(VEN) – Vietnam is the eighth richest country in the world in terms of water resources with 853 billion cu.m of water running through its territory and domestic water resources totaling 323 billion cu.m.
Water resources per capita in Vietnam are 10,537cu.m. However, Vietnam will face a water crisis in the future if it fails to adopt new approaches to effective use of water resources.
The above observation was presented at a recent international conference on the application of water solutions in Vietnam, jointly held in Hanoi by the Vietnamese Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Israeli Embassy in Vietnam and the World Bank (WB).
Statistics from the Vietnam Water Resources Association (Viwarda) show that Vietnam currently has 75 irrigation works with hydropower and irrigation reservoirs containing 22 billion cu.m of water. However, the actual demand for water consumption in Vietnam is much higher than the capacity of these reservoirs. In 2010, Vietnam needed 71.9 billion cu.m of water for crops, 12.25 billion cu.m for aquaculture and seafood processing, and 4.8 billion cu.m for industrial production. The amounts of water required for these sectors by 2020 are forecasted to be 80.1 billion cu.m, 18.9 billion cu.m and 6.2 billion cu.m respectively.
According to Viwarda President, Professor, Dr. Vu Trong Hong, due to a complicated terrain with mountains and hills, Vietnam cannot build large reservoirs while water resources have to face many challenges such as the filling of lakes, ponds and swamps, the decreased forest coverage, and the discharge of about one billion cu.m of untreated industrial wastewater each year, and a decline of water resources due to climate change (in the dry season, the amounts of water in the Red River and the Mekong River decrease by 10-15 percent and 16-24 percent respectively).
Meanwhile, the state management of water resources remains ineffective. “Vietnam has promulgated the Natural Resources Law. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has been assigned to manage the quality of water resources and other ministries to manage the use of water in each sector. However, the responsibilities of officials involved in water resources management remain unclear, leading to the lack of coordination between them and facilitating actions which harm water resources,” said Professor, Dr. Vu Trong Hong.
In his opinion, Vietnam must quickly create suitable tools for effective water resources management. Water is a kind of goods and people have to pay for using or polluting water resources. Modern technologies must be applied to ensure effective management of water resources and the state management in this field must be improved.
Regarding water management approaches, Jennifer Sara, Sector Manager of WB Vietnam’s Sustainable Development Department, emphasized that Vietnam must concentrate on changing the infrastructure as well as policies and institutions related to water resources.
According to the WB, global energy consumption is forecasted to increase more than 50 percent in the 2007-2035 period, especially as hydropower and thermoelectricity develop (currently, hydropower and thermoelectricity account for 90 percent of global electricity consumption); the demand for use of water cooling systems has grown and the risk of power cuts due to the lack of cooling water has occurred in many countries. Jennifer Sara said, “A developing country like Vietnam must make smart energy choices by selecting suitable cooling technologies for hydropower and thermoelectric plants in order to reduce water consumption and the use of water from reservoirs. At the same time, it is necessary to classify water resources and encourage wastewater treatment for reuse purposes.”
In the opinion of Jennifer Sara, Vietnam must change current approaches to water management. “In the past, water was a sector, a matter and a technical challenge for each country but today, it has become a global issue and a challenge for a wide range of sectors with different functions. This requires Vietnam to have appropriate water resources management policies so that they can have long-term effects,” she added.
The experience of Israel, a leading country in terms of water solutions, shows that water-related problems can only be resolved through effective management, technologies and creative financial mechanisms such as BOT, BOO and PPP, which help the state reduce risks and expenditure.
Dr. Sinaia Netanyahu, Head of a scientist team from the Israeli Ministry of Environmental Protection, said that in the time to come, with the support of Israel, Vietnam must intensify the management of water resources through efforts to increase the capacity of reservoirs, build the links between remote areas, treat brackish and waste water for irrigation and restore polluted underground water layers.
“With great experiences in activities such as water treatment, desalination, wastewater treatment and water loss prevention, Israel can help Vietnam choose suitable and effective water solutions,” said Dr. Sinaia Netanyahu./.
By Nguyen Tien Dung
Đăng ký: VietNam News