According to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, within 4 years since 2016, the sector faced numerous obstacles. Despite achievements, many problems from years before such as degradation, wastage in using resources, complicated complaints in land use, and natural disasters such as flood are causing immense losses. They have posed many hurdles that need to be overcome in the coming period, especially in 2021.

Bright prospects

At the conference on reviewing the work in 2020 and the 5 years of the 2016-2020 period and implementing tasks in 2021, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha stressed that 2020 was a special year to the world and Vietnam. The COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with natural disasters, has major impacts on the socio-economic development of Vietnam as well as the natural resources and environment sector. The sector has promoted the spirit of "integrity, action, serving the people". As a result, it not only completed the tasks set out for 2020 but also completed the tasks and goals set out in the 2016-2021 5-year plan. Notably, the sector pointed out some of the bottlenecks in terms of mechanisms and policies in resource management to the Party, National Assembly and Government for consideration and removal, helping create a more favourable investment and business environment. The ministry also formulated and submitted many major undertakings and policies of long-term strategic importance for promulgation, contributing to improving the harmony between the socio-economic development and the environmental protection. Among them, the most prominent is the Law on Environmental Protection 2020 with a breakthrough way of thinking and approach. The ministry closely managed and reasonably ultilised natural resources and surveyed mineral resources and evaluated geographical value. The ministry also sought to promote advantages of coastal cities and provinces and further enhance their value, making up 60 percent of the country’s GDP. Especially in 2020, with difficulties in collecting budget to the state coffer, revenue from land still reached 133% and property, 112% of the plan. Water resource was sustainably managed, ensuring safety and security to meet multiple targets; improving the water pollution situation in major rivers. Besides, the ministry also perfected and renewed policies and laws on environmental protection, shifting the focus from passive response to proactive prevention of pollution risks from the investment stage, closely monitoring large sources of waste. Officials actively proposed initiatives on responding to climate change and promoting the systematic implementation with a strategic vision; modernising and improving quality of hydrometeorological forecasting so that ministries, branches and localities can take initiative in production and business plans, and ease damage caused by natural disasters. The salinity and drought impacts recorded in the 2019 – 2020 period was 2-2.5 times that in 2016 but the damage was reduced by 9.6%. In addition, the sector also contributed to minimising damage to the economy by improving the hydro-meteorological forecasting; raising people's awareness of environmental protection in general and especially reducing plastic waste.

Hurdles ahead

Even though the ministry achieved outstanding results, it also admitted some existing drawbacks and challenges in managing natural resources and environment in the 2016-2020 period. The number of complaints about land decreased sharply, but there were still complicated cases lingering for years; in some places, the land was allocated or leased to projects who were to put the land into use, or speculated; the decline and degradation of natural resources due to drought, saltwater intrusion, flooding, erosion... Vietnam's water resources in both quantity and quality were facing worsening threats; water in some sections of large river basins, urban areas, and residential areas as well as craft villages still polluted; and the air quality in big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City not improved in the short term. Solid waste remained a big problem putting pressure on the environment; the rate of domestic waste being reused and recycled was still low; the classification of waste at source not widely implemented among people; and the amount of untreated domestic wastewater discharged into the rivers still high. To solve the existing challenges, the representative of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment said that in the coming time, the industry will concertedly develop guidelines, policies, laws, strategies and plans to manage and use resources effectively and save resources for development; harmonise economic development and environmental protection; proactively respond to climate change; and create fundamental changes in management, environmental protection actions, thus promoting a circular economy./.