Frame guideline river restoration-final update, 2010 -Final report.pdf · The total average yearly...

KICT

(FINAL REPORT)

GUIDELINE FRAMEWORK FOR

RIVER RESTORATION IN VIET NAM

Edited By

DWRM, MONRE Viet Nam Phi Quoc Hao, Thai Van Tien, Nguyen Nhan Quang and in co-operation with Dr. Le Huu Ti and Dr Salmah Zakaria from ESCAP

Support by KICT, KOREA

July, 2010

Guideline Frame work for river restoration in Vietnam

Page 1

Acknowledgements The Department of Water Resources Management (DWRM), Ministry of

Natural Resources and Environment of Vietnam (MONRE) very much emphasis thanks to all organizations and experts, who gave well cooperation and support to us for preparing and editing the Guideline Frame work for river restoration in Vietnam.

We very much appreciate the finalcial and technical support of KOICA, KICT from KOREA, the suppot from ESCAP team, Dr Le Huu Ti, Dr Salmah Zakaria.

We also would like to give special thanks to MONRE Leader for supporting and encouraging us for finish our task, also lot of thanks to Stakeholders and other organizations, experts who have been working with us.


Page 2

GUIDELINE FRAMEWORK FOR RIVER RESTORATION IN VIET NAM

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Chapter 1. Introduction 3 1.1 Target Audience and scope.........................................................................................3 1.2 Context of Guideline ..................................................................................................3 1.3 Need for Measures to Restore River Environment.....................................................3

Chapter 2. Status of River Environment in Viet Nam .................................................4

2.1 General Status.............................................................................................................4 2.2 Inland water related ecosystems .................................................................................8 2.4 Environmental values of river flows ........................................................................10 2.5 Water quality ............................................................................................................11 2.6 Impact of Climate Change........................................................................................12 2.7 Water Resources Legislations and Agencies in Viet Nam.......................................13

Chapter 3. Understanding the nature of rivers...........................................................16

3.1 Natural, historical and cultural transition of a river system .....................................16 3.2 A river system as a basin ..........................................................................................17 3.3 Dynamism of a river system.....................................................................................17 3.4 The role of a river system and its stakeholders ........................................................18

Chapter 4. Basic requirements in restoring river environment ................................19

4.1 Setting multi-objectives of river restoration by considering river history and local culture .................................................................................................................................19 4.2 Planning river restoration from the view point of the basin .....................................19 4.3 Considering river restoration based on dynamism of river ......................................19 4.4 Proceeding with river restoration in cooperation with stakeholders ........................20 4.5 Considering a combination of river conservation, restoration and rehabilitation ....20

Chapter 5. Implementation approaches for river environment restoration ............21

5.1 Pre-planning approaches for river environment restoration. ....................................21 5.2 Planning ,Design Construction Phase of Restoration Projects .....................................22 5.3 Post Construction and Maintenance Phase...............................................................23

Chapter 6. Case study....................................................................................................23

1. River Restoration and polution in Day nhue river basin, Viet Nam................................23 2. Kallang River, Singapore.................................................................................................25 3. South Pine River Restoration Queensland.......................................................................26 4. Thames River, London ....................................................................................................27 5. Hudson River, New York ................................................................................................28

References ……………………………………………………………………………...……32


Page 3

FRAME GUIDELINE FOR RIVER RESTORATION IN VIET NAM

Chapter 1. Introduction

1.1 Target Audience and scope This Guideline is intended as an initial introduction to river restoration for the decision

makers and management group of city/local authority, NGOS and civil societies in Viet Nam. The objective of this Guideline is to provide understanding of the generic requirements for river restoration programs for the decision makers. It is expected that they in turn will need specialist support of the different expertise for each specific areas of the project, as the program developed, particularly in bigger and more complex restoration works.

1.2 Context of Guideline The Guideline is intended to provide an easy understanding of the river systems, the

need for river environment conservation and provide initial advisories for rehabilitation of river systems or part of river systems. Because of this intended use, this Guideline will be presented in short and easy chapters with references provided for those in need of more detail explanations in implementing more complex programs.

