Water

Country Water Action: Viet Nam
Sharing Water in Viet Nam
(October 2004)

Viet Nam has undergone a major reform and renovation of its economy in the past 20 years - from a centrally planned command economy to a "market economy with socialist direction. " The country's new economic development strategies and plans aim:

"To bring Viet Nam out of underdevelopment, and improve noticeably the people's material and spiritual life, to lay the foundations for making ours basically a modern-oriented industrialized country by 2020", and

"To achieve a rapid and sustainable economic growth … To multiply job opportunities; eradicate basically hunger, reduce the number of poor households; … stabilise and improve the people's well-being. To continue enhancing the socio-economic infrastructures; take a major step in establishing the institution of a socialist-oriented market economy."

The specific goals for economic growth and poverty reduction goals set by the Government are challenging. For example, it aims to double the nation's GDP between 2000 and 2010, and to reduce by 75% the number of people living under the international food poverty line by 2010.

Although the National Government has a strong economic development focus for the future, it also sees that this must go hand in hand with environmental protection and enhancement. The Government believes that the "environmental protection … is an indispensable part of socio-economic development policies and plans at all levels of authorities and sectors, and an important basis to ensure sustainable development and industrialisation and modernisation of the country to be successfully achieved."

At the highest policy level, therefore, the Government of Viet Nam recognises that water is essential for life - for human consumption, health and sanitation, and to support agricultural and fisheries production and many industrial activities. Water provides a key source of energy and an important means of transportation. Adequate water is also essential to ensure healthy rivers, lakes, wetlands and aquifers, on which the entire community depends for its future.

The Law on Water Resources also recognises the special importance of water for all people - "water for living", for the basic human needs of drinking, eating and sanitation. In times of shortages, "water for living" has the first priority. There are also measures requiring of the protection the quality of water resources.

Careful sharing of water is therefore needed. The way in which water is shared and the rights which this will establish, including for "water for living" and for the environment, will determine how well national goals for socio-economic development, poverty reduction and environmental protection are met.

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Viet Nam's rainfall and runoff are highly uneven. While average annual rainfall is about 2000 millimetres, more than 70 percent in most areas comes in a 3 or 4 month rainy season. During the dry season the runoff of some rivers may be a small fraction of total yearly runoff.

About two thirds of Viet Nam's water originates from catchments in neighbouring countries. Despite the total abundant water resources overall, the dependency on upstream countries and the uneven distribution have made Viet Nam's ranking low in Southeast Asia's water availability per capita (4,170 m3/person compared to the average of 4,900 m3/person in Southeast Asia and 3,300 m3/person in Asia).

About 3,600 dams and reservoirs in Viet Nam now control the natural flow of rivers - around 15% are assessed as large or medium. They have been constructed for multiple purposes - flood control, irrigation, hydropower and water supply.

The availability of groundwater varies across the country, with some regions having access to abundant supplies. Although less than 5% of the total groundwater reserves are extracted, in some areas excessive and concentrated water extraction is causing problems of falling water tables - leading to land subsidence and salinity intrusion.

In Viet Nam, irrigation makes the largest demand on water resources. Of the direct water abstraction from groundwater and rivers nearly 84% are for agricultural purposes. Total irrigation demand is projected to increase by about 15% by 2010.

Supply of clean drinking water to households is now provided to 60 percent of Viet Nam's population. In addition, sectors such as fisheries (including aquaculture), industries, hydropower, services and transport also make demands on the country's water resources. Industry currently comprises about 6.5% of the extracted water, but the demand is ever increasing with the rapid economic development of Viet Nam.

Water is also essential for the maintenance of the natural environment and for human needs. The freshwaters of Viet Nam are typically rich in flora and fauna biodiversity including species of fish, shrimp, crab, snail, mussels, amphibians, insects and plants. In different fresh water systems, there are about totally 20 species of freshwater weeds; 1402 species of algae; 782 of invertebrates; 544 of fish species and 52 species of crabs.

