Conventional brickyards in Ham Yen District in the northern province of Tuyen Quang (Photo VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Province and city authorities have been told to stopinvestment in fired clay brick production and to prioritise investment in otherenvironmentally friendly construction materials.The orderwas one of the highlights of a recent official paper issued by Deputy PrimeMinister Trinh Dinh Dung. The paper followed a month of study and theconsideration of feedback at a national conference on the development ofconstruction materials held in mid-December.It isestimated that in 2020, Vietnam could need as many as 42 billion bricksfor construction works. In the next 10 years, the total output could reach 330billion clay bricks, requiring up to 40 million tonnes of coal to process. Thebrick production will release into the atmosphere 148 tonnes of green housegases amongst other pollutants. The unfired counterpart, however, don’t havesuch a large environmental footprint, as they don’t require the use of naturalclay or burning of fossil fuels.Vietnam’srapid economic growth continues to generate enormous demands forinfrastructure. The cost of construction materials alone takes up 30-50 percentof the total budget for infrastructure investment. There are also the hiddencosts stemming from the environmental impacts at every step of the materials”life cycle’: mineral mining, manufacturing, construction, use and demolition.Therefore,”developing sustainable material construction will bring beneficialcontributions to socio-economic development,” the paper says.The neworder to contain the expansion of conventional fired bricks comes seven yearsafter a programme (Decision No 567/QĐ-TTg) aiming at encouraging the productionand use of unfired materials was launched in 2010 with a vision towards 2020.Theprogramme… [Read full story]
Reality and opportunitiesAccording to Duong Thanh An, director of the Department of Policy and Legislation of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Vietnam Environment Administration (VEA), the country’s environmental protection is sorely lacking. Only five percent of 615 industrial zones for small to medium-sized enterprises nationwide have central wastewater treatment facilities; the rate of gathered solid and medical wastes in cities is low; mineral mining has had many negative environmental implications; and serious environmental pollution is found in many craft villages. However, An added, this provides opportunities for Japanese companies to invest in environmental improvement.The government’s determination to improve…... [read more]
The projects cover the RoK’s help to Vietnam in amending andimplementing the Law on Environmental Protection as well as improvingthe legal framework for the rehabilitation of contaminated land andgroundwater. The two sides have also workedtogether to build an integrated management system for toxic waste inVietnam and promote investment and business activities in the field ofenvironmental protection. In addition, the VietnamInstitute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment and the KoreaEnvironment Institute (KEI) are carrying out a bilateral Memorandum ofUnderstanding. Minister of Natural Resources andEnvironment Nguyen Minh Quang said he hopes the two sides will continueto work out specific projects in the field,…... [read more]
At the signing ceremony, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) Nguyen Thai Lai said that his ministry has actively supported Laos in the field. However, the joint activities between the two countries over the past time have not matched their potential and special relationship, he added. Therefore, the MNRE and its Lao counterpart have reviewed their co-operative activities between the two nations in natural resources and environment as well as discuss ways to boost bilateral ties in the coming time, he said. Deputy Minister Lai stressed that the MoU will lay the foundation for promoting co-operation between…... [read more]
Bicycle tour promotes Vietnam-Laos ties Participants discussed Vietnam’s green economy strategy, the two countries’ joint efforts toward environmental protection and sustainable development, and integration of climate change into policy making and investment management. They said that Vietnam and Laos have special environmental ties, such as sharing the Mekong River and Truong Son mountain range. More than half of Vietnam’s investment projects in Laos are focused on energy, agriculture, forestry and mining. They also pointed out common environmental issues facing the two countries relating to forestry, biodiversity, mineral and water resources, and hydroelectricity. Delegates agreed that Vietnam and Laos should make…... [read more]
Vietnam and Laos signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on natural resources and environmental cooperation in Hanoi on April 26. At the signing ceremony, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) Nguyen Thai Lai said that his ministry has actively supported Laos in the field. However, the joint activities between the two countries over the past time have not matched their potential and special relationship, he added. Therefore, the MNRE and its Lao counterpart have reviewed their cooperative activities between the two nations in natural resources and environment as well as discuss ways to boost bilateral ties in…... [read more]