In its long history, water resources in Viet Nam were used for various purposes. It is expected that Viet Nam’s water resources and its river environment will be under great pressure to meet the needs of water demand, water conservation and environmental protection. Undoubtedly, one of the greatest anticipated pressures on water resources and the water sector in Viet Nam comes from the strength of its economic development, and the changing structure of the economy. The economy has been recording an annual average GDP growth rate of about 7.5%. At the current growth rate, Viet Nam's economic output would double every 10 years. This economic growth while require reliable water source. With increase urbanizations and intensive agriculture development it is expected that considerable polluted wastewater and other wastes will be generated. (Evaluation report on Eco-efficient water infrastructure In Viet Nam by DWRM, MONRE)

1.3 Need for Measures to Restore River Environment A river environment can encompass the whole river basin. A combination of all river

basins within a country, generally, makes up its total land area. As such, all human activities on the land occur in a river basin, within the country.

A river basin is an area, in which all rain drops that falls within the area, will flow and converge to become a stream (the Red river system with Day-Nhue sub-river basin). A group of streams then flow into a tributary (day-nhue, Thai Binh, Cau river and others) and then into the main river system (Red River System). As all activities on land occur in a river basin, the rain falling on a river basin will flow to the lowest part of the basin and flow to the sea as its river. As the water flows to the river as surface runoff, it collects all the pollution in its flow path. As the land area of the river basin became more developed and impermeable, more rain water will flow as surface flow, directly into the river, instead of seeping through the ground to reach the river. If this is excessive, it will create floods and/or flash floods.

The river environment influences the river hydraulics and its water quality and quantity. Water in the river system provides critical needs for human survival, for personal use (drinking and washing, etc) as well as for economic activities (agriculture, industry, services, etc). The wastewater from human activities, in turn, flows back into the river


Page 4

systems, and if untreated will create a toxic and polluted environment, detrimental for human health, which in turn will impact on human activities. Toxic and polluted water in the river systems will be more costly to be treated as compared to treating wastewater from domestic and industrial use. The toxic environment may also be detrimental to the fauna and flora of the river system. While its immediate impact may be the environment, the toxic and polluted water in natural water bodies may be finally transmitted to human both through the fishes and agricultural product consumed by human. In many cases when it become to costly to treat toxic environment, new sources of water supply/ new dams will be developed. Further upstream. Besides adding to the cost, the newly inundated land from the new dam construction, will destroy additional area of bio-diversity. Concurrently human settlement continue to be near polluted and deteriorated environment.

Frequent occurrence of floods will slow down businesses and has a cost to development (lost of foreign direct investment), human health and the environment

Chapter 2. Status of River Environment in Viet Nam

2.1 General Status Water Resources and major river basin

Vietnam lies in the tropical monsoon region, with a national average precipitation (Xo)

of about 1,960 mm per year and a system of densely located rivers and canals. There are as many as 2,360 rivers over 10 km long which have a perennial flow, and 15 basins with an area of more than 2,500 km2 of which 10 river basins are of over 10,000 km2 in area. These account for 80% of the total area of Vietnam.

Basins Over 10,000 Km2 Basins 2,500 – 10,000 Km2

Bang Giang and Ky Cung Thach Han Hong (Red) and Thai Binh Huong

Ma, Ca Tra Khuc Vu Gia and Thu Bon Kone Ba, Srepok, Se San

Dong Nai, Cuu Long The total average yearly surface water discharge in Viet Nam1 is about 830 billion m3.

Nearly 57% of this occurs in the Cuu Long river basin, more than 16% in the Red-Thai Binh basin, and more than 4% in the Dong Nai basin, where most socio-economic development activity occurs - see Figure 1. More than 60% of Viet Nam’s surface water is generated outside the country, with an average of only 309 billion m3 per year generated within Viet Nam.

1 The basins covered by this report have a total average annual discharge of over 800 billion m3, or more than

96% of the total.


