The National Assembly passed the Law on Water Resources 2023:

With 468/472 (94.74%) votes in favor, the 15th National Assembly officially passed the Law on Water Resources 2023. This event marked a huge step forward in thinking, approach, and change in water resources management methods in the context of Vietnam's water resources being assessed as "too abundant, too lacking, too dirty" and ensuring that water resources are managed as public assets owned by the entire people, with the State representing the owner and unified management in accordance with the spirit of the 2013 Constitution.

z4919761428414_771b2ba0fafe026d19b1b61102cc0665-1-(1).jpg — With 468/472 (94.74%) votes in agreement, the 15th National Assembly officially passed the Law on Water Resources 2023.

The 2023 Law on Water Resources, consisting of 10 Chapters and 86 Articles, has institutionalized the Party and State's new viewpoints, guidelines and policies on water resources management and protection through four groups of policies approved by the National Assembly in Resolution No. 50/2022/QH15 dated June 13, 2022, including: (1) Ensuring water security; (2) Socialization of the water sector; (3) Water resources economics and (4) Protecting water resources, preventing and combating harmful effects caused by water.

Four groups of policies are expressed throughout the Law in the provisions on: Principles of management, protection, regulation, distribution, development, exploitation, use of water resources, prevention, control and remedy of harmful effects caused by water; Basic investigation of water resources, strategies and planning of water resources; Regulations on protection and restoration of water resources; Regulation and distribution of water resources; Exploitation and use of water resources; Prevention, control and remedy of harmful effects caused by water; Economic tools, policies and resources for water resources management and protection; International cooperation on water resources; Inspection and examination of water resources and Regulations on state management responsibilities of water resources.

One of the core principles of the Law is that Water resources must be managed comprehensively and uniformly in terms of quantity and quality, between surface water and groundwater, between upstream and downstream; clearly assigning and decentralizing state management responsibilities for water resources and water sources with state management responsibilities for planning, construction, and operation of irrigation works, hydroelectricity, urban water supply, and rural water supply; resolving overlaps, conflicts, and loopholes in laws to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of state management of water resources, ensuring national water resources security.

small_lanh-dao-qh-vs-cuc-nuoc(1).jpg — National Assembly leaders and leaders of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment took a souvenir photo when the Law on Water Resources 2023 was passed.

The law is built in the direction of regulating all contents on management, protection, exploitation, use of water resources, prevention and control of harmful effects caused by water. At the same time, it clearly stipulates what to manage, how to manage and who to manage . Accordingly, it specifically stipulates the responsibilities of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Construction, the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Finance... in accordance with the functions and tasks assigned in the laws related to water resources to ensure consistency, unity, and improve the effectiveness and efficiency in water resources management.

Ensuring national water security is the guiding principle in the process of building until the National Assembly passes the Law on Water Resources. Policies related to water security are reflected throughout the Chapters and Articles of the Law. The goal by 2030 is to raise the level of ensuring national water security to the group of countries that effectively ensure water security in the Southeast Asia region and approach the advanced countries in the world. Ensuring the quantity and quality of water for people's lives in all situations, meeting the water needs for socio-economic development, national defense, security, environment and minimizing risks and harms from disasters caused by humans and nature related to water.

In addition, the issue of ensuring water security for domestic use is given special attention. The Law on Water Resources 2023 has added provisions in Article 26, which stipulates the control of activities that pose a risk of polluting domestic water sources. At the same time, it is assigned to: (1) the Ministry of Construction to preside over and coordinate with the Ministry of Public Security, ministries, ministerial-level agencies, and localities to develop a list of especially important domestic water supply works to submit to the Prime Minister for approval; (2) the Ministry of Public Security to develop and organize the implementation of a plan to protect especially important domestic water supply works.

At the same time, there are preferential policies for investment projects to exploit water for domestic use and production for people in areas with scarce fresh water, ethnic minority areas, mountainous areas, border areas, islands, areas with difficult and especially difficult socio-economic conditions; creating conditions for access to domestic water for the poor, women, children, people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups.

Three issues: Management, protection, regulation, distribution, restoration, development, exploitation, use of water resources, prevention, control and remedy of harmful effects caused by water; Regulation and distribution of water resources; Modernization and professionalization of water resources management are comprehensively innovated in the Law on Water Resources 2023.

