The approval of the Master Plan for Basic Water Resources Investigation and the Scheme for the Comprehensive Inventory of Water Resources is a breakthrough and provides a basis for reassessing the exploitation and use of water resources for domestic purposes more effectively. To gain a better understanding of this issue, reporters from the Environment and Life Online Magazine conducted an interview and discussion with Mr. Nguyen Quang Huan – National Assembly Delegate, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Clean Water and Environment, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Halcom Vietnam Joint Stock Company.
On March 24, 2021, the Prime Minister issued Decision No. 432/QD-TTg approving the Master Plan for Basic Water Resources Investigation through 2030, with a vision to 2050. Subsequently, on August 4, 2021, Deputy Prime Minister Le Van Thanh signed Decision No. 1383/QD-TTg approving the Scheme for the Comprehensive Inventory of National Water Resources through 2025. Based on the results of the basic investigation of national water resources, as well as the inventory of water exploitation and use and wastewater discharge into water sources, this will provide a basis for assessing the existing water resources, their distribution, how they are currently being exploited, and what shortcomings exist. On that basis, management authorities can calculate appropriate plans for the sustainable and stable exploitation and use of water resources and develop solutions to protect clean water resources in a sustainable and long-term manner.
Reporter: Water pollution and the degradation of clean water resources are major challenges for the world as a whole and Vietnam in particular. From your perspective, how will the challenge of declining clean water resources affect us?
Mr. Nguyen Quang Huan: According to the definitions of the World Bank, the United Nations and other international organizations, water security includes: First, ensuring sufficient water reserves from upstream sources. Second, ensuring water is used efficiently and equitably by all groups. Third, preventing pollution. If we do all three of these things well, water security will basically be ensured.
Regarding water reserves, we have to accept the risk that as much as 63% of our water reserves are transboundary water resources. As for internal water resources, there is only just over 37%, equivalent to approximately 320 billion m3, while groundwater accounts for only 63 billion m3/year. Groundwater is an extremely valuable resource that we must preserve as a reserve. In the event of natural disasters, hazards or war that make surface water inaccessible, groundwater will become extremely precious. If exploited indiscriminately, it will affect the quality of groundwater aquifers and increase the risk of pollution. Restoring groundwater aquifers takes a great deal of time, sometimes hundreds of years, so they must be carefully preserved and protected. Meanwhile, the 37% of internal water reserves is found in rivers and is unevenly distributed, meaning that during the dry season, when we need to use internal water resources, it will be a challenging problem to meet domestic needs and socio-economic development needs.
Regarding the efficient and equitable use of water resources, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment believes that the added value generated by one cubic meter of water in Vietnam is currently very low. According to the Ministry’s data, we have achieved only US0.37/m3ofwater,justone-quarterofthelevelinChina,Japan,etc.Meanwhile,accordingtoWorldBankdata,ourentireeconomygeneratesonlyUS2.37/m3 of water, equivalent to one-eighth of the global average. It can be seen that the efficiency of our water use is very low. Therefore, we need to conduct research and develop a roadmap to improve this. We do not use water only for people but also for the entire economy. Currently, 83–85% of water is used for agriculture; if the added value generated is low, the efficiency of water resources will also be low. Meanwhile, domestic water accounts for only about 3% of total use, industry about 5%, with the remainder used for aquaculture and non-agricultural activities. If we do not change, even as a country with many rivers, we will still face water shortages.
Another factor that needs attention is that approximately 60,000 tons of waste need to be treated every day, amounting to about 22 million tons of waste per year. Meanwhile, waste treatment remains very limited; we have only collected and treated a small proportion, while most waste is still disposed of through landfilling. If the bottom liners at landfills are not properly treated, pollution will seep into groundwater resources. According to data from the Ministry of Construction, only 12–14% of wastewater is currently treated, while the remainder is discharged untreated into rivers and lakes. Every year, 3 billion m3 of wastewater goes untreated. In addition, another extremely serious source of water pollution is agricultural production. According to World Bank statistics, only about 50% of fertilizers and pesticides used in agricultural crops are effective, while the remainder is washed away by floods and rain or through our irrigation methods. According to data from the Institute for Atomic Science, the amount of pesticides washed away may be as high as 70%.