Page 5

Figure 1: Distribution of total water resources across river basins

Viet Nam’s surface water resources are distributed unevenly, not only spatially, but

over the year – see Figure 2. In the north of the country the dry season starts in Oct/Nov and in central and southern Viet Nam it starts later, in January. The dry season ranges in length from 6 to 9 months with the basins in central Viet Nam having the longest dry seasons. Natural discharge during the dry season accounts for between 20–30% of total annual discharge. Figure 2 includes the effects of inter-basin diversions, as discussed on the next paragraph.

Figure 2: Effects of the dry season


Page 6


Page 7

Groundwater status Viet Nam has an estimated total ‘groundwater potential’ of almost 63,000 million m3

per year. ‘Groundwater potential’ is taken as the dynamic reserve (or recharge) to the nation’s aquifers. It does not include any groundwater storage component which, if extracted, would result in the unsustainable mining of groundwater over time. The distribution of groundwater potential per capita ranges from 3,770 m3/cap/year in the North-west, to as low as 84 m3/cap year in the Mekong Delta.

Although there are large volumes of groundwater available in the North-west and North-east groundwater areas, much of the water is contained in sandstones and clay stones, with some areas of limestone. The nature of these formations are such that groundwater yields from bores and wells are generally small and are generally only suitable for lower yielding requirements such as for domestic uses. The high yielding aquifer formations are the unconsolidated sands and gravels deposited over the past centuries by rivers, wave or wind action. These occur mainly in the Red River area, and in the South-east and Mekong areas, and on all the coastal plains, and are relatively close to the land surface, making groundwater extraction from them relatively inexpensive and productive. The basalt formations of the central highlands, and the higher areas of the South-east can also yield good quantities of groundwater. Not surprisingly then, most groundwater extraction in Viet Nam occurs from the higher yielding aquifers in these areas, which also correspond to the large demands for domestic and industrial uses in and around Hanoi and HCMC, and significant irrigation of trees (mostly coffee) in the South Central Coast and Central Highlands. In the Red River Delta area, about 29% of the groundwater potential is used, which represents about 19% of the total use nationally. The corresponding figures for the Mekong Delta are 27% and 11%.

North-west, 16

North-east, 25

Red River Delta, 4

North Central Coast, 14

South Central Coast, 11

Central Highlands, 20

South-East, 9

Mekong River Delta, 2

GWI-1: National Groundwater Indicator (% of country groundwater potential)

Figure 3: Distribution of groundwater resources

Natural ecosystems Viet Nam’s natural ecosystems include a rich variety of productive and scenic forests,

marshes, rivers, and coral reefs, which together support nearly 10% of the global total mammal and bird species. Forest coveris 38% of the total land area of the country and about 18% of this is plantations. Only 7% of remaining forest is “primary” forest, and nearly 70% is poor quality secondary forest. There are 39 documented wetland types, including mangroves and other inter-tidal vegetation, brackish lagoons, seagrass beds and coral reefs, and many types of rivers, ponds, swamps, wet forests, and reed beds all of which have high species richness and productivity.


Page 8

In terms of aquatic biodiversity, Viet Nam’s freshwater and marine biodiversity is relatively high but threatened by domestic and industrial water pollution, dam and infrastructure construction, dredging, destructive fisheries techniques, aquaculture and over-fishing. The SEDP acknowledges that: “…the environment has been badly polluted and ruined, as no effective solution has been found”. The SEDP noted that Viet Nam’s Environment Sustainability Index (ESI) in 2005 was 42.3 - ranking eighth among ASEAN countries, behind even Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.

Figure 4

The ESI benchmarks the ability of nations to protect the environment into the future. It uses 21 indicators of environmental sustainability, covering natural resource assets, past and present pollution levels, environmental management efforts, and a society’s capacity to improve its environmental performance. Of the 146 countries in the assessment, Viet Nam ranked 127th overall well below some of its near neighbours such as Thailand (73rd), Cambodia (68th) and Laos (52nd). Figure 4 shows a summary of the Viet Nam assessment - note that the country peer group includes those countries with similar GDP per capita. Viet Nam scores strongly in terms of overall environmental health, reducing population stress, and basic human sustenance. It scores poorly in comparison to its peers in reducing environmental natural resource disaster vulnerability, reducing water and ecosystem stress, and for managing water quantity and quality.

