Decision No. 90/QD-TTg dated January 12, 2016 of the Prime Minister approving the master plan for national natural resources and environment monitoring network for 2016-2026, with a vision to 2030

DECISION

Approving the master plan on the national network of natural resources and environmental monitoring during 2016-2025, with a vision toward 2030[1]

THE PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the June 19, 2015 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the November 17, 2010 Law on Mineral;

Pursuant to the June 21, 2012 Law on Water Resources;

Pursuant to the November 29, 2013 Law on Land;

Pursuant to the June 23, 2014 Law on Environmental Protection;

Pursuant to the June 25, 2015 Law on Marine and Island Resources and Environment;

Pursuant to the December 2, 1994 Ordinance on Utilization and Protection of Hydro-meteorological Works;

At the proposal of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment,

DECIDES:

Article 1. To approve the master plan on the national network of natural resources and environmental monitoring during 2016-2025, with a vision toward 2030 (below referred to as the master plan), with the following principal contents:

I. VIEWPOINTS

1. The national network of natural resources and environmental monitoring under the master plan must ensure full integration of fields, inherit and make use of existing technical and physical foundations and monitoring staffs, of which hydro-meteorological monitoring networks are the core.

2. The national network of natural resources and environmental monitoring must be synchronous, advanced, modern and comprehensive. To speed up modernization of monitoring and information-analyzing, -transmitting and -processing technologies and equipment toward digitalization and automation on the basis of application of domestic information technologies and acquisition of foreign advanced technologies.

3. The national network of natural resources and environmental monitoring is an open one which will be constantly supplemented, upgraded and improved and connected for information sharing between central and local levels under the unified management by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

4. To step by step train, and improve the quality of, human resources for the management and operation of the advanced and modern network of natural resources and environmental monitoring in order to properly provide data and information from baseline surveys of natural resources and environment, effectively serving management tasks of the natural resources and environment sector.

5. New construction investment will be made in a concentrated and focused manner and with priorities matching socio-economic conditions in each period. In the immediate future, construction investment will be made largely with state budget funds (central and local budgets). In the following stages, other lawful financial sources will be mobilized through socializing a number of monitoring activities.

II. OBJECTIVES  

1. General objectives

To build a reasonable, uniform, synchronous and modern national network of natural resources and environmental monitoring reaching the top level in Southeast Asia and the advanced level in Asia; meeting the demand for baseline survey information for the state management of water, land, marine and island resources, hydro-meteorology, environmental protection and socio-economic development; and serving the natural disaster forecast, warning, prevention and combat, mitigation of damage caused by natural disasters and environmental pollution, and response to climate change.

2. Specific objectives

a/ For the 2016 - 2020 period:

- To upgrade and modernize existing natural resources and environmental monitoring stations and put into operation at least half of new monitoring stations and points, focusing on localities and monitored factors with urgent requirements for natural disaster forecast, warning, prevention and combat and environmental protection, including:

+ 1,035 monitoring stations: 671 existing stations (including 48 upgraded stations) and 364 new ones;

+ 4,951 monitoring points: 1,877 existing points (including 449 upgraded points) and 3,074 new ones;

+ 1,146 monitoring works: 735 existing works and 411 new ones;

- To raise information-transmitting capacity of natural resources and environmental monitoring stations and data processing and management centers; to build, manage and effectively exploit a natural resources and environmental monitoring database; to upgrade and modernize natural resources and environmental data processing and management centers and laboratories serving the monitoring networks.

b/ For  the 2021 - 2025 period:

- To complete and put into operation new monitoring stations, points and apply new monitored factors under the master plan, making the country’s network of natural resources and environmental monitoring a top one in Southeast Asia and an advanced one in Asia. This network will consist of:

+ 1,312 monitoring stations: 1,035 existing stations (including 52 upgraded stations) and 277 new ones;

+ 5,847 monitoring points: 4,951 existing points (including 33 upgraded points) and 896 new ones;

+ 1,557 monitoring works: 1,146 existing works and 411 new ones;

- To complete the upgrading of laboratories and modernization of data processing centers and the natural resources and environmental database to ensure consistent, systematic and highly reliable information.

c/ Vision toward 2030:

Vietnam will have a modern network of natural resources and environmental monitoring reaching the top level in Southeast Asia and integrating with those in the region and the world, consisting of:

- 1,545 monitoring stations: 1,312 existing stations (including 59 upgraded stations) and 233 new ones;

- 6,347 monitoring points: 5,847 existing points (including 23 upgraded points) and 500 new ones;

- 1,557 monitoring works.

