The Southeast is facing environmental problems, flooding and the impacts of climate change.
Speaking at the first meeting of the Southeast Regional Coordination Council on the morning of July 18, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Dang Quoc Khanh said that along with the strong socio -economic development in recent times, the environment of our country in general and the Southeast region in particular has been under great pressure from sources of environmental pollution that are increasing in quantity, scale and level of impact. The pressure on the environment will continue to increase as the impacts of climate change on ecosystems and biodiversity continue to increase. According to the Minister, the Southeast region has been facing problems of environmental pollution, flooding and the impacts of climate change.
Regarding environmental issues, flooding and climate change in the Southeast region, Minister Dang Quoc Khach also acknowledged that localities have coordinated with central ministries and branches to implement many important solutions such as:
Localities have invested in and completed drainage systems and centralized wastewater collection and treatment systems in concentrated urban areas; established monitoring tools to control pollution, in which the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is maintaining and operating 09 automatic water environment monitoring stations on the Dong Nai River and Thi Vai River. Monitoring data is connected to the Departments of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, helping environmental management agencies at the central and local levels to manage and monitor more promptly and closely, minimizing illegal discharge or discharge of untreated wastewater into the environment.
Inter-sectoral and inter-regional environmental issues have initially been paid attention to and coordinated to be resolved by the Dong Nai River Basin Environmental Protection Committee and the People's Committees of provinces and cities; The work of investigating and managing waste sources, controlling pollution, planning and zoning waste discharge, appraisal and licensing has been implemented by local environmental management agencies in an increasingly systematic and effective manner; The work of inspecting, examining and handling violations of environmental protection laws and monitoring large waste sources in river basins has been given attention; Ho Chi Minh City and localities in the Southeast region have actively implemented tasks and solutions to respond to climate change, implemented many flood prevention projects; coordinated with international experts to research flood prevention solutions and implement flood prevention for urban areas with inadequate drainage infrastructure.
06 groups of solutions to help the Southeast region protect the environment and adapt to climate change
According to Minister Dang Quoc Khanh, environmental protection and climate change adaptation work in the Southeast region in recent years has achieved positive and remarkable results.
However, to ensure the achievement of the goal of "building the Southeast region into a region that develops economic, cultural and social fields associated with protecting the ecological environment, adapting to climate change and rising sea levels;... by 2030, 100% of industrial parks and export processing zones will have centralized wastewater treatment systems that meet environmental standards; 95% of urban solid waste will be collected and treated according to regulations; 98% of hazardous waste will be collected, transported and treated according to regulations", and other tasks and solutions in the field of natural resources and environment set out in Resolution 24-NQ/TW dated October 7, 2022 of the Politburo and the Government's Action Program, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment proposes a number of solutions:
Firstly, on the establishment and approval of the Southeast region planning according to the planning task approved by the Prime Minister. The Minister emphasized that this planning must ensure the connection of economic development (through the connection of industrial parks and export processing zones to form industrial clusters) with environmental protection among provinces and cities in the region; environmental protection contents need to be approached and coordinated comprehensively at the regional level, as a basis for provinces and cities to implement effectively and harmoniously.
In particular, provincial planning needs to clearly define environmental protection goals such as ensuring forest coverage; classifying urban solid waste at source, recycling and reusing waste; treating urban and concentrated residential wastewater, industrial wastewater; managing air quality; ensuring ecological environment in urban areas and concentrated residential areas; integrating circular economy in planning; clearly defining coordination mechanisms, solving environmental issues related to the region and neighboring provinces; clearly defining solutions, tasks and resources to implement the planning.
For the second group of solutions, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh suggested that the region focus on developing the economy towards ecology, circulation, green growth, green economy, low-carbon economy, promoting sustainable production and consumption: rapidly transforming to an economic growth model based on increased productivity, scientific and technological progress, innovation, efficient use of resources, aiming to achieve the dual goal of economic growth while reducing pollution and environmental degradation. Implement sustainable urbanization, urban development associated with the development of technical infrastructure for environmental protection; focus on developing green spaces, green buildings, ecological cities, smart cities, and climate change resilience.