2.2 Inland water related ecosystems Environmental assets, including wetlands, mangroves, national parks, nature reserves,

and species/habitat protected areas, landscape protected areas and cultural and historical sites, provide significant water resources management benefits. Watersheds within nature reserves make significant contribution to provision of flows during dry seasons, regulate climate and moisture by evapotranspiration, prevent soil erosion, increase percolation, maintain soil moisture, and protect water quality for downstream values. Wetlands and floodplains such as Tram Chim National Park provide sources of commercial fish species, as well as providing water rejuvenation and eutrophication removal. Estuarine areas such as Xuan Thuy Nature Reserve provide protection against typhoons, storms and tidal surges, as well as providing areas for rich sediment replacement.

Viet Nam is rich in freshwater and marine wetlands. These are mainly located in the Red River and the Mekong River Deltas and along the 3,260 km coastline. Current estimates are that there are 1 million hectares of wetlands mainly concentrated in river mouths and around some island lagoons, and with 100,000 ha in 12 lagoons from Thua Thien Hue to Binh Thuan province. The Mekong Delta within Viet Nam is the furthest downstream portion of


Page 9

the Mekong River Basin. The Delta has a total area of approximately 3.9 million hectares and its wetlands are among the richest ecosystems of the basin (tidal floodplains, coastal marshes, peatland marsh, estuaries, etc.). They are important breeding sites for many aquatic species migrating from the upper reaches of the Mekong River. The Directory of Asian Wetlands lists over 25 wetland sites in Viet Nam which meet the criteria of “Wetlands of International Importance”. Despite this, only two wetlands are recognised as RAMSAR sites – the Xuan Thuy in the Red River Delta, and the newly established Bau Sau in Cat Tien National Park. However, there are plans for additional Ramsar nominations, including the Tram Chim National Park in the Mekong River Delta. Can Gio mangrove forest is Viet Nam's first protected area and was designated a Man and Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO (2000).

More than 18% of the Gianh basin is conservation area, representing just over 5% of the total country conservation areas. The Red – Thai Binh is the basin with the largest physical area designates for conservation, but being a very large basin this area represents less than 5% of the basin. Other basins with high proportions of conservation area include the Sre Pok (12% of the basin is conservation, representing 13% of the national total), the Ca (about 11% of both the basin, and the total country areas), and the Dong Nai. These conservation areas represent large environmental assets and values in these basins. Two basins have no assessed conservation areas.

Over the last 50 years of development, Viet Nam has lost more than 80% of its mangrove forest. The surge in shrimp farming is one of the leading causes of mangrove forest destruction. Other causes include conversion to agricultural and construction lands, war destruction and fuel wood collection. However, estimated data compiled from various sources for 1999 and 2001 indicates some increase in mangrove areas.

5541

44

4072

5350

4948

52

5028

3962

498

1221

20

168

2810

1122

22

3146

2921

3463

12

3

11

23

32

1

12

11

13

25

4

43

33

33

4

35

82

35

3031

29

3916

1434

3525

21

1619

2315

1320

0 20 40 60 80 100

Bang Giang – Ky CungRed - Thai Binh

MaCa

GianhThach Han

HuongThu Bon & Vu Gia

Tra KhucKone

BaDong Nai

SERC Se San

Sre Pok Cuu Long

EVI-1: Land Use Indicator

% Forestry % Agriculture % Residential % Specific Purpose % Other

Figure 5

Typically a river basin has about 40% to 50% of forest area, 20% to 30% of agricultural area, less than 3% residential area, about 5% of specific purpose area, and 20% to 30% of ‘other’ land use area. As a proportion of basin area, forest cover is highest in the Gianh (72%), Se San (62%) and Bang Giang- Ky Cung (55%) basins, indicating substantial contributions to sustaining river basin processes and regulation of flow distribution during a year. The Cuu Long (8%) and Dong Nai (28%) have the lowest forest cover. A high proportion native forest indicates good quality natural forests and therefore good catchment processes for water runoff and water quality. Twelve of the basins have more than a third of the basin area as native forests, with the Gianh (64%), the Se San (59%), and the Sre Pok (46%) having the highest proportion. The Cuu Long has by far the lowest proportion of native


Page 10

forests – only 1% of the basin area. The Red – Thai Binh has the greatest absolute area of native forest, representing 28% of the total native forest nationally.

