ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA FOR NEW COUNTRYSIDE APPLIED IN MINH KHAI COMMUNE – HOAI DUC DISTRICT – HANOI

UNDERGRADUATE THESIS: ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA FOR NEW COUNTRYSIDE APPLIED IN MINH KHAI COMMUNE – HOAI DUC DISTRICT – HANOI  Supervisor: Ass.Prof. Nguyen Dinh HoeStudent: Hoang Thi Giang

UNDERGRADUATE THESIS

ASSESSMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRITERIA FOR NEW COUNTRYSIDE APPLIED IN MINH KHAI COMMUNE – HOAI DUC DISTRICT –

I INTRODUCTION

• In 2008, the Party has adopted the Resolution 26 on agriculture, farmers and countryside, piloting new models in 11 rural communes with the aim of testing methods, mechanisms and policies related to new countryside

• National Targeted Program on new rural construction

in the period 2010-2020

• Minh Khai commune has implemented the program from 2010

II OVERVIEW OF NEW RURAL COMMUNES AND THE NATIONAL TARGETED PROGRAM ON BUILDING NEW

COUNTRYSIDE

1 New countryside

• A rural commune is a third-level (commune-level) administrative subdivision of Vietnam Rural communes are subdivisions of counties, which are in turn subdivisions of provinces

• New Rural period 2010 - 2020 has differences from Rural:

- Economy is developed, material and spiritual lives of people are enhanced

- Rural areas are developed under planning

- People’s cultural standard is enhanced

- Security is good

- Quality of the political system is improved

2 The objectives of National Target Program on Building New Rural Communes

 To build a new countryside with gradually modern socio-economic infrastructure, rational economic structure and forms of production organization;

 To associate agriculture with quick development of industries and services, and rural with urban

development under planning

 To assure a democratic and stable rural community

 To protect the eco-environment and maintain

security

 To raise people’s material and spiritual lives

3 The criteria for New National Rural

• 19 criteria

• Environment

⁻ The percentage of households using clean water in

accordance with national standards

⁻ The production facilities reaching environmental

standards

⁻ No activities causing environmental degradation and

having activities to develop green, clean and beautiful

environment

⁻ Cemetery is constructed as planned

⁻ Waste, waste water is collected and handled as prescribed

III General socio – economic conditions of Minh Khai commune

1 Natural conditions 

• The total area of the commune is: 192.25 ha, of which

⁻ 114.03 ha of agricultural land, including 111.87 ha for annual crops land, 1.93 ha for perennial plantings, 1.92 ha for

aquaculture land Annual crop land including: 53.8 hectares of paddy land, 56.38 ha of others

⁻ Non-agricultural land is 78.22 ha, 38.3 ha of which for housing land, 31.61 hectares of exclusively used land, 0.83 hectares of land for beliefs, 0.97 ha of cemetery land, 6.16 ha of rivers land and water surface; other non-agricultural land is of 0.35 ha

⁻ The type of soil in the commune is the mixture of light rich soil and sandy soil which is suitable to cultivate fresh vegetable,

ornamental plants and fruit trees

Water resource

• Surface water sources: ponds

• The groundwater resources are plentiful, with over 8 meters in depth Groundwater quality is generally pretty good but has high content of iron

• Construction and small scale – industries have thrived

• The handicraft products include: candy and

biscuit, cassava, sorghum, dried noodles and some others

• This sector attracts the most proportion of

workers

• Production facilities locate are small-scale and locate in the neighborhood

• The value of production in 2010 reached 36.0 billion, accounting for 18.1% of the total

production value of the whole commune.

• In 2010 the commune had 550 employees

participating in trading, accounting for 18.33%

of the entire labor force.

• This sector has not been commesurate with the potential

3 Social status

• Total population of the commune is: 5642 persons, 1355

households, an avarage of 4.2 persons/household

+ Population growth rate: 2%

+ The rate of natural increase: 1,89%

+ Mechanic growth rate: 0,11%

• 99.5% of population is “Kinh“ and 0.5% is other ethnic groups

• Labor: 3208 workers, accounting for 56.8% of the population Agricultural workers accounts for 463 people (15.8%)

Commercial services account for the lower 462 people

(14.2%) Industry - Handicraft Industry – Construction

combined account for a high proportion of 2123 people (70%)

General assessment of the socio – economic – natural conditions and

environment related to the construction of new countryside

Advantages

• Locating near the capital Hanoi brings to the commune

number of advantages, especially on trade exchange

• Alluvial source from Day river

• The economy has been shifting in the right direction,

increasing the proportion of industry and services, and

reducing the proportion of agriculture

• Culture, health, education are gradually invested in

facilities, equipment, people which to ensure responsive and better serve the needs of the people and the development of the commune

• The commune’s labourers have skills and experinces from

years of working

• Under the effect of industrialization and urbanization;

less people interests in agriculture leading to poor

investment in technology, capital, and infrastructure

• Socio – Economic infrastructures have not met the

requirements of the new development in the context of industrialization, urbanization taking place at high speed.

