Reporting at the Workshop, since 2017, the leaders of the two localities of Quang Nam and Da Nang City have signed and established the Coordination Board for the integrated management of the Vu Gia - Thu Bon River Basin and the coastal area of Quang Nam - Da Nang. This is a model of coordination in river basin management between the two localities that has been highly appreciated by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and many international organizations.
The outstanding achievement after the trial period is that there has been close coordination between the stakeholders of the two localities in exploiting, using and protecting water resources in the Vu Gia - Thu Bon river basin to ensure the need for domestic water use and flood response. The members of the coordination board closely monitor and exchange information in the operation of hydropower plants in the upper Vu Gia - Thu Bon river, the role of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has been significantly enhanced.
Since the Coordination Board was established with the consensus between the two localities, the Government has empowered the People's Committee of Da Nang City to decide on water discharge, ensuring water supply for the city in emergency situations. Through the Coordination Board, the two localities have also had a mechanism to share water resources by agreeing to build a temporary dam at the confluence of the Quang Hue River (in Quang Nam province) and effectively coordinate to protect water resources in the Vu Gia - Thu Bon River basin.
Speaking at the workshop, Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People's Committee Le Quang Nam said that Vu Gia - Thu Bon is one of the 10 largest river basins in Vietnam and has the largest average rainfall in the basin in Vietnam. However, in reality, water resources in the basin are not abundant because it always faces many serious challenges that cause water insecurity.
The uneven distribution of flow between the rainy and dry seasons and the increasing impact of climate change make it predicted that rainfall will increase in the rainy season and decrease in the dry season. This is accompanied by the process of salinization, coastal erosion, flooding and riverbank erosion becoming more and more complex than before.
In addition, if the operation of hydroelectric and irrigation reservoirs in the basin is not reasonable, it will reduce and deplete the flow in the river basin, especially in the downstream of the works, especially in the dry season of drought and water shortage years. At the same time, it will increase and worsen the flooding situation in the downstream area due to the natural characteristics of the low-lying plain terrain.
The degradation and pollution of water environment in the river basin (the main cause is receiving waste from sources discharged into rivers and streams) is also one of the major challenges that the two localities have identified to deal with in the coming time.
In addition, in recent years, the ENSO phenomenon has had increasingly serious impacts, El Nino episodes have caused widespread droughts, and river water depletion is increasingly common.
“In the coming time, the Vu Gia - Thu Bon River Basin Water Resources Coordination and Management Board needs to take more drastic, more substantial and more effective actions to respond to risks of water insecurity across the basin in the context that the river basin organization has not been officially established according to the provisions of the Law on Water Resources” - Vice Chairman of the People's Committee of Da Nang City Le Quang Nam emphasized.
Vice Chairman of Quang Nam Provincial People's Committee Ho Quang Buu requested the Coordination Board for Integrated Management of Water Resources in the Vu Gia - Thu Bon River Basin and the coastal area of Quang Nam - Da Nang to soon advise the People's Committee of Da Nang City and the People's Committee of Quang Nam Province to soon issue a document jointly recommending the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to establish a Vu Gia - Thu Bon River Basin Management Organization in accordance with Clause 3, Article 5, Decree No. 02/2023/ND-CP dated February 1, 2023 of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Water Resources.
At the same time, research and advise the leaders of the two localities to propose to the Government a comprehensive project on natural disaster prevention and control for the Central region, focusing on Quang Nam and Da Nang.
At the workshop, the two localities signed an agreement to implement 8 coordination contents, including the agreement to continue maintaining the inter-provincial - municipal institution to cooperate and coordinate activities related to integrated water resources management, environmental protection and climate change response in the Vu Gia - Thu Bon river basin and the coastal area of Quang Nam - Da Nang. The coordination agreement was signed by the two sides with the aim of continuing to establish a pilot inter-provincial - municipal institution to comprehensively manage the Vu Gia - Thu Bon river basin and the coastal area of Quang Nam - Da Nang in the field of water resources, environmental protection and climate change response.
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