2.4 Environmental values of river flows Healthy rivers provide habitats for animals and plants, provide ongoing recreational,

tourism and fishing opportunities, nurture cultural and spiritual values, and reduce the costs of providing high quality water to communities and industries. A healthy river, including the river channel, its beds and banks and their habitats, supports and maintains a mix of aquatic plant and animal life. Human impacts that change a river's condition from its ‘natural' state can make a river unhealthy. River health can be measured by assessing a river's biological and physical composition, its habitat structure and functioning, and the resilience of these factors to natural impacts or influences.

Three indicators used in considering the impacts of developments on river health:

i. From an environmental perspective, the proportion of the flow that is extracted from a river is critical and indicates the stress level of a river. Error! Reference source not found. 3,4 shows that, based on the dry season flows, four basins are in the high stress level, with the Ma the highest (almost 80% of dry season flows extracted) and SERC next (75%). It is generally unsustainable for extraction levels to continue at such a high level during the dry season. The Red River is also approaching the high stress zone.

ii. Indicator EI-6 is the natural flow index, shows the proportion of the basin area that is located above major dams. It indicates the degree to which surface flows in the catchments and sub-catchments of the basin are not impacted by major dams. In the areas upstream of the major dams, flows are likely to be relative “natural” in terms of their timing and variability. Three basins have indicator values at about 80% or more – the Gianh, Bang Giang – Ky Cung and Thu Bon, and another 5 are over 50%. These basins provide the greatest opportunities to preserve the natural values of rivers intact. The basin with the lowest index value (that is, the least natural flowing rivers) is the Ba (27%).

E VI-6: C hỉ số dòng c hảy tự nhiên

80

59

44

53

84

49

67

79

49

34

27

33

43

62

58

00

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

BằngG iang– K ỳC ùng

Hồng-TháiB ình

Mã C ả G ianh Thạc hHãn

Hư ơng V u G ia– ThuBồn

TràK húc

K ôn-Hà

Thanh-L a

Tinh

B a ĐồngNai

C ácL V SvenbiểnNamtrung

bộ

S es an S repok C ử uL ong

% d

iện

tíc

h lư

u vự

c tr

ên c

ác hồ

chứ

a lớ

n

Figure 6

iii. EVI-8 is the blocked river index, shows the proportion of the length of major rivers in a basin that are upstream of a fixed blockage across the river (eg dam, weir or barrage). Barriers restrict movement of aquatic fish/animals and also reduce navigation passage. A high number indicates long lengths of river above a fixed blockage. The major


Page 11

rivers of the Huong and Ba basins have indicator values of almost 100%, meaning that the river networks are blocked by structures close to the mouths, having a significant effect on the navigability of the river, and on fish passage and life cycles.

E VI-8: C hỉ số ng hẽn s ông

71

43.4

64.2

77.5

59.5

65

39.642.1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

BằngG iang– K ỳC ùng

Hồng-TháiB ình

Mã C ả G ianh ThạchHãn

Hư ơng V u G ia– ThuBồn

TràK húc

K ôn-Hà

Thanh-L a

Tinh

B a ĐồngNai

C ácL V SvenbiểnNamtrung

bộ

S es an S repok Cử uL ong

Phần

tră

m c

hiề

u d

ài s

ôn

g n

ghẽn

qu

á mứ

c g

iới h

ạn

X X X X X X X X

X = K hông có s ố liệu

Figure 7

2.5 Water quality Surface water in all river basins does not meet the standards for drinking water in

terms of organic pollution. The average concentration of BOD5 exceeds TCVN standard class A in most rivers, varying from 1.2 to 2 times the standard. Higher values are seen in the Tra Khuc, Gianh, Dong Nai, Red - Thai Binh and Cuu Long (2–3 times the standard) while lowest values are in the Kone, Sre Pok and Ba. There are also some hot spots, such as Nhue-Day river sub-basin and Sai Gon river segment running through residential areas, where the average BOD5 concentrations reach a value 12.5 times higher than the A Class standard. Organic pollution is generally within the B Class standard (except in the hot spots).

