Recent news of dead fish floating in Hanoi's polluted lakes has highlighted a global issue that is a problem right here in Vietnam.
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| Hundreds of dead fish floating along Hanoi's polluted Truc Bach Lake. |
Pollution and environmental issues have come to the forefront of international issues as the human footprint is no longer something that can be avoided, denied, ignored or justified. Most major metropolis's in Asia have extremely high pollution levels and the cities in Vietnam are no different. The extremely fast development, growth, and energy consumption increases throughout Southeast Asia in the last decade has taken a serious toll on the environment and on governments' abilities to keep up with measures to control the problem. This pollution is mainly in the form of emissions, dust, water, waste, sewage and as reported previously, noise.
Governments and citizens worldwide are trying to find new and innovative ways to tackle these problems. So what exactly is Vietnam doing to address pollution problems?
First, it must be understood what forms of pollution are threatening the environment and the people most.
The New York Times reported that, "The air in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City contains dangerous levels of benzene and sulfur dioxide. Levels of one of the most dangerous pollutants, microscopic dust known as PM10, are moderate compared with other developing Asian cities but could worsen if Vietnam chooses to build coal-fired power plants to satiate demand for electricity, which is growing at double-digit annual rates. Pham Duy Hien, an expert on pollution who is also an adviser to the Swiss-Vietnamese Clean Air Program, a government-linked environmental project, says Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have PM10 levels of about 80 micrograms per cubic meter, double the current level in Bangkok and well above the guideline of 20 set by the World Health Organization."
A major contributor to this problem is low-quality fuel. Vietnam continues to import low-grade fuel as there is an abundance of pressure to keep profits high. There is something very ironic about this practice as Vietnam has been sending high-quality crude oil, obtained from Vietnam's own soil, abroad. According to Hoang Viet Cuong, a technical consultant to the Swiss-Vietnamese Clean Air Program and a former employee of Petrolimex, the Vietnamese national oil company, this crude oil shipped elsewhere could produce clean-burning fuel if it were refined right here in Vietnam. "We have very high-quality sweet crude but then we import low-quality refined oil," Cuong said. In addition to the low-quality petrol being pumped out by petrol stations, many people in the general public believe stations "water-down" the fuel so as to make more profit although these rumours could not be immediately verified by DTiNews.
Air pollution can be seen, smelt, and felt in Vietnam's two largest cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. The dirt is abundant, vehicles dirty, buildings layered in dust, garbage visible, drainage systems often questionable, sewage untreated, and air quality very poor. The surge in motorbikes, cars, and the burning of waste all contribute to the poor quality of the air. Adding to the danger, according to one professor, is that, "High humidity and low awareness of proper sanitation has created favourable conditions for bacteria to bind with dust, which is one way diseases can spread."
Another alarming pollution issue is the water quality in Vietnam. Some experts have described the future of water as "liquid gold". Clean water sources are becoming more and more rare. Vietnam is home to an abundance of lakes, rivers and of course an ocean. However, the precious resource of water in many places is visibly and disturbingly polluted, as can be witnessed by the many people "dead fishing" recently in Hanoi, hauling out hundreds upon hundreds of fish that had died because of the polluted state of the water. The water quality along the Mekong and in Vietnam's major cities has been deteriorating consistently over the years. Overuse, misuse, and various other factors have also contributed to shifting water levels and dried out rivers, coupled with environmental changes attributing to droughts and other problems associated with water and climate changes.
The good news is that the Vietnamese Government is aware of the problems and taking action to address them. In September of 2009, the government announced that their priorities for the environment in 2010 would be to address three major issues; solid waste pollution, water environment pollution, and air pollution.
In Hanoi, since January of this year, the government implemented, "A city-wide research project into noise and dust pollution that aims to provide the foundation for a strategy to improve city air quality."
This is one of numerous plans that hope to improve the city’s pollution problems. The Head of the Pollution Control Department under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Nguyen Hoang Duc, praised the action saying, "This is a good move. Dust and noise pollution is the most serious environmental problem in Ha Noi, especially around construction areas. It’s about time for action."
A Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment report showed disturbing figures that 180 of 250 locations that were tested for dust had higher rates than the average acceptable level of PM10 of 120 micrograms per cubic metre.
According to Professor Pham Ngoc Dang, former principal of the Hanoi University of Civil Engineering who has studied pollution in Hanoi for over 30 years, "Hanoians are being tortured by the dust pollution, which ranks among the most serious in the world."
Monitoring centres throughout Vietnam have provided alarming figures on the air-quality and the Hanoi People's Committee has openly admitted that the city's air environment is "seriously polluted".
The government has also taken steps to address the serious issue of water pollution. Pham Van Khanh, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment, shared details of government plans to deal with water pollution in 2010. Water pollution will be treated in 26 lakes, including Truc Bach, Thu Le, Giang Vo, Nghia Tan, Thanh Cong, Bay Mau and the lake in the Bach Thao Park. According to Mr. Khanh, while dealing with pollution in rivers and lakes in the third quarter of 2010, the city will establish construction to treat the water in a part of To Lich River. In 2010, the city will also conduct pilot implementation of microorganism products to treat waste water for families living nearby the river. In addition, Hanoi agencies will carry out some more new models in collecting and transporting waste.
Along with these initiatives, according to the Vietnam Government Web Portal, "Under a newly issued plan on mitigating burning issues of environment pollution in Hanoi, all of the city's communes and towns, in 2010, will have their own systems of collecting household solid waste which will be properly treated. The city strives to collect and treat 100% of dangerous materials medical waste, gather 95% and dispose 70% of industrial solid waste (90% and 60% respectively for dangerous waste matters), and collect 95% of of building refuse. Hanoi is also targeting to treat 10-15% of the domestic sewage in the inner city. Within the last quarter of 2010, water pollution in all lakes will be dealt with."
Despite the promising sound of these measures, Professor Dang cautioned, "Many plans have been made but the situation has not shown any signs of improvement; things have only gotten worse. I hope the project will help provide practical solutions for officials and lead to something different so that we can maintain our fresh and charming Hanoi, as it used to be."
Additional steps will also need to be taken to get the general public involved and to raise awareness among people so as to be conscious of the impact the individual has on the whole and to educate people who unknowingly and unnecessarily contribute to what is perhaps the most pressing issue worldwide.