On Nov. 30, the general department of Environment under the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources in cooperation with the Dong Nai River Commission and the provincial department of Environment and Natural Resources held a workshop on reinforcing communication on environmental protection for Dong Nai River basin.
In the period of 2011-2015, 100% of IPs have to build waste water treatment system.
The workshop was to offer and share relevant information on environmental protection for Dong Nai River basin. The Dong Nai River basin covering on an area of 37,400km2 with the total annual water volume of about 37 billion cubic meters. 12 provinces and cities involving in the basin comprise Dac Nong, Dac Lac, Lam Dong, Ninh Thuan, Binh Thuan, Dong Nai, Binh Phuoc, Binh Duong, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Long An, Tay Ninh, HCMC. The population of the 12 localities is up to 19.5 million people, of which population for urban areas accounts for 9.3 million people.
By the end of 2009, the 12 localities under the basin have as many as 103 industrial parks, covering on an area of more than 36,000ha. However, the area of tenancy is only at 8.700ha. The main waste resource in the basin is from industrial production, urban waste water, industrial waste water, hospital waste water. At present, Dong Nai River receives more than 4.5 million cubic meters of waste water from factories and households per day, of which more than 1.8million cubic meters are from plants in Dong Nai, Binh Duong, HCMC and Ba Ria – Vung Tau and over 2.7 million cubic meters from families.
The quality of surface water in the basin has been presently polluted. The pollution has appeared along sections of the river under the Southern key zone where focuses on many IPs and urban areas.
The quality of water in the basin has showed a rapid decrease, badly impacting on people’s life and socio-economic development in the localities. To minimize risks of environmental pollution in the basin, it is necessary to raise awareness and promulgation on the law on environmental protection.
At the workshop, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources hoped to receive delegates’ ideas, experiences on promulgation, mobilization and communication to raise people’s awareness on environmental protection in general and environmental protection in the basin in particular for the sake of socio-economic development in the localities.
Reported by T.Phuong – Translated by A.C