III. SCOPE OF THE MASTER PLAN

1. The master plan is confined to a monitoring network that operates in a relatively stable and long-term manner and can be used for various fields of hydro-meteorology, water resources, environment, sea and islands, remote sensing, satellite global positioning and geodynamic monitoring. Specialized monitoring stations such as land resources monitoring and land and rock slide monitoring shall be supplemented under separate projects.

2. This master plan does not embrace specialized stations exclusively serving specific needs of ministries, sectors, localities and enterprises.

IV. BASIC COMPONENTS OF MONITORING NETWORKS

1. Hydro-meteorological monitoring network:

- The surface meteorological monitoring network will be built on the basis of maintaining, upgrading and modernizing 194 surface meteorological stations, 14 radiation stations and 29 agro-meteorological stations. To build new stations so that by 2030 the whole network will have 454 surface meteorological stations, 18 radiation stations, 34 climate change monitoring stations, 2 global meteorological stations and 79 agro-meteorological stations;

- The independent precipitation measurement points network shall be built on the basis of maintaining and automating 755 existing points and building new ones, bringing the total number of points to 4,304 by 2030;

- The aero-meteorological monitoring station network will be built on the basis of maintaining and upgrading 24 stations: 7 weather radar stations, 6 radiosonde stations, 8 pilot stations and 3 ozone-ultraviolet radiation stations. To build new stations, bringing the total number of monitoring stations to 76 by 2030, including 21 weather radar stations, 11 radiosonde stations, 8 pilot stations, 4 ozone-ultraviolet radiation station, 18 lightning positioning stations and 14 wind speed measuring stations;

- The hydrological monitoring network will be built on the basis of maintaining, upgrading and modernizing 354 existing stations and building new ones, bringing the total number of monitoring stations to 640 by 2030;

- The marine hydrological monitoring network will be built on the basis of maintaining, upgrading and modernizing 23 existing stations and building new ones, bringing the total number of monitoring stations to 77 by 2030;

- Air and water environment monitoring networks, which have been integrated into hydro-meteorological stations, will be built on the basis of maintaining, upgrading and modernizing 27 air environment monitoring stations (one station already integrated into Hanoi hydrological station), 56 river and lake water environment monitoring stations, 6 sea water environment monitoring stations and 91 salinity measurement points. To build new stations and points so that the country will have 32 air environment monitoring stations, 88 river and lake water environment monitoring stations, 17 sea water environment monitoring stations and 163 salinity measurement points by 2030;

Monitored factors and frequency of monitoring at each station or point shall be detailed in technical standards, regulations and rules.

A list of hydro-meteorological monitoring stations and points is provided in Appendix I to this Decision.

2. Water resources monitoring network:

- By 2030, the surface water resources monitoring network will have separate 56 stations and 113 stations integrated into hydrological stations;

- By 2030, the groundwater resources and environment monitoring network will have 71 stations, 778 points and 1,557 works;

A list of water resources monitoring stations, points and works is provided in Appendix II to this Decision.

3. Environmental monitoring network

- Environmental monitoring stations to be integrated into the hydro-meteorological monitoring network and the water resources monitoring network:

+ 32 air environment monitoring stations (including 10 automatic ones) will be integrated into the meteorological monitoring network, 85 surface water environment monitoring stations into the hydrological monitoring network, and 17 sea water environment monitoring points into the marine hydrological monitoring network;

+ 778 groundwater environment monitoring points will be integrated into the groundwater resources and environment monitoring network.

