Viet nam forum environmental journalists

A mining site in Quy Hop district, Nghe An province.

“Vietnam’s economic growth has greatly benefited the whole of society. But, it has also deteriorated the environment and degraded the natural resources. This has posed high risks to the country’s sustainable development,” Nguyen said at the recent Plenum Meeting 2010 of the International Support Group for Natural Resources and Environment.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoMRE) was determined to make plans to auction mining and exploration rights as well as commercialise information and data on natural resources to raise money for the government’s budget. It will make the country’s mineral investment environment more transparent, reduce corruption and boost administrative reform, said a MoNRE report.

“The country’s natural resources play an important part in economic growth, but so far the application-approval mechanism has failed to tap the huge potential,” Nguyen said. He said in many cases enterprises were given natural resources for exploitation after they had completed necessary investment procedures. Moreover, while the government poured money into studying and surveying most natural resources nationwide, data collected was given free of charge to enterprises.

“A land auction system, for example, can fetch VND30 trillion ($1.62 billion) for the government every year, instead of the current VND3-5 trillion ($162 million-$270.2 million). “The goal is also to increase the mineral exploitation sector’s contribution to the country’s budget from the existing 7 per cent to 30 per cent over the next 10 years,” Nguyen said.

In fact, auctioning and bidding for exploring and exploiting natural minerals have already prescribed in the government’s Decree 07/2009/ND-CP January 21, 2009. It replaces the Decree 160/2005/ND-CP dated December 27, 2005 on detailing and guiding the implementation of the Royalty Law and the law amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Royalty Law.

“However, Vietnam’s natural minerals are expected to be effectively used and managed thanks to the revised Mineral Law, which is now under discussion and will be approved at the eighth session of the 12th National Assembly, which will take place in May,” said MoNRE’s Deputy Minister Nguyen Van Duc.

According to the MoNRE, every year 7 per cent of Vietnam’s gross domestic product was contributed from natural resources exploitation, while it is 20-30 per cent in many countries rich in natural resources like Vietnam.

According to MoNRE’s Natural Resources and Environment Strategy and Policy Institute head Nguyen Van Tai, the commercialisation of natural resources meant enterprises would have to compete so that they could be successful in owning a mine.

“This is also a very effective way to select competent investors and for maximum exploitation of natural resources without waste,” Tai said.