Chapter I
GENERAL
Article 1. Scope
This Law provides for environmental protection activities; rights, obligations and responsibilities of agencies, organizations, residential communities, households and individuals involved in environmental protection activities.
Article 2. Regulated entities
This Law applies to agencies, organizations, residential communities, households and individuals within the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, including mainland, islands, territorial waters, underground space and airspace.
Article 3. Definitions
For the purposes of this Law, the terms below shall be construed as follows:
1. “environment” encompasses natural and artificial physical factors that are closely related to each other, surround humans and affect life, economy, society, existence and development of humans, creatures and nature.
2. “environmental protection activity” means preventing and reducing adverse impacts on the environment; responding to environmental emergencies; mitigating environmental pollution and degradation, improving environmental quality; reasonably using natural resources and biodiversity, and adapting to climate change.
3. “environment components” mean physical constituent elements forming an integral part of the environment, including land, water, air, sound, light and other physical forms.
4. “national environmental protection planning” means the spatial arrangement and distribution and zoning of areas for environmental quality management, nature and biodiversity conservation, waste management, environmental monitoring and warning within a defined territory in order to protect the environment and accomplish the objective for national sustainable development for a defined period.
5. “strategic environmental assessment” means the process of identifying and predicting trends in major environmental issues to form a basis for incorporating environmental protection measures into a policy, strategy or planning.
6. “preliminary environmental impact assessment” (hereinafter referred to as “PEIA”) means the consideration and identification of major environmental issues of an investment project during the pre-feasibility study or the investment project proposal.
7. “ environmental impact assessment” (hereinafter referred to as “EIA”) means the process of analyzing, assessing, identifying and predicting environmental impacts of an investment project in order to take measures to reduce adverse impacts on the environment.
8. “environmental license” means a document issued by a competent authority to an organization or individual (hereinafter referred to as “entity”) involved in business activities, permitting such organization or individual to discharge waste into the environment and manage waste and scrap imported from foreign countries as production materials in accordance with environmental protection requirements as prescribed by law.
9. “environmental registration” means a business investment project owner or business owner registering with a regulatory body waste discharge-related contents and environmental protection measures of such business investment project owner or business owner (hereinafter referred to as “the investment project/business”).
10. “technical regulation on environment” means a regulation requiring mandatory application of limits of parameters regarding environmental quality, concentration of pollutants in raw materials, fuels, materials, equipment, products, goods and waste, and technical and managerial requirements. The regulation is issued by a competent authority in accordance with regulations of law on standards and technical regulations.
11. “environmental standard” means a regulation for which an entity opts at its/his/her discretion in order to apply limits of parameters regarding environmental quality, concentration of pollutants in waste, and technical and managerial requirements. The standard is issued by a competent authority or organization in accordance with regulations of law on standards and technical regulations.
12. “environmental pollution” means any change in the physical, chemical or biological properties of an environmental component in breach of a technical regulation on environment or environmental standard resulting in adverse impacts on humans, creatures and nature.
13. “environmental degradation” means a reduction in the quality and amount of environment components resulting in adverse impacts on the health of humans and creatures, and nature.
14. “environmental emergency” means an accident resulting from human-induced factors or natural changes that cause severe environmental pollution or degradation.
15. “pollutant” means any chemical, physical or biological substance which, when introduced into the environment, exceeds the permissible limits resulting in environmental pollution.
16. “persistent pollutant” means a highly toxic and persistent pollutant that has the ability to bio-accumulate and spread in the environment, thereby adversely affecting the environment and human health.
17. “persistent organic pollutant” means a persistent pollutant defined in the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (hereinafter referred to as “the Stockholm Convention”).
18. “waste” means any matter in a solid, liquid or gaseous form or other form which is discharged from production, business operation, service provision or living activities or from other activities.
19. “solid waste” means any waste in a solid form or sludge.
20. “hazardous waste” means any waste that exhibits any one or more of the following characteristic properties: toxicity, radioactivity, infectivity, ignitability, reactivity or corrosivity or exhibits any other hazardous characteristic properties.
21. “waste co-processing” means the utilization of one available manufacturing process for the purpose of recycling, treating or recovering energy from waste in which waste is used as alternative raw material and fuel or is processed.
22. “pollution control” means the process of preventing, detecting and eliminating pollution.
23. “carrying capacity”of an environment means the maximum resistance of the environment against influencing factors in order for the environment to be able to recover itself.
24. “technical infrastructure serving environmental protection” means a system of facilities used for collecting, storing, transporting and treating waste and monitoring the environment, and other environmental protection works.
25. “environmental monitoring” means the continuous, periodic or surprise monitoring of environmental components and factors impacting the environment, and waste in a systematic manner in order to provide necessary information in favor of assessment of state of the environment, changes in the environmental quality and adverse impacts on the environment.
26. “trial operation of waste treatment work” means the operation being carried out by an investment project owner, owner of business, dedicated area for production, business operation and service provision or industrial cluster to test and assess efficiency of a waste treatment work and its conformity with environmental protection requirements.
27. “scrap” means any material recovered, classified and selected from materials or products left over from production, business operation, service provision or consumption to be used as raw materials for another production process.
28. “residential community” means a community of people living in the same village, hamlet, population group, ward or similar settlement within the territory of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
29. “greenhouse gas” (hereinafter referred to as “GHG”) means gas in the atmosphere causing the greenhouse effect.
30. “greenhouse effect” means a process where radiant energy from the sun penetrates into the atmosphere and is converted to heat, causing global warming.
31. “reduction of GHG emissions” means the act of reducing GHG emissions intensity and increasing GHG absorption.