• The complexity of international markets and the global economic downturn has caused a negative impact on the process of commune’s socio – economic development.

• The policies applied in the commune are not

synchronized

IV Research method

Use the research methodology to evaluate the

performance  of  five  environmental  criteria  of  New  Countryside programs in Minh Khai commune 

Research’s questions 

• From the beginning of the new countryside

program, which criteria has the commune done?

• What ways and measures the commune has been

used to achieve these criteria?

• For those criteria that are not achieved, what is the reasons? What are the difficulties and challenges in the implementation process?

1 Methods of collecting data

i Collecting secondary data

Data are collected from the articles, reports and

statistics from the commune

ii Interview

The interview’s subjects: the producers; households not involved in the production

iii Survey, direct observation

Direct observation in the study area is in order to

verify and detect additional environmental problems

2 Method of document analysis:

•Based on data collected to analyze and synthesize to make charts, diagrams and answer the questions of the research

•It is needed to be careful when select the information to use in building accurate theoretical points of the research

The production facilities

Not Achieved Not Achieved

Having a planned cemetery Not Achieved Not Achieved

Waste and waste water are

collected and handled Not Achieved(Just collect solid waste) Not Achieved (no waste treatment area)

clean water” 

Rain water and water from drilled wells are  main water resources for daily activities 

• Water from drilled wells is used for activities such as: washing or production after being filtered through a filter tank to eliminate iron content before using

• Rainwater is used for cooking

2 Criterion “The production facilities

reaching environmental standards”

• 800 households engaged in manufacturing

• Most of the production facilities are small

scale; production facilities located in the

residential area

• The laborers are not trained about labor

safety and food safety

• People pays attention on profit more than on the food hygiene

• The commune has no professors on food

safety

3 Criterion “No activities causing environmental degradation and having activities to keep green – clean – beautiful environment”

i From agriculture

• Flowering requires a lot of chemicals

• Number of farmers renting their land to

flowersares from other communes (Tay Tuu commune) increases

According to the statistics show that from 2001

to 2011, the area of cultivation of other annual crops (including floriculture) increased 16:38 ha

• Old technology

• Economic benefits

4 Criterion “The cemetery area was built as planned”

• A 0.97 hectares cemetery

• Having a watchman and communal rules

• Having a plan to rearrange the cemetery

• It’s still on planning

5 Criterion “Waste and wastewater is collected and processed”

• Collection teams to collect waste regularly

• Sewer system has been concreted but not

completed

• Overload in high season of production

• No treatment area for waste and wastewater

• It is difficult to see changes or improvements in environmental isues in

Minh Khai; for example from 2012 to 2013, this commune only achieved one environmental criterion of clean water supply Meanwhile,

environmental problems in the commune have been being worse The

increase of dimension of production facilities leading to the increase in the volume of wastewater and wastewater discharged into the environment In high season, the pollution situation becomes more serious

• Local authorities have take many measurements to improve the situation such as propagating to raise awareness of people on environmental

protection through the social media networks, renting Thanh Cong

cooperative to clean roads and ensure the hygiene of living areas Because

of the lack of specialist on food safety and sanitation and environmental issues, the supervisions on implementing environmental criteria is limited leading to the degradating of environment

Recommandations

Recommendations on policy

 The city and district governments should support

mechanisms and funds to build social utility such as

roads, shools, and water supply system

 Setting up organizations to supervise acriteria at all levels and punish facilities that discharge waste to

environment

 Allocating responsible staffs for environmental

management; establishing training programs to enhance knowledge, administrative ability for local staffs

Recommendation on communication

• Calling the production households to produce associated with environmental protection,

• updating reports on the model, modern technologies in

production on the radio system to mobilize the producers to change the old technology,

• Applying cleaner production technology to reduce

environmental pollution

• Investment on infrastructure

• Building drinking water system to supply 100% of households

in the region

• Upgrading the environmental protection infrastructure,

increasing the percentage of green area

• Building waste disposal areas and wastewater treatment to processed local waste

• Upgrading sewers system; choosing suitalble drainage system for residential