- Independent environmental monitoring stations:

By 2030, the environmental monitoring network will consist of 12 national environmental monitoring stations, 46 automatic air environment monitoring points, 99 periodical air environment monitoring points, 45 automatic surface water environment monitoring points, 409 periodical surface water environment monitoring points, 47 estuary environment monitoring points, 54 coastal sea water environment monitoring points, 23 acid deposition monitoring points, 248 land environment monitoring points, 44 biodiversity monitoring points and 10 lake water environment monitoring points.

A list of environmental monitoring stations and points is provided in Appendix III to this Decision.

4. Marine resources and environment monitoring network:

By 2030, the marine resources and environment monitoring network will have 32 integrated natural resources and environment monitoring stations, 25 marine radar stations, and 35 marine buoy stations. Monitored factors and monitoring regime shall be detailed in technical regulations.

A list of marine resources and environmental monitoring stations is provided in Appendix IV to this Decision.

5. Satellite positioning and geodynamic monitoring network:

By 2030, the satellite positioning and geodynamic monitoring network will have 65 satellite positioning stations and 73 geodynamic monitoring stations.

A list of satellite positioning stations and geodynamic monitoring stations and points is provided in Appendix V to this Decision.

6. Remote sensing network:

To upgrade existing remote sensing stations in Hanoi and build one satellite imaging station in Ho Chi Minh City. By 2030, 2 satellite imaging stations will be built, and stations receiving data from satellites such as SPORT 6/7, LANDSAT (the United States) and SENTINEL satellites (EU) will be upgraded.

A list of remote sensing stations is provided in Appendix VI to this Decision.

7. Toxic mineral mines monitoring network:

By 2030, the toxic mineral mines monitoring network will have 39 monitoring stations at radioactive mineral mines or radioactive-containing mines and one central monitoring station located in Hanoi (regional station).

A list of toxic mineral mines monitoring stations and points is provided in Appendix VII to this Decision.

8. Laboratories:

By 2030, Vietnam will have 10 laboratories serving natural resources and environmental monitoring tasks.

A list of laboratories is provided in Appendix VIII to this Decision.

V. ORGANIZATION OF THE MASTER PLAN IMPLEMENTATION

1. Major solutions

a/ To improve policies and laws and strengthen the organizational apparatus:

- Formulating and promulgating legal documents, processes and norms and technical-economic norms related to the collection, processing, management and provision of natural resources and environmental information and data for application nationwide. Supplementing and amending technical standards and regulations and monitoring indicators in a synchronous manner to meet requirements of the natural resources and environment sector;

- Building and perfecting the organizational structure and administration apparatus; organizing training for and supplementation of monitoring staffs and technicians who meet requirements of the natural resources and environmental monitoring network. Strengthening the organizational apparatus and payroll and refining functions and duties of the units within the natural resources and environmental monitoring network;

- Developing mechanisms, policies and legal documents on socialization of monitoring activities; reviewing and supplementing preferential treatment policies for natural resources and environment baseline surveyors, especially monitoring staff working in remote and border areas and on islands;

- Developing occupational criteria for natural resources and environmental monitoring staff.

b/ To build physical facilities and renovate monitoring technologies:

- Building, repairing, renovating and upgrading monitoring stations, giving priority to key economic regions, areas where natural resources and environment monitoring stations are still insufficient or incompatible, and stations belonging to the natural disaster forecasting and warning network;

- Investing in modern technical and physical foundations, equipment and technologies for monitoring activities, transmission, processing, management and provision of natural resources and environmental information and data;

- Investing in physical facilities for laboratories, natural resources and environment analysis centers and training schools for natural resources and environmental monitoring staffs;

Being a breakthrough step, renovation of monitoring technologies and information and data transmission, processing, management and provision technologies should be implemented with focuses and priorities in association with training and change of preferential treatment policies for monitoring staffs.

c/ To study and apply scientific and technological achievements and train human resources:

- Further studying and applying scientific and technological achievements, especially technologies of monitoring, transmission, processing, management and provision of natural resources and environmental information and data; studying and manufacturing automatic monitoring equipment suitable to local natural and socio-economic conditions;

