Chapter I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
Article 1: Scope of Law
This Law provides for environmental protection; for policies, measures and resources for environmental protection; and for the rights and obligations of organizations, households and individuals for environmental protection.
Article 2: Objects of Application
This Law shall apply to the State agencies, organizations, households, individuals, Vietnamese citizens living in foreign countries, and foreign organizations and individuals that operate within the territory of the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam.
In case the provisions of international treaties to which the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is a Contracting Party, contradict the provisions of this Law, the former shall prevail.
Article 3: Definition of Terms
For the purposes of this Law the below-cited terms shall have the following meanings:
1. The Environment comprises natural and man-made physical factors that surround human beings and affect life, production, the existence and development of man and living organisms.
2. Environmental Components mean physical factors that constitute the environment, including soil, water, air, sound, light, living organisms, ecological systems and other physical forms.
3. Environmental Protection refers to all activities to preserve the environment for its health, cleanness and beauty; prevention and restriction of adversely environmental impacts and response to environmental incidents; remedy of environmental pollution and degradation, rehabilitation and improvement of environmental quality;rational and economical exploitation and use of natural resources; and protection of biodiversity resources.
4. Sustainable Development means development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs on the basis of a close and harmonized combination between economic growths, assurance of social advancements and environmental protection.
5. Environmental Standards mean permissible limits of ambient environmental quality parameters and of pollutant contents in wastes set forth by the competent State agencies to serve as basis for environmental management and protection.
6. Environmental Pollution means changes in environmental components, which are not appropriate to the established environmental standards and cause adverse impacts
on human beings and living organisms.
7. Environmental Degradation means degradation in the quality and quantity of environmental components that cause adverse impacts on human beings and living organisms.
8. Environmental Incidents mean incidents or risks occurring in the process of human activities, or abnormal changes of nature causing seriously environmental pollution, degradation and changes.
9. Pollutants mean substances or physical factors that are present in, and cause pollution to, the environment.
10. Wastes mean materials that take a solid, liquid, gaseous, or other forms, are discharged from production, service, daily life or other activities.
11. Hazardous Waste means a waste that contains any of toxic, radioactive, flammable, explosive, corrosive, infectious, poisonous, and other hazardous characteristics.
12. Waste Management refers to all activities engaged with waste segregation, collection, transport, reduction, reuse, recycling, treatment and disposal.
13. Scrap Materials refer to all products and materials that are discarded from a specific process of production or consumption but are collected as input materials for other productions.
14. Carrying Capacity of the Environment means permissible limits of the environment that allow receiving and absorbing pollutants.
15. Ecological System (Ecosystem) means a system of living organism populations existing and evolving together, and interacting with one another in a given naturally geographic area.
16. Biological Diversity (Biodiversity) means the abundance in genetic resources, species of living organisms and ecosystems.
17. Environmental Monitoring is a process of systematically monitoring the environment and factors that may impose impacts on the environment with the goal of providing relevant information for assessing the current state of the environment, changes in environmental quality, and adversely environmental impacts.
18. Environmental Information comprises statistics and data on environmental components; on reserves and ecological and economic values of natural resources; on environmental impacts; on wastes; on the severity of environmental pollution and degradation; and on other environmental issues.
19. Strategic Environment Assessment means the analysis and prediction of potential environmental impacts of strategic projects and development planning and plans prior to approval in order to ensure the achievement of sustainable development.
20. Environmental Impact Assessment means the analysis and prediction of potential impacts of specific investment projects on the environment in order to propose measures to protect the environment when the implementation of projects takes place.
21. Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) refer all gases that affect the exchange of heat between the earth’s surface and the lower layers of atmosphere to increase the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere.
22. GHG Emission Quota refers an assigned amount of GHG emissions that each nation allows to release into the atmosphere according to the provisions of the relevant international treaties.
Article 4: Principles of Environmental Protection
1. Environmental protection must be harmonized with economic development and the security ofsocial advancements to ensure the achievement of sustainable development of the country, and actions undertaken to protect the environment at national level must be combined with those at regional and global levels.
2. Environmental protection is the cause that the whole society fights for, and is the rights and obligations of the State, all organizations, households and individuals.
3. Environmental protection must be regularly implemented, and undertake the prevention of environmental pollution as principal measures in combination with the remedy of environmental pollution and degradation and the improvement of environmental quality.
4. Environmental protection must be consistent with natural laws, cultural and historical characteristics, and socio-economic development levels of the country during each specific period.
5. In case of causing environmental pollution and degradation, organizations, households and individuals shall have the responsibility to take remedial measures and shall compensate for, and take other responsibility therefor according to the provisions of the law.