32. “climate change adaptation” means actions that humans may take to adapt to climate change and reduce GHG emissions.
33. “GHG emission quotas” mean the amount of GHG emissions caused by a country or entity for a specified period of time, expressed as tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) or tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2).
34. “ozone layer” means a layer in the Earth's stratosphere which protects the Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet radiation.
35. “carbon credit” means any tradable certificate representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) or one tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent.
36. “best available techniques” means the technical solutions which are the best for preventing or controlling pollution and minimizing adverse impacts on the environment.
37. “dedicated areas for production, business operation and service provision” include industrial parks, export-processing zones, hi-tech zones and dedicated areas for industrial production of economic zones.
38. “investment project owner” or “investor” means an investor in a project according to regulations of the Law on Investment, Law on Public Investment, Law on Public-Private Partnership Investment and Law on Construction.
Article 4. Principles of environmental protection
1. Environmental protection is the right, obligation and responsibility of every agency, organization, residential community, household and individual.
2. Environmental protection serves as a basis, key factor and prerequisite for sustainable socio-economic development. Environmental protection activities are associated with economic development and natural resource management, and considered and assessed in the process of carrying out development activities.
3. Environmental protection harmonizes with social security, protection of children’s right, promotion of gender equality and protection of the human right to live in a pure environment.
4. Environmental protection activities are carried out in a regular, public and transparent manner; priority is given to prediction and prevention of environmental pollution, emergencies and degradation, environmental risk management, waste minimization and strengthening of reuse and recycling of waste with a view to maximization of its value.
5. Environmental protection complies with natural law, natural, cultural and historical characteristics, and the level of socio-economic development; boost development in ethnic minority and mountainous areas.
6. Any agency, organization, residential community, household or individual profiting from the environment is obliged to make their financial contribution to the environmental protection activities; pay compensation for damage, take remedial measures and assume other responsibilities as prescribed by law if causing environmental pollution, emergencies and degradation.
7. Environmental protection is not detrimental to the national sovereignty, security and interests, and is associated with regional and global environmental protection.
Article 5. State policies on environmental protection
1. Facilitate the involvement of agencies, organizations, residential communities, households and individuals in performance, inspection and supervision of environmental protection activities.
2. Disseminate information in association with taking administrative and economic measures and other measures to strengthen compliance with law on environmental protection and build a culture of environmental protection.
3. Focus on biodiversity conservation and protection of environment in natural heritage sites; efficiently and economically extract and use natural resources; develop green and renewable energy; develop technical infrastructure serving environmental protection.
4. Give priority to environmental pollution elimination and recovery of degraded natural ecosystem, and attach great importance to environmental protection in residential areas.
5. Diversify sources of investment capital for environmental protection; set a specific expenditure on environmental protection within the state budget and according to environmental protection requirements and tasks; prioritize the use of sources of funding for key environmental protection tasks.
6. Safeguard interests of organizations, residential communities, households and individuals making their contribution to environmental protection activities; provide incentives and assistance for environmental protection activities; promote environmentally-friendly products and services.
7. Intensify scientific research and development of technologies for pollution elimination, waste recycling and treatment; give priority to transfer and application of advanced, high and environmentally-friendly technologies and best available techniques; strengthen training in human resources in environmental protection.
8. Honor and reward agencies, organizations, residential communities, households and individuals for their active role in environmental protection activities as prescribed by law.
9. Expand and promote integration and international cooperation in environmental protection, and adhere to all international environmental agreements.
10. Screen investment projects according to environmental criteria; apply appropriate environmental management tools in each stage of the strategy, planning, program and investment project.
11. Incorporate and promote circular economy and green economy in formulation and implementation of socio-economic development strategies, planning, plans, programs and projects.
Article 6. Prohibited acts
1. Failure to transport, bury, discharge and burn solid and hazardous waste in accordance with technical process and regulations of law on environmental protection.
2. Discharging wastewater and exhaust gases that have yet to be treated according to technical regulations on environment into the environment.
3. Dispersing and releasing into the environment hazardous substances and harmful viruses capable of infecting humans and animals, untested microorganisms, dead bodies of animals dying of epidemics and other agents harmful to human health, creatures and nature.
4. Generating noise and vibration in excess of the permissible level stipulated in technical regulations on environment; discharging smokes, dusts and noxious gases into the air.
5. Executing investment projects or discharging waste in case of failure to satisfy all conditions prescribed by the Law on Environmental Protection.
6. Importing, temporarily importing, re-exporting and transiting waste from foreign countries in any shape or form.
7. Illegally importing used vehicles, machinery and equipment for the purposes of dismantling or recycling.
8. Failure to operate works or take measures to prevent and respond to environmental emergencies in accordance with regulations of law on environmental protection and other regulations of law.
9. Concealing acts of polluting the environment, obstructing and falsifying information concerning environmental protection activities, thereby resulting in adverse effects on the environment.
10. Manufacturing and trading products harmful to humans, creatures and nature; manufacturing and using raw materials and building materials containing toxic factors in excess of the permissible level prescribed in technical regulations on environment.
11. Manufacturing, importing, temporarily importing, re-exporting and selling ozone depleting substances prescribed in the treaty on substances that deplete the ozone layer to which Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a signatory.
12. Sabotaging or infringing upon natural heritage sites.
13. Sabotaging or infringing upon structures, equipment and facilities serving environmental protection activities.
14. Abusing positions or powers to commit violations against regulations of law on environmental protection.
Tìm kiếm
Luật Bảo vệ môi trường 2020 (Bản Word)
Luật Bảo vệ môi trường 2020 (Bản Pdf)