It can be said that we are not using water resources efficiently and do not yet have clear mechanisms to protect clean water resources for long-term use. In addition, every year we are wasting 1–2% of GDP on disaster and catastrophe prevention. If we can ensure water security, we will be able to address this issue and thereby avoid clean water shortages.
Reporter: What are your expectations regarding the master plans and schemes for the comprehensive inspection and inventory of national water resources?
Mr. Nguyen Quang Huan: Water resources have received the attention of society as a whole, the entire political system and the entire population. Therefore, in my opinion, water-related issues will improve in the coming period. If we do not start taking action now, in 20–30 years our descendants will not have enough clean water to use, regardless of whether it is the rainy or dry season, because of pollution.
The Prime Minister’s Decision No. 1383/QD-TTg on the inventory of water resources is, in my opinion, the first step and the first scientific foundation for planning. Currently, if we want to develop plans, reduce excess water, increase water availability where there are shortages, and reduce water pollution, we need a specific strategy. At present, most of our data is obtained from international organizations, while domestically we still do not have a national data repository.
Reporter: Based on the results of the inventory and basic investigation of water resources, what recommendations do you have for sustainably managing water resources?
Mr. Nguyen Quang Huan: The implementation of the Scheme for the Comprehensive Inventory of National Water Resources through 2025 is a very good opportunity for us to develop a comprehensive picture. From there, we can reach a consensus on what is lacking in protecting water security, because water is related to many factors. We need to gradually address these shortcomings and establish a roadmap. Things that are easy to implement should be changed immediately, such as planting water-retaining forests in upstream areas; there is no reason to delay.
Currently, Vietnam lacks mechanisms for applying a market-based economic approach. Take reservoirs and dams, for example. We have built a very large number of reservoirs and dams, more than 1,000 in total. Initially, the state budget invested huge amounts in their construction, but due to the use process and inadequate management and operation, as well as a lack of maintenance and repairs, they have seriously deteriorated. There are many reasons for this, one of which is a lack of funding, and this shortage exists because we do not operate according to market principles. If reservoirs and dams are only maintained once every 10 years and funding comes solely from the state budget, this will be a very heavy burden. I think we need to study policies to address this issue.
Regarding water pollution, we currently do not have a mechanism for an organization to operate and protect water resources. For example, with regard to planting forests to generate water resources, we need an agency or organization to carry out this work. If we only call on the community to participate, it will be very difficult. Community-based efforts still depend on people’s awareness and their ability and willingness to participate, which in turn depend on many factors. But if we have an organization assigned by the State to take responsibility for this task, it will have a mechanism to operate effectively. In China, for example, water resource protection agencies are provided with a land fund for exploitation, thereby generating funding to invest in water resource protection. In my opinion, we should study this issue, because it is an important component of water security.
As we know, Israel has been successful in water management. To date, it is the first country in the world to declare that it has sufficient water to meet all needs without depending on the weather. It made this declaration in 2013, but we should understand that achieving today’s success required preparations beginning in 1939, meaning 74 years to achieve that goal. Therefore, we can see how much priority Israel has given to water issues.
Regarding water reuse, Israel reuses 80–90% of its water. If Vietnam were to follow this path, it might not necessarily be appropriate because the costs would be very high. Currently, the country ranking second to Israel in water reuse is Spain, at only slightly more than 20%. This shows that not every country reuses water, but countries do treat wastewater before discharging it into the environment. However, in water-scarce areas such as Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan, we could consider water reuse, and even consider the use of seawater, because people have the right to access clean water.
Therefore, in my opinion, once we have sufficient data, we need to develop long-term plans and policies with a far-reaching vision. For planning to become a reality, there needs to be a lag of decades, so if our plans are not sufficiently long-term, we will not be able to develop optimal solutions.
Reporter: Thank you very much for your time!