Article 5: State Policies on Environmental Protection
1. Encouraging and facilitating the involvement of all organizations, residential communities, households and individuals in environmental protection activities.
2. Promoting environmental education and awareness among, and mobilization of, the people in combination with the introduction of administrative, economic and other measures to build up the voluntary consciousness and the order and discipline of environmental protection.
3. Utilizing natural resources rationally and economically, developing clean and renewable energies; and promoting waste reduction, reuse and recycling.
4. Prioritizing the resolution of urgent environmental problems; concentrating on resolving establishments that seriously pollute the environment; remedying polluted and degraded areas; and attaching importance to environmental protection of urban centers and residential areas.
5. Investing in environmental protection means the investment in development; diversifying investment capitals for environmental protection and designating expenditures for environmental protection from the State budget annually.
6. Giving preferential treatment in terms of land use, taxation and financial support, to environmental protection activities and environmentally friendly product production and consumption; and harmonizing environmental protection with effective use of environmental components for development.
7. Enhancing the training of human resources and encouraging the research, application and transfer of scientific and technological achievements for environmental protection; and establishing and developing an environmental industry.
8.Improving the effectiveness of, and extending international cooperation in the field of environmental protection and fulfilling international environmental commitments; and encouraging organizations and individuals to participate in, and implement international cooperation in the field of environmental protection.
9. Developing environmental protection infrastructures; and strengthening the national capacity of environmental protection in the direction of its standardization and modernization.
Article 6: Environmental Protection Actions to Be Encouraged
1. Propagandizing, educating and mobilizing all people to participate in environmental protection, environmental sanitation, natural landscape protection and biodiversity conservation.
2. Protecting and utilizing natural resources in a rational and economical manner;
3. Reducing, collecting, recycling and reuse of wastes;
4. Developing and utilizing clean and renewable energies; reducing the emission of gases that cause greenhouse effects and deplete ozone layer
5. Adopting the registration of environmental standard certification and environmentally friendly product certification.
6. Carrying out the scientific research, transfer and deployment of waste treatment, recycling and environmentally friendly technologies;
7. Investing in the construction of facilities for manufacturing environmental protection equipment and instruments; engaging in the production and business of environmentally friendly products; and providing services for environmental protection;
8. Conserving and developing indigenous genetic resources; and breeding and importing genetic resources of economic values and environmental benefits;
9. Building up environmentally friendly hamlets, villages, communes, offices, enterprises and production and business units;
10. Developing forms of self-governing organizations in, and organizing, the provisions of sanitary services in residential communities;
11. Building up the lifestyle and habits of environmental sanitation, and eliminating degenerate customs that harm the environment;
12. Contributing knowledge, energies and financial resources to environmental protection;
Article 7: Acts to Be Strictly Prohibited
1. Destroying and illegally exploiting forests and other natural resources;
2. Exploiting, fishing and harvesting biological resources with destructive means, tools and methods, in the off season and at yields that are exceeding the permissible levels as stipulated by the law;
3. Exploiting, trading in, consuming, and use of rare and precious species of flora and fauna included in lists of protected species established by the State competent authorities;
4. Burying and dumping any of toxic, radioactive and other hazardous substances and wastes at places that are not designated and with technically improper environmental protection procedures;
5. Discharging wastes without treatment to meet the environmental standards; and toxic, radioactive, and other hazardous substances into soil and water resources;
6. Emitting smokes, dusts and gases containing toxic substances and noxious odors into the atmosphere; and releasing radiation, radioactivity and ionized substances at levels exceeding the permissible environmental standards;
7. Generating noise and vibration at levels exceeding the permissible standards;
8. Importing machinery, equipment and means that are not meeting environmental standards;
9. Importing, exporting, and transiting wastes under any form;
10. Importing and transiting animals and plants without being quarantined; and microorganisms that are not included into the established list.
11. Producing and trading products that harm human beings, living organisms and ecosystems; and producing and using building raw materials containing toxic substances at levels exceeding the permissible environmental standards.
12. Intruding into natural heritage and natural reserves;
13. Intruding into environmental protection works and facilities;
14. Illegally operating and living within areas identified by the competent State agencies
as restricted areas that may cause especially environmental dangers to human health and life;
15. Concealing acts of causing damages to the environment, obstructing environmental protection activities and distorting information causing bad consequences to the environment;
16. Other acts that are strictly prohibited in environmental protection according to the provisions of the law.
Tìm kiếm
Luật Bảo vệ môi trường 2005 (Bản Word)