For the management, protection, regulation, distribution, restoration, development, exploitation, use of water resources; prevention, control and overcoming of harmful effects caused by water ,... with the basic principle of being consistent with the Water Resources Planning. National sectoral planning, technical and specialized planning with content on exploitation and use of water resources; surface water environmental quality management plans; plans, programs and projects for socio-economic development, national defense and security must be linked to the capacity and function of water resources, protection of water resources, ensuring maintenance of minimum flow , not exceeding the threshold of underground water exploitation ,...

Regulation and distribution of water resources is one of the core tools in managing, using and protecting water resources effectively, ensuring water security.

Regulating and distributing water resources is one of the core tools in effectively managing, using and protecting water resources, ensuring water security. The Law on Water Resources 2023 has added provisions in Articles 35 and 36 on regulating and distributing water resources, which specifically stipulate the development of water resource scenarios; planning for exploitation and use of water resources; developing and organizing the implementation of plans to regulate and distribute water resources; and organizing the implementation of measures to respond to and minimize damage caused by drought and water shortages in river basins. It specifically stipulates the responsibilities of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, ministries, and provincial People's Committees in developing and implementing plans to regulate and distribute water resources and measures to respond and overcome when water shortages occur.

Modernizing and professionalizing water resources management towards national water resources governance on a digital technology platform through the National Water Resources Information System, database, and decision support tool system. This is one of the highlights of the Water Resources Law 2023. The digital technology platform will be promoted to support management agencies in the process of deciding on water resource regulation and distribution, reservoir and inter-reservoir operations, minimizing the damage caused by water, especially when drought and water shortage occur in river basins. At the same time, minimizing human resources, operating and management costs.

Gradually shifting from administrative management to economic management is a modern approach, applied in many advanced countries in the world such as France, Australia, Korea, USA, etc.

The Law on Water Resources 2023 supplements regulations on fees, charges, and fees for granting the right to exploit water resources to raise awareness of water resources protection and economical water use among water users; amends and supplements regulations on fees for granting the right to exploit water resources to correctly and fully calculate the value of water resources; supplements regulations on water resource accounting to correctly calculate the value of water resources in socio-economic development activities, serving the work of regulating the allocation of water resources in river basins. In particular, in cases of drought and water shortage, water resource distribution for activities that use a lot of water and are not urgent is limited and priority is given to domestic use and activities that use water economically and effectively.

Promoting socialization in the field of water resources and creating resources in the context of limited State resources: The Law on Water Resources 2023 has added regulations on resources for protecting and developing water resources, including socialized capital. Regulations on investment activities in developing, storing water and restoring water resources are prioritized to be implemented in the form of socialization and priority policies.

With the view that economic development is associated with "reinvestment" in the protection and development of water resources, landscape improvement, and conservation of the value of water-related ecosystems.

The 2023 Law on Water Resources supplements many regulations and policies related to river restoration.

Restoring and reviving "dead rivers" has come to be considered one of the issues that need to be prioritized in the coming years in order to restore water resources, create flows, improve the ecological landscape and the values of water resources that have been lost due to rapid economic development, rapid urbanization, increased industrial and agricultural production activities, leading to wastewater discharge activities, especially untreated wastewater that has not met standards and regulations discharged into water sources, has been and is affecting and causing increasingly large and serious pressure on both the quantity and quality of water resources of rivers, streams and aquifers.

To have a specific legal corridor, the Law on Water Resources 2023 has supplemented many regulations and policies related to river restoration and to ensure scientific and feasible nature, it has clearly stipulated financial mechanisms and policies for water resource restoration activities to have a basis for mobilizing and allocating resources to restore degraded, depleted, and polluted water resources (Articles 34, 72 and 74).

At the same time, supplement regulations on developing plans, programs, and projects to restore degraded, depleted, and polluted water sources; prioritize the restoration of "dead rivers" to restore water sources, create flows, and improve ecological landscapes, including programs, projects, and projects that prioritize the revival of rivers (as is being implemented for Bac Hung Hai River, Nhue River, and Day River through the construction of dams to create flows).