The Process of Application
and Development of EIA Procedure in
Vietnam
By Le Thac Can
Vietnam
Environment & Sustainable Development Institute (VESDI)
The concept of
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) has been introduced in
Vietnam
in the late 1980s through the teaching of EIA methods in some
universities. Official
implementation of EIA procedure began with the promulgation in 1994 of
the Law on Environmental Protection (LEP), which made EIA procedure
compulsory for the approval of major development projects. Following the
enactment of the LEP several regulatory documents were issued by
governmental agencies to support the implementation of EIA procedure.
From 1995 to 2000 more than 3000 of EIA reports of development projects
have been submitted to the central or provincial environmental
authorities for appraisal. In 1999 and 2000 environmental strategic
assessment (SIA) of socio-economic development master planning of some
cities/ provinces or regions have been also carried out. The application
of EIA procedure in the process of elaboration and design of development
program and project has contribute to the
task of environmental protection and promotion of sustainable
development of the country. EIA procedure in
Vietnam
is still far from perfect because of the lack of highly qualified and
experienced experts in EIA report elaboration and appraisal. Experience
of many countries shown that EIA should be carried out “Early”,
“Integrated” into project / program elaboration and design, and going
"Always” parallel with the various steps of project / program
development. Vietnamese EIA experts are deploying efforts to reach these
EIA requirements.
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