VietNamNet Bridge – Communities in Viet Nam have been legally empowered to have their say in developing projects that use water in their areas in an amendment to the Law on Water Resources that came into effect on January 1.

llustrative image. (Photo: Internet)

Under the amendment approved last June, investors in projects that use water or discharge waste into water are required to consult with communities in local areas so they can assess the environmental impacts of the project while it is still in the planning stage.

However, while most lawmakers and independent experts welcomed the amendment, some expressed skepticism over its feasibility.

Nguyen Thuy Anh, from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, said more specific instructions should be issued to make the amended law work.

For example, the procedures of the consultation process should be made clear, otherwise investors could take advantage of vague regulations or produce biased consultation reports, she said. There should also be provisions on the levels of fines for investors which fail to consult with local communities or submit inaccurate consultation reports.

It was suggested there should be a mechanism enabling communities to work closely with independent experts and consultants in the presentation of their cases.

In Viet Nam, there are nearly 2,400 rivers, many of which are dammed.

Water Resources Management Department deputy director Le Huu Thuan said the amendment was part of a wider plan to promote grassroots democracy.

Thuan, whose department drafted the amendment, said having community participation right from the start of a project would result in a higher degree of responsibility and transparency from project investors.

Senior water expert Dao Trong Tu from the Viet Nam Rivers Network said the stronger the voices of communities, the better water resources would be managed.

"Lack of community participation is one of the main reasons that many rivers in Viet Nam are dying from unsustainable water use."

He cited a period in Viet Nam's recent history during which more than 300 dams were built without accurate environmental impact reports and forests were cleared from hillsides. The dams were kept full, causing subsequent flooding of downstream villages and communities and loss of life and property in periods of high rainfall.

"The fact that hundreds of dam projects were put on hold last year speaks for itself," Tu said. "We are getting to see the bigger picture, that includes environmental and social impacts, while the only thing we deliberately chose to see before was economic profit."

He said the participation of communities affected by dam projects so far was very limited and consultation reports, if they ever had been produced, had not reflected the true concerns of the majority.

Tu's remarks were backed up by a case study of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of communities living along the Vu Gia and Thu Bon rivers, where a large number of dams and irrigation works had been built.

The projects had adversely affected thousands of families and had caused severe water shortages in communities in the Vu Gia area. Local people had never been consulted.

Tu said, however, it would be no easy task for communities to influence the process of decision-making.

Source: VNS