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The province’s SEMLA Management Board works with Swedish experts and national SEMLA management board. Photo V.H |
The Strengthening Environmental Management and Land Administration program in Vietnam, SEMLA, has been implemented in Binh Dinh for more than three years. It will be reviewed in the coming time. Viet Hien reports.
Practical purposes
SEMLA program is a five-year bilateral cooperation program between the Government of Vietnam and the Government of Sweden.
The Prime Minister assigned the task of implementing the program to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment in 2004.
The overall objective of SEMLA is to support an effective natural resource and environmental management system for economic growth and poverty alleviation, sustainable development and environmental protection, and strong local governance and participation of the population in decision making processes.
The goal of SEMLA is to establish an effective and efficient system of environmental and natural resources management that contributes to meet the country’s sustainable development demands-economic growth associated with poverty alleviation, natural disaster control, environmental protection and various social issues.
This management system must be in tune with the public administration reform and establish an administration close to the people.
SEMLA promotes an integrated approach to natural resources, including land and environmental management.
The direct beneficiaries of SEMLA are the poor in rural and urban areas. The programme aims at strengthening the land use rights and the provisions of land related services to these households, as well as mitigating the hazards from pollution and degradation of natural resources.
In addition, government officials and others directly involved in the programme at national, provincial, district and commune levels will benefit from the capacity building activities.
In Binh Dinh, SEMLA aims at helping the province check the institutions of land and environmental management, strengthen manpower training, and boosting the IT development for management capacity.
Important “lever”
Binh Dinh was selected to participate in the program for its land management met fundamental requirements, the legal system on environment has well operated, and the province’s socio-economic development is forecasted to result in issues relating to land and environment in the future.
SEMLA had some positive effects, according to deputy head of the province’s SEMLA management board, Dang Trung Thanh. Those who joined the program also had a chance to improve their knowledge of land and environmental management.
Alongside these, the program contributed to the poverty alleviation, natural disaster control, environmental protection through cleaner production projects implemented in Hoai Hao and Binh Tan.
The local people’s awareness of environmental protection was also raised thanks to activities carried out in six communes and towns.
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