At the same time, continue to strengthen inspection, examination and handling of facilities causing environmental pollution; protect the environment of the Dong Nai and Saigon river basins; promote coordination between ministries, branches and localities in the field of environmental protection, waste, waste and wastewater treatment to meet environmental standards in conjunction with solutions to adapt to climate change and rising sea levels.
To strictly manage environmental protection issues, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh proposed to proactively control large sources of emissions and facilities with high risks of causing environmental pollution; prevent negative impacts on the environment through a monitoring team model for projects and large production facilities with high potential risks of causing pollution and environmental incidents; establish inter-sectoral and inter-regional control mechanisms to prevent emissions that are harmful to the environment in the region and inter-region; pay special attention to strictly protected areas and emission-restricted areas; classify new investment projects according to the level of environmental impact right from the time of investment policy approval to control throughout the life cycle of operation; control environmental pollution from production, business and service facilities through environmental licenses, environmental protection planning, environmental carrying capacity and environmental technical regulations. This is considered the third group of solutions.
Regarding the fourth group of solutions, Minister Dang Quoc Khach said that it is necessary to increase the mobilization of all investment resources for environmental protection, overcoming pollution and environmental degradation; maintaining and improving environmental quality, including:
For water environment and Dong Nai river basin : Develop and implement a plan for surface water quality management for inter-provincial rivers and lakes that play an important role in socio-economic development and environmental protection. The State needs to develop a comprehensive investment program to increase investment in concentrated wastewater collection and treatment plants of urban areas and concentrated residential areas, with immediate priority given to urban areas that discharge wastewater into the Dong Nai river basin and treat wastewater, renovate and restore seriously polluted river sections, canals and ditches using State and socialized capital sources.
For air environment : Focus on implementing tasks and solutions in the National Plan on Air Quality Management and Directive No. 03/CT-TTg dated January 18, 2021 of the Prime Minister; control sources of industrial emissions and traffic emissions to ensure strict compliance with national technical environmental regulations; develop and implement provincial-level air quality management plans, with special attention to large cities. Promote the development of automatic air monitoring stations, initially in large cities; regularly warn and publicize information on air quality according to regulations. Invest in and apply technology to improve and enhance the capacity to forecast and warn about environmental quality.
For domestic solid waste : Localities need to organize planning and invest in the construction of centralized solid waste treatment areas to ensure the collection and treatment of all solid waste generated in the province, which can be inter-provincial treatment plants. Organize the classification of domestic solid waste at source, apply circular economy in waste classification, collection, transportation, and treatment; apply advanced, environmentally friendly treatment technology combined with energy recovery to ensure maximum reduction of the amount of domestic solid waste buried directly in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Environmental Protection 2020.
Regarding solutions to adapt to climate change , Minister Dang Quoc Khanh proposed to study and implement engineering and non-engineering solutions to help maintain and enhance "space for rivers" and preserve and develop "water storage" to store water to regulate water resources between seasons; encourage the preservation and development of rainwater storage spaces during urban development and ensure the principle of not transferring risks from one place to another; protect and restore vegetation, especially upstream forests and coastal mangrove forests to increase water storage capacity, minimize flooding in the rainy season, and increase water resources in the dry season. Localities in the region urgently compile a list of lakes, ponds, and water sources that need protection; compile a list of water sources that must have protection corridors; strictly prohibit river filling and minimize encroachment on rivers, reducing flood drainage space. Regional planning, provincial planning, and urban planning need to be closely integrated with climate change and sea level rise scenarios to ensure sustainable development goals.
For the above solutions to be successful, Minister Dang Quoc Khanh said that communication work, raising awareness of environmental protection, adaptation to climate change and rising sea levels at all levels, sectors and the business community need to be promoted and mobilized to involve all people in many forms and media. Build and replicate many good models. Environmental protection work needs to be carried out regularly, continuously and without stopping.
Source
Comment (0)