland environment and ruin urban landscapes.
Article 58 stipulates that production, trading and service enterprises using poisonous and radioactive substances must take all measure against the discharge or leak of such dangerous ingredients into the land and water.
Article 68, Clause 1, Point a, stipulates that production, trading and service enterprises must ensure the collection and treatment of wastewater following the environmental technical standards before discharging to the nature. Expired fertilisers and products for breeding environment remediation, containers of fertilisers, pesticides and veterinary medicine must be treated after use in accordance with waste management regulations.
Article 69 states that out-dated fertilisers, products of livestock environmental treatment, after-used fertiliser, pesticides, veterinary medicine and their devices and containers must be treated before discharging to the environment in accordance with waste management regulations (Clause 2). Livestock breeding concentrated areas must have plans for environmental protection; the collection and treatment of solid and liquid waste should follow environmental rules; livestock breeding farms should be regularly cleaned ensuring the sanitation and prevention against epidemics; livestock death caused by epidemics should be managed and treated following hazardous waste management and pandemic prevention regulations (Clause 3).
Article 70 states that craft villages must have their own environmental protection plans; their infrastructure must ensure for the collection, assessment, storage, treatment and remove following the environmental technical standards; they should set up their self-management units for environmental protection (Clause1); People’s Committees at communal levels in areas where craft villages are located must set up environmental protection plans, authorise local implementation and annually report the results to district People’s Committees; district People’s Committees are responsible for authorising, guiding and supervising communal environmental protection activities and annually report to the provincial People’s Committees.
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LEP 2014 encouraging communities establish voluntary self-management groups on environmental protection |
Article 71 specifies that out-dated veterinary medicine and chemical substances used in producing and packaging of aquatic products, veterinary medicines, mud and stagnant food ingredient in farm cleaning should be collected and treated following the waste management rules (Clause 3).
Article 72 regulates that hospitals and health care clinics should collect and treat waste water according to the environmental technical standards (Point a, Clause 1).
Article 73, Clause 3 stipulates that construction projects in residential living areas should ensure no dust dispersion and noise and light pollution; the removal of construction materials should be undertaken by means of transportation which ensure the safety and environment technique conditions; others solid and liquid wastes should also be collected and treated following the environmental protection rules.
Article 82 demands living households to limit to minimum and classify wastes before discharging to the environment; deliver them to the right areas of waste concentration. The Article also demands households to take part in public environmental protection activities held in local areas where they are living.
Article 83 encourages residential communities to set up their own self-management groups for environmental protection at their living quarter. Those autonomous groups shall be operated basing on the voluntary of participants and with the tasks of supervising and urging the local households and individuals to comply with the hygienic and environmental protection rules. These groups should organise the collection and treatment of public and local waste and set up their commitments to the environmental protection. They should also conduct dissemination programmes, formulate and organise the implementation of environmental protection commitments, encourage the people to give up unsound customs and bad habits that are harmful for health and the environment. They participate in supervision of adherence to regulations of law on environmental protection of local manufacturing and business establishments. The People’s Committees of communes shall specify the organisation, operation of autonomous environmental protection organisations, and facilitate their operation.
Article 100 says every urban area and concentrated residential area must have a system for separating rainwater and wastewater for common use.
Article 129 regulates that People’s Committees from provincial to communal levels are responsible for collecting and managing environmental information within their power limitation.
Article 131 regulates that all environmental information shall be announced publicly including those about waste sources and their treatment except those belonging to a State secret order.
Seriously environmental polluted areas shall be informed publicly with the results of investigation and supervision. Asides with the responsibility of provincial and district People’s Committees, the tasks of environmental protection shall also be assigned for communal People’s Committees as they are regulated in Article 143.
Articles 144, 145, 146 regulate responsibilities of Fatherland Front Committees and other social, political and vocational organisations in the environmental protection.
With legislations shown in 2013 Constitution and 2014 Law on Environmental Protection, it can be seen that each citizen and community has possessed adequate legal basis for implementing their tasks as well as their rights in protecting the environment in general, and water sources in particular.
One of the highlights of 2014 Law on Environmental Protection is that it has further concretised the roles of Fatherland Front and other social, political and vocational organisations, especially the role of residential communities in environmental protection. Regulations in the Law have shown the spirit of 2013 Constitution, socialized policies and guidelines of the Government and State for environmental protection activities. It is hoped that in the next coming time, residential communities as well as individual citizen will actively co-operate with and take part in authorities of all levels to participate in environmental protection activities, especially in the protection of water sources as a way to make a contribution to the country’s sustainable development in the new era.
Nghiêm Xuân Bạch
Coalition for Clean Water
