VIETNAM’S GROWTH AND SUCCESS COMES WITH CHALLENGES FOR WATER RESOURCES THOUGH GROWTH HAS PRODUCED VAST BENEFITS, IT HAS ALSO PLACED UNRELENTING PRESSURES ON WATER RESOURCES, WHICH IN TURN LEAD TO ECONOMIC STRESSES Vietnam faces multiple challenges – that require urgent and immediate action: There is an emerging mismatch between water supply and demand in certain locations and seasons, with consequent water stress that inevitably cascades through the economy. As the economy grows and water development continues unabated, competition between needs is intensifying tradeoffs that call for greater scrutiny of the way water resources are managed and allocated. There is a significant gap between the The rising level of water-related threats could potential and actual value that can reduce GDP by 6 percent by 2035 against a be derived from each drop of water. scenario in which steps are taken Agriculture could produce much more GDP With and Without Threat Impacts value through greater efficiency, water 650 600 productivity and targeted crop choices and 550 GDP ($US, billions) improved value chains, which are essential 500 450 to boost farmers’ incomes and agricultural 400 value added. 350 300 250 There is a deterioration in water 200 quality, and pollution loads are 150 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 mounting. Pollution is fouling surface and No Impacts Combined Threat groundwater. Very little municipal and industrial wastewater is treated, and most Sea level rise and Upstream Mekong 7% damming on fish 6% land subsidence sewage, industrial effluent, and solid waste production on agriculture find their way into watercourses. Some Intensifying seasonal and regional water rivers - once clean - in and around round 19 % shortages on agriculture and hydropower major cities have turned into contaminated Climate-change streams. 3% induced rising temperatures on agriculture Climate change is increasing the risks Discharge of Untreated 53% untreated 12% and costs from droughts and floods, with wastewater on industraial wastewater on human health recent disasters revealing infrastructure irriagated yields gaps and low levels of resilience. Impacts by Sector These vulnerabilities are heightened Total 6.0% by obstacles and shortcomings 5.6% in institutions, management, and Services infrastructure, constraining water services Industry 2.7% and forfeiting value through suboptimal Agriculture 19.3% allocation and use of water. Learn more: www.worldbank.org/water IN VIETNAM, SOUND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROACHES YIELD POSITIVE BENEFITS TOO LITTLE – RISING DEMAND AND THE NEED TO INCREASE “DONG PER DROP” Water stress levels in the dry season in 2016 and 2030, excluding hydropower storage Basin 2016 2030 Dry Season Water Exploitation Index (WEI) Bang Giang - Ky Cung 1% 2% 2016 2030 Red - Thai Binh 19% 27% Ma 35% 44% Ca 9% 12% Gianh 2% 3% Thach Han 5% 6% Huong 23% 28% Thu Bon & Vu Gia 11% 15% Tra Khuc 13% 16% Kone 19% 23% Ba 19% 24% Dong Nai 19% 28% SERC 41% 58% Sesan <1% 1% SrePok 5% 6% Mekong 19% 22% Rapid increases in demand Within 25 years, the are projected to bring water population in urban 53% stress to 11 out of 16 basins areas is expected to in Vietnam by 2030. Vietnam’s require twice the 80% four key river basins, where 80 daily water supply percent of Vietnam’s GDP is that current produced, are already facing systems can water stress in the dry season GDP provide. today - If nothing changes this is projected to deteriorate even further by 2030. 86.48 83.20 Water productivity is low: Vietnam produces just 37.40 US$2.37 of GDP against a 32.90 28.04 global average of US$19.42 – 18.17 11.67 8.26 almost 10 times as much 8.22 8.10 6.93 6.84 3.58 3.53 2.37 l ina e ne DR A d lia va sia azi m ia a ia es nc US an gu es od ldo Na rai tra Ch pin lay Br oP Fra ail a on mb Uk s car Mo Ma La ilip et Au Th Ind Ca Ni Vi Ph Learn more: www.worldbank.org/water VIETNAM’S GROWTH AND SUCCESS COMES WITH CHALLENGES FOR WATER RESOURCES TOO DIRTY - HIGHEST POLICY PRIORITY IS NEEDED TO REDUCE THE DEVASTATING LEVELS OF POLLUTION Rapid urban development, industrialization and low levels of pollution control has led to rising water pollution. Of all water-related threats modelled, the study identifies pollution as the greatest threat that could cost Vietnam 3.5 percent of GDP annually by 2035. Much of Vietnam’s wastewater remains untreated before being discharged into water bodies creating public health hazards, compromising ecosystem services. Only 46% Only 12.5% of urban households of municipal wastewater have connections to treated before discharge drainage systems. into water bodies. Around from industrial zones is treated, while only 9.4% of 2/3 industrial clusters have centralized wastewater treatment facilities and most wastewater discharged by the 5,000 craft villages, some industrial factories outside of of industrial industrial zones and local hospitals and private clinics remains untreated. wastewater Water pollution from agriculture is growing. Agriculture produces vast quantities of waste from fertilizers, pesticides, pathogens, and pharmaceuticals fed to animals. • About 80 million of the estimated 84 million tons of livestock waste generated each year enter the environment untreated, carrying nutrients, pathogens, and volatile compounds that compromise water and air quality and damage soils . • With crop farming intensifying, pollution from fertilizers and pesticides has also surged. Only about 45–50 percent of fertilizer is used effectively; the rest is washed out in runoff. Over the past ten years (2000-2011) the number of pesticides registered and used in Vietnam has increased tenfold. The current mix of pesticides is also found to be highly toxic, with 31% of the pesticides used by farmers in the Red River Delta being categorized within the WHO classification as ‘highly hazardous’, while 54% were categorized as ‘moderately hazardous. • Aquaculture, too, is highly polluting. This sector has developed rapidly, especially in the Mekong Delta. Regulation has failed to stem the high levels of pollution due mainly to discharge of untreated wastewater into local water bodies. Food safety concerns have affected sales but are also beginning to drive improvements in standards Solid waste from municipalities poses another threat to surface waters. Illegal dumping, unsanitary and badly managed dump sites near waterways, and a lack of solid waste collection allow solid waste to reach waterways. Though Vietnam has 660 operating landfills, only 203 are sanitary. The remainder do not collect and treat leachate—the liquid that drains from landfills and pollutes soil and water. Reliable municipal solid waste collection rates are difficult to track down, but they were estimated to be 86 percent in urban areas in 2018, while 2004 figures suggest rates below 20 percent in rural areas and among the urban poor. Learn more: www.worldbank.org/water VIETNAM’S GROWTH AND SUCCESS COMES WITH CHALLENGES FOR WATER RESOURCES TOO MUCH - MANAGING WATER-RELATED RISKS AND BUILDING RESILIENCE Vietnam is one of the most hazard-prone Climate change countries in East Asia and the Pacific region. is increasing the risks and costs More than from droughts and 70% floods, with recent disasters revealing infrastructure gaps of the population and low levels of resilience. Vietnam depends on international rivers, with more than is exposed to one or more types of water- 60% of the total related natural hazards – ranging from average droughts to floods. yearly surface water discharge generated outside of the country. Economic losses, currently estimated at 1.5 percent per year, are predicted to rise sharply: predicted to rise to 3% Unregulated abstraction of groundwater, resulting in mining of the resource, coupled by 2050 with rising sea levels and declining river have led to groundwater depletion, and to much as intrusion of saltwater into surface- and 7% groundwater and land subsidence by 2100 among the highest in the world. Environmental flows are dwindling. These shortfalls have exacerbated the impact of recent droughts. Learn more: www.worldbank.org/water