- Studying and renewing training programs for natural resources and environmental monitoring staffs in a selective manner, ensuring that trained staffs will be able to perform multiple monitoring tasks and some of them will become technicians;

- Intensifying retraining to raise professional skills of existing monitoring technicians and staffs, attaching importance to improving practical skills of monitoring staffs, meeting operational requirements of each monitoring station or point and the entire network.

d/ To expand international cooperation:

To develop bilateral and multilateral international cooperation to take fullest use of international assistance in finance, technology, training, information and experience in natural resources and environmental monitoring.

dd/ To increase and diversify funding sources for investment:

To diversify funding sources for investment in the natural resources and environmental monitoring network, in which central and local budget sources play a key role. To mobilize to the utmost funds from international organizations, non-governmental organizations, projects and enterprises to upgrade and build the monitoring network.

2. Resources for the master plan implementation

a/ Human resources:

To focus on development of managerial and technical staffs with good qualities and high professional qualifications and skills who are able to operate the national network of natural resources and environmental monitoring under the master plan, meeting requirements of the new period of national development; to prioritize training and retraining in order to raise the quality of human resources. The total number of managerial and operational staff for the network of natural resources and environmental monitoring by 2020, 2025 and 2030 is expected to be 2,400, 2,700 and 3,000, respectively.

b/ Development investment funds:

Development investment funds in the three stages above shall be estimated in investment projects.

c/ Funds for regular activities:

To maintain operation of the national network of natural resources and environmental monitoring basically meeting requirements of state management of natural resources and environment according to the master plan through 2030. Economic-technical norms will be gradually developed for preparing annual funding plans.

3. Assignments for the master plan implementation

a/ The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall:

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance and related ministries and sectors and provincial-level People’s Committees in, making detailed plans for the master plan implementation;

- Organize the building and operation of natural resources and environmental monitoring stations under its management;

- Formulate and submit for promulgation or promulgate according to its competence legal documents, processes and norms, economic-technical norms, professional instructions on monitoring, transmission, processing, management and provision of natural resources and environmental information and data for application nationwide; unify the monitoring database; manage, integrate and provide natural resources and environmental monitoring information;

- Take the initiative in integrating and closely coordinating baseline surveys of natural resources and environment with monitoring activities in order to increase efficiency and save investment costs;

- Provide natural resources and environmental information and data for ministries, sectors, localities and units on their demands and publicize such information and data for raising public knowledge and education and communication purposes;

- Assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with related agencies in, inspecting, examining and periodically reviewing and evaluating to draw experience from the implementation of the master plan;

- Annually report on the implementation of this master plan to the Prime Minister.

b/ The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall base itself on this master plan and written proposals of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, other ministries, sectors and localities propose to the Prime Minister for approval development investment funding sources for the construction of natural resources and environmental monitoring networks according to approved medium-term and annual plans.

c/ The Ministry of Finance shall base itself on this master plan and written proposals of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, other ministries, sectors and localities propose to the Prime Minister for approval non-business funding sources for procurement of equipment and operation of natural resources and environmental monitoring networks according to approved plans;

d/ Related ministries and sectors shall:

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in unifying and improving technical standards and regulations on monitoring and modes of exchange of natural resources and environmental monitoring information and data applicable to monitoring stations and points under their management;

- Organize natural resources and environmental monitoring under this master plan under their management and send natural resources and environmental information and data to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

dd/ Provincial-level People’s Committees shall:

- Coordinate with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in building and developing the national network of natural resources and environmental monitoring;

- Based on the national network of natural resources and environmental monitoring, direct the construction of local networks of natural resources and environmental monitoring in accordance with this master plan;

- Report on natural resources and environmental monitoring results from locally managed and operated monitoring stations and points to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect on the date of its signing, and replaces the Prime Minister’s Decision No.16/2007/QD-TTg of January 29, 2007, approving the master plan on the national network of natural resource and environmental monitoring through 2020.

Article 3. The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment shall guide and organize the implementation of the master plan.

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies and chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees shall implement this Decision.-

Prime Minister
NGUYEN TAN DUNG

* All appendices to this Decision are not translated into English