Regions and Countries

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p. 4 of 20 BACK | NEXT I. Country Performance Assessment A. Economic Performance Assessment B. Poverty Assessment C. Assessment of Socio-Environmental Performance D. Governance: Sound Development Management E. Implementation Assessment II. Country Operational Strategy III. Sector Strategies IV. Regional Cooperation V. Donor Activities and Aid Coordination VI. Cofinancing and Catalyzing External Resources VII. ADB’s Operational Program VIII. Economic and Sector Work Program IX. Local Cost Financing

Country Assistance Plans - Viet Nam : I. Country Performance Assessment

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C. Assessment of Socio-Environmental Performance

1. Gender Issues

14. The relative status of women and men in Viet Nam is more balanced than in other comparable countries. Female literacy and labor force participation are comparable to male rates, and contraception is generally available and promoted, as evidenced by rapidly declining fertility rates in recent years. Women enjoy substantial equality under the law, even though access to land is in practice more difficult. Main areas of disadvantage for women include earnings levels equivalent on average to 70 percent of male counterparts; higher number of hours worked when household chores are accounted for; and some erosion in status and economic opportunity due to the uneven impact of the transition to a market economy. The Government approved in October 1997 a National Plan of Action for the Progress of Women, which emphasizes improved education and employment opportunities, preventive health and nutrition, and increased participation in decision-making at the social, political and economic level. Further progress in addressing gender disparities will come from systematically ensuring equality of access and opportunities, rather than from intensive focus on specific areas or issues.

2. Human Development

15. Viet Nam has an impressive record of providing widespread access to basic social services. Almost universal primary school enrollment and an infant mortality rate of around 40 in a country with such low incomes are a testimony to effective human development policies. Viet Nam has established a comprehensive network of educational institutions throughout the country, most notably including a primary education facility in every commune. However, these achievements are under threat with the recent deterioration in indicators of both the quantity and quality of education. Access to education is marked by substantial inequality. Only 19 percent of children from the poorest 20 percent of households enroll in lower secondary school as compared to 56 percent of children from the richest 20 percent of households, and the education status of people from ethnic minorities is particularly poor. These gaps widen further at upper secondary and higher levels. Public spending on education is biased towards the non-poor: the poorest quintile benefits from only 11 percent of all education subsidies, while the richest quintile captures 38 percent. The education system also needs to respond to the changing structure of the economy. The authorities have been taking strict action against the use of children (less than 15 years in age) in the labor force. Employers are prohibited from using underage workers, particularly in some industries involving dangerous and hazardous conditions.

16. Viet Nam has shown remarkable progress in certain aspects of health, such as infant mortality, life expectancy and maternal mortality. A recent survey shows that fertility rates have fallen by about 30 percent in the last five years, a very significant rate of decline by any standards. The availability of communal health centers and hospital beds is much higher than in most other countries in the region. However, several problems still remain. The deteriorating quality of care in government hospitals due to the lack of trained and motivated staff is a cause for concern. There are wide disparities in health indicators across regions and between urban and rural areas, reflecting in part differences in the quality of health services. Infant mortality in rural areas and mountainous regions inhabited by ethnic minorities is significantly higher than the national average. Most public spending goes to hospitals, which are less likely to be used by the poor. Overall, the poorest 20 percent of the population receives only 11 percent of all health subsidies, while the richest quintile captures nearly 30 percent. Most significantly, the nutritional status of children and women in Viet Nam is among the poorest in the region. General undernutrition, indicated by growth retardation, affects more than 39 per cent of all children under five, and approximately 40 percent of all non-pregnant mothers of children under five are found to be chronically energy deficient.

17. There are some 50 ethnic minorities in Viet Nam, some with fewer than 200 members, for a total of approximately 10 million people, or 13 percent of the population. They tend to live in more remote highland areas, and some of them have migratory residential patterns, linked to shifting cultivation. Remoteness often translates in more difficult access to education, health services, markets and economic opportunity, leading to higher concentration of poverty and poorer social indicators among these groups, including malnutrition. A Committee for Ethnic Minorities and Mountainous Areas has been created to address their specific concerns. The HEPR program includes a permanent settlement component, aimed at facilitating delivery of social and economic services and basic infrastructure by concentrating dispersed population in target communes. The impact of this program on ethnic minorities needs careful assessment.

3. Environment

18. Viet Nam is endowed with abundant natural resources. Land, water, fossil fuels, forests, rich biodiversity, and a long and diverse coastline have all supported significant growth rates and an expanding population, which has reached 76.3 million in 1999. Due to limitations in technology and institutional framework, however, natural resources have often been exploited in an unsustainable manner and, as a result, environmental pressures have increased. With less than one-third of its 33 million hectares of land classified as arable, Viet Nam has managed to reach food self-sufficiency through intensive cultivation and irrigation (agriculture accounts for 90 percent of water use). With increasing industrialization and urbanization, it can be expected that competition for water resources will increase, necessitating a comprehensive framework for water allocation. The foundation for this approach has been laid with the Water Resources Law of May 1998. Additional measures needed include empowerment of the National Water Resources Council; river basin level planning; allocation of water use licenses and wastewater discharge permits; and monitoring of water quality and of the safety of hydraulic works.

19. Seasonal availability of water varies widely, particularly in the Central Region, which has been affected for many years by cycles of drought and flooding. While linked to climatic phenomena, irregular water availability patterns have been exacerbated by significant deforestation of the upper watersheds. Nearly one half of Viet Nam’s forestland is classified as “bare” (covered with shrubs and grasses), and loss of natural forest cover averaged about 190,000 hectares per year during 1976-1990. Loss of forest cover due to migration and encroachment for agriculture, fuelwood collection, logging, fires, infrastructure development, and the 1961-75 war has caused deterioration of water quality, loss of top soil, siltation of reservoirs and canals, loss of biodiversity, and flooding. In recent years, logging by State-owned forestry enterprises has been reduced, while two programs, the 1993 “Re-greening the Barren Hills (327) Program” and the 1998 “Five Million Hectares Program” have slowed down the phenomenon, largely through an increase in planted forests. Protected areas were also increased in number and size in 1997, and management plans and management boards established for a number of national parks.

20. Viet Nam has 29 coastal provinces (out of a total of 61 provinces) with 3,200 km of coastline. While more than 50 percent of protein intake comes from fish, productive marine and coastal natural resources are declining. Mangrove deforestation, destruction of wetlands, species extinction, declining biodiversity, urban and industrial pollution, and overexploitation of inshore and nearshore fisheries threaten the livelihood of the more than 20 million people living along the coastline. Many of the coastal inhabitants (and particularly fishing communities) are among the poorest income strata in Viet Nam, and depend on sustainable coastal resource management for maintenance and improvement of their living conditions. There is an urgent need to improve the current policy, legal, and institutional framework related to coastal resources management, including resource use zoning, integrated area-wide planning, enforcement of existing laws against destructive fishing methods, and development and implementation of the policy framework for marine protected areas.

21. While the majority of Viet Nam’s population lives in rural areas, the urban population has been growing, and straining the capacity to provide adequate water supply and sanitation, and disposal of solid, industrial and hazardous waste. Some of the heavy industries are using outdated technology with significant negative environmental impacts, and effluents are not properly treated. For these reasons, remedial and preventive action is needed to address the environmental side-effects which can be expected as a result of increasing urbanization and industrialization in the coming decades. (Appendix 1, page 2, shows social and environmental indicators for Viet Nam).

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