Enterprises find it difficult to observe laws

More legal documents on environmental protection have been issued which have strict regulations.

However, as agencies regularly change the requirements and standards on environmental quality, enterprises find it hard to adapt to changing policies.

Thuan Phuoc Seafood & Trade Company in Da Nang City set up a waste water treatment system when it built a factory. The representative of the company affirmed that the company only used chemicals listed in the international convention on environmental protection and that treated waste water met standards set at that time.

However, after a period of operation, the environmental standards changed, which forced the company to improve the waste water treatment plant to satisfy new requirements.

Thuan Phuoc’s general director said it was costly and time consuming to do this. He said he would have preferred being informed about the new standards from the very beginning. If so, the investment in the waste water treatment system would have been lower.

Meanwhile, a businessman complained that because of complicated legal documents, he doesn’t know if he will strictly follow the laws on environmental protection.

There are five state management agencies in charge of the environment. There are no fewer than 20 laws and legal documents on the issue of enterprises’ obligations, and more than 50 technical standards. 

The regulations can be found in many different legal documents, including the 2014 Environment protection Law, the 2012 Law on Water Natural Resources, the Inspection Law, the Environment protection Tax Law and many government decrees and ministries’ circulars.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (MONRE) instructed local departments to organize training courses to explain the laws, but the courses were inaccessible to small enterprises.

The businesspeople attending the conference on policies on environmental protection and sustainable development held days ago said that support from the government to small & medium sized enterprises mostly aim to develop production. 

The government creates favorable conditions for enterprises to renovate technology, equipment and develop new products. 

But there is no specific policy that helps enterprises fulfill their social responsibilities and improve the capacity of protecting the environment.

Deputy general director of the Environment General Directorate, Hoang Van Thuc, affirmed that the 2014 Environment Protection Law stipulates that enterprises can borrow money from the Environment Protection Fund to implement projects related to waste water treatment, upgrading polluted environment, and environmental monitoring.

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Mai Chi