Water resources commonly have a high level of cultural or personal significance for all communities, particularly those outside of cities and towns. The importance of natural water sources to the Viet Nam people in rural areas is particularly high, as they frequently provide the focus for economic, social and cultural activities. These are often the poor and people affected by poverty.

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In many areas, the demands on Viet Nam's water resources have reached such a level that during the long dry months there is growing conflict between the various human uses. Also, the water requirements to maintain sustainable ecosystems have not yet been taken into account.

Formal arrangements for sharing water in Viet Nam are currently being developed. The Law on Water Resources provides for priority for "water for living" and for a licensing system, but this has not yet been implemented. The Law also recognises the rights of people to take and use surface water and underground water, without a license, for small scale family use in living, including for agriculture, forestry production, aquaculture, small industry and handicraft production and other purposes.

There are two implications from not having a formal licensing system. Firstly, water can currently be extracted with little overall constraint, providing no protection for "water for living," nor for the integrity and health of the different water sources - rivers, aquifers, lakes, wetlands etc. - on which the people of Viet Nam and so many other productive businesses depend.

Secondly, the lack of a sound licensing system provides a poor basis for business investment. Viet Nam is currently encouraging new industries and agricultural developments, and is increasingly seeking greater levels of involvement by private sector companies in the water sector. However, these developments are taking place without any clear understanding of what the rights are in terms of long-term access to water, which could eventually lead to decreased or inefficient investments.

This will also be important in relation to resolving competition for water. With greater levels of economic activity depending on access to a reliable water supply, competition for and conflicts over water in the dry times will only increase. Defining the shares in the dry season flows (including those for the environment and those for "water for living", which have highest priority), ensuring that the the poor are not marginalized in favor of the new economic investments, and then distributing those shares among competing users will be critical for establishing a sound basis for economic investment.

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The overall framework for sharing water will be established under the National Water Resources Strategy, currently being prepared. Viet Nam has already hosted various workshops on water rights approaches and is consulting with a various stakeholders on what approach will be taken in implementing water rights solutions in the country.

It is important that the sharing of water uses occurs in a two-stage process (see diagram). The first critical decision is the sharing of water between the environment and other users. The second, and subsequent levels, involve sharing water between these other users.

The provision of water to sustain the health of water systems (environmental water) is critical. However, in developing countries like Viet Nam, this factor is often not considered during the initial development phase.

If this share is not properly established, the rivers or aquifers on which the social and economic development of Viet Nam depends will be under increasing threat. For example, if an aquifer is destroyed through over-extraction or pollution, then the people who depend on that aquifer for living water or for their livelihood will have to find other water sources or put in costly treatment facilities. This can have a devastating effect on local communities, particularly the poor who so often rely on natural systems for their water and livelihoods.

The environmental share must be provided by agreed policy decisions affecting how dams and infrastructure on rivers are operated, and how water extraction is administered within rivers and aquifers. Viet Nam has recognised that this process is best determined on a river basin or aquifer basis.

River basin planning will be an important aspect of future water management under the National Water Resources Strategy. Resolution of competing interests for, or conflicts over, access to water is best addressed on a river basin basis. Only at that level can the competing interests of the environment, water for living, towns, irrigation, industry, power generation, etc be assessed in terms of the highly variable natural flow regimes of each river source. The river basin plans will also include measures to protect the vital "water for living" requirements.

To give effect to this, the Government is considering more effective arrangements to establish and implement river basin management.

Once the sharing arrangements are established, then the licensing system will be the means to give effect to the shares - providing businesses and communities with the definition of their rights to access water and the conditions under which this can occur. The Government is currently establishing the details of its licensing system, again in consultation with stakeholders and development partners.

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Establishing clear rights to access water is a fundamental task for all countries. However, it is a very complex issue and will often have to be undertaken with little factual information about the current demands for water for all purposes - including the environment and "water for living". Therefore, Viet Nam will need to undertake this in an iterative way, making decision on the best information possible, building in review provisions as the information base improves.

However, the most important thing is to start the process. Water sharing and establishing clear rights to access water is critical to the socio-economic development of the country and to the maintenance of basic human rights and poverty reduction.