Vietnam

• Author: Yee Chung Seck and Andrew Fitanides
• Pages: 811-826

CHAPTER 41

Vietnam

YEE CHUNG SECK AND ANDREW FITANIDES

I. Introduction

Vietnam spans more than a thousand miles from north to south but is just

over 30 miles wide at its narrowest point. The tropical south and monsoonal

north are low and flat deltas rising to the hilly and mountainous terrain of

the central highlands, northwest, and far north. Vietnam is one of the world’s

most densely populated countries with an estimated population of over 90

million.1 Although Vietnam is officially one of the world’s four remaining

communist countries, the “Doi Moi” economic reforms that began in 1986

have moved Vietnam a long way toward the government’s goal of creating

a “socialist-oriented market economy.”2 Reforms have led to the rapid

growth of the economy, industry, population, and urban centers—resulting

in serious environmental problems that Vietnam has yet to fully address.3

Although Vietnam has begun to develop a comprehensive legal framework

to protect the environment, enforcement is often decentralized, inconsistent,

and nontransparent, creating important concerns for businesses, while doing

little to improve Vietnam’s environment.

II. Overview and Structure

Vietnam is a civil code jurisdiction based on communist legal theory and

French civil law.4 The national government is composed of the National

Assembly, the executive, and the judiciary. The National Assembly has the

power to amend the constitution, to promulgate codes, laws, and resolu-

tions, and to ratify treaties. The National Assembly also empowers the Stand-

ing Committee of the National Assembly to stipulate resolutions and

ordinances according to programs it has approved.

The executive5 has the power to issue legal documents, usually in the

form of decrees, and resolutions, to provide further guidance on the imple-

mentation of laws and ordinances or on matters not covered by existing laws

or ordinances (for example, sanctions for administrative violations). As head

of the government, the prime minister is empowered to issue decisions and

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directives to enforce laws, ordinances, and treaties. Government ministries

and ministerial agencies, in coordination with political and social organiza-

tions, provide further guidance on the implementation of laws in the form of

circulars, directives, joint resolutions, and joint circulars.

The judiciary plays a limited role. The Board of Judges of the Supreme

People’s Court issues resolutions and the Head of the Supreme People’s Pro-

curacy issues decisions, directives, and circulars interpreting laws, particu-

larly with regard to violations of law and the settlement of disputes.

In addition to the above bodies, the president6 has the power to issue

orders and decisions to enforce laws, ordinances, and those treaties outside

the jurisdiction of the National Assembly.

Before 1986, Vietnam had little environmental policy or law. The Consti-

tution of Vietnam (1992) states that the nation’s land, forests, wildlife, water,

and natural resources belong to the Vietnamese people and are to be man-

aged by the government and the specific groups it may appoint.7 In 1994,

Vietnam introduced the Law on Environmental Protection, the first compre-

hensive law to prevent and remediate damage to Vietnam’s environment.

Current environmental law and policy are based primarily on the Law on

Environmental Protection (2005) (LEP)8 and provisions of the Law on Land

(2003),9 the Law on Forestry Protection (2004),10 the Law on Minerals (2010),11

the Law on Biodiversity (2008),12 Law on Water Resources (1998),13 and other

related laws, decrees, and circulars. Vietnam is party to several international

environmental treaties, including the Kyoto Protocol (1998) and the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1994) (UNFCCC).

Despite the comprehensive scope of Vietnam’s environmental laws, in prac-

tice environmental policy is crippled by weak, inconsistent, and often arbi-

trary enforcement.14 Furthermore, sanctions have yet to be promulgated for

the violation of many environmental laws. In 2002, the Ministry of Natural

Resources and Environment (MONRE) was established to manage Vietnam’s

natural resources and environment. The National Environment Administra-

tion of MONRE helps to manage national environmental protection activities

throughout Vietnam. At the provincial level, various Departments of Natural

Resources and Environment (DONRE) manage environmental policy for

provinces and for the five cities under central government administration.15

In 2007 the Environmental Police Agency was established, consisting of 120

policemen in 30 provinces and cities,16 to conduct inspections and adminis-

ter sanctions for environmental violations.

III. Air and Climate Change

A. Air Pollution Control

Vietnam’s overall air quality ranks in the bottom 10 countries in the world.17

Environmental experts predict that it will continue to deteriorate before it

improves.18 In a number of urban air pollution “hot spots,” pollution from

industry and vehicles have caused the air quality to fall below Vietnamese

812 INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL LAW