A country’s lungs: This stretch of forest land in Thai Binh Province, and others like it, must be protected as the country develops. — VNA/VNS Photo Trung Dung

Leaders call for sustainable growth

HA NOI — Ecologically sustainable development should go hand-in-hand with the nation’s social and economic development, policy makers and scientists have said.

Professor Vu Dinh Cu, deputy chairman of the National Assembly, said ecologically sustainable development is the basis of robust development and is intellectually and ethically the right path to follow.

Cu highlighted ecologically sustainable development as an issue of Government concern at a workshop held in Ha Noi last week by the Central Commission for Science and Education (CCSE), the Union of Scientific and Technical Associations and Ha Noi National University.

The workshop attracted government officials, scientists and authorities from 30 cities and provinces.

Professor Vu Tuyen Hoang, the chair of the CCSE, said Viet Nam had made progress in implementing the theory and practice of ecologically sustainable development.

However, Hoang said ecologically sustainable development would not be successful unless scientific methods were applied to production and monitoring.

He called for more co-operation among scientists, policy-makers and economic managers at all levels, to draw up social and economic strategies which highlight environment protection.

The Government’s policy of boosting social and economic development at the grassroots level in poor, ethnic minority areas is based on ecological sustainability, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Hang said.

All development plans, including those focused on infrastructure, labour, education, health care and services should always consider their environmental impact, she said.

Deputy Minister of Science, Technology and Environment Pham Khoi Nguyen, urged a change in the authorities’ approach to the environment, particularly those who work in environmental protection.

Training courses on ecologically sustainable development should be held for officials at all levels, Nguyen said.

Professor Truong Quang Hai from Ha Noi National University suggested an environment fee or a taxation programme could be used to create a national environment fund and investment plan.

He said the fees could be trialled on enterprises, and if the experiment is successful, could be extended to the rest of the nation.

Viet Nam has vowed to do its utmost to help keep the world green, clean and safe, and has flagged plans to step up its protection of the natural environment.

Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia Khiem reaffirmed the Government’s effort to minimise environmental degradation and foster sustainable development at a meeting held early last June to mark World Environment Day.

Speaking at the June meeting, Minister of Science, Technology and the Environment Chu Tuan Nha, said the responsibility for protecting and preserving the environment lies with every single person.

The Government has so far issued a total of 500 environmental protection regulations, but their implementation has been irrelevant to the current market economy, said Dr. Doan Nang from Ha Noi National University.

Nang said some regulations had not spelled out the civil responsibilities to the environment, or were not being enforced.

The regulations should see environmental protection as a special economic sector and not just as a minor part of the State’s management structure, Nang said. — VNS

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