The Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment on Dec 15 kick-started a project on improving national capacity in natural resources management and environment protection. The four-year project, to be jointly conducted by the ministry’s Institute of Strategy and Policy of Natural Resources and Environment and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), is scheduled to start this year with a total funding of $3 million from the UNDP. The project would help amend the Law on Natural Resources and Environment that was issued in 2005, help build stronger polices for sustainable development and a suitable legal framework for implementing environmental policies, said Deputy Minister Tran Hong Ha said at the launching ceremony. It would also enhance the capacity of managers and institutions in policy analysis, he added. Bakhodir Burkhanov, UNDP deputy country director, said that it was encouraging to see that the project would pilot the Environment Performance Index at provincial level in Vietnam, which will help produce an “objective and dynamic picture of environmental quality in provinces for appropriate policy decisions”. Environmental pollution remains an obstacle for Vietnam’s socioeconomic development. The country has lost at least 1.5%-3% of its gross domestic product (GDP) to environment pollution, experts noted. (Vietnam News Dec 16)