Heavy metals are not monitored in almost all of the local monitoring programmes. There are few data for determining pollution levels. The surface water in all river basins generally meets the requirements for drinking and other purposes. The average concentration of arsenic (As), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg) and cadmium (Cd) measured in most river sections are still much lower than even the Class A standards. There are some data showing high levels of heavy metals, but only in some localities.

In large cities, hundreds of industrial factories have contributed to water pollution due to their lack of waste water treatment facilities. Water pollution due to industrial production is very serious. For example, in the garment and textile industry and paper production, wastewater contains an average pH of between 9 and 11; BOD, COD, suspended solid indicator exceeds the acceptable level by several times. In some chemical and mineral industries, cyanide in wastewater is 84 times higher than the standard, H2S 4.2 times higher, and NH3 84 times higher, all of which creates serious pollution for the surface water in the area.

Industrial development without appropriate environmental protection measures is seriously polluting the surface water in many locations. For example, in the Cau River at Thai Nguyen City, the Thuong River at Bac Giang Bridge, the Cam and Tam Bac Rivers in Hai Phong City the water quality indicators exceed the standard by two to ten times for Class A water.


Page 12

Mineralization varies between 50 and 250 mg/l, which is fairly high in the limestone regions. In some areas, particularly in the Cuu Long River delta, water has a low pH. About 1 – 1.2 million hectares of land is acidified with a pH of less than five. In the Plain of Reeds and the Long Xuyen Quadrangle and Ca Mau Peninsula, acidification is relatively serious, lasting for three months from the end of the dry season until early in the rainy season.

Salinity intrusion in rivers, littoral canals, marshes, and fields is caused by tides, especially in the low-flow season. In the Cuu Long River delta, about 1.7 million hectares of land are affected by salinity intrusion from the Eastern and Western Seas. Salinity boundaries also migrate inland at times, thus negatively affecting agricultural production. In major rivers such as the Red River and the Thai Binh River, salinity is reduced and salinity intrusion narrowed considerably due to upstream reservoir regulation.

Water in lakes and reservoirs is generally of good enough that it can be used for production and for domestic purposes after treatment. Chemical composition of reservoir water is not very different from that of the river water prior to the formation of the reservoir.

2.6 Impact of Climate Change Climate change is expected to alter the current runoff and rainfall regimes2. MoNRE

has estimated increased mean annual temperature for Viet Nam from climate model simulations under a range of emissions scenarios. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report produced in 2007 provides the following predictions for Viet Nam, for the period 2080–2099, assuming a “medium” emission scenario, based on the results of 21 Global Circulation Models (GCMs):

i. An average annual rainfall increase of about 5%, with the increase being higher in the north than in the south. Note that there was considerable variation between GCMs, with some predicting much larger increases, and some predicting decreased rainfall in parts of the country and in the Mekong headwaters;

ii. An air temperature rise of 2 degrees C. Again there was a marked variation, with some GCMs predicting increases of up to 4°C; and

iii. Most models also show that, on average, an increase in rainfall will more than counterbalance the higher evaporation caused by temperature increases, with the result that an average increase in runoff is predicted, of the order of 50 mm/annum (approx 5% increase).

Most of the increase in average annual rainfall predicted by GCM models is expected

to occur in the already wet months of the year, with only a minor increase over the dry season. The result would be that the seasonal variation in river flows would increase, with a greater variation in runoff at the seasonal scale. The frequency of dry season water shortages may also increase, because of higher dry season evaporation rates. The higher temperatures will increase plant water requirements, increasing the dry season crop water demands. The other change expected is higher intensity of rainfall which will exaggerate the current issues in Viet Nam regarding natural disasters in general, and some new risk issues in particular such as dam safety.

2 Linking Climate Change Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management for Sustainable Poverty Reduction, November 2006, a study carried out for the Vulnerability and Adaptation Resource Group (VARG) with support from the European Commission


Page 13

Figure 5: Impacts of a 1 m rise in sea levels in Viet Nam

Recent UNDP and World Bank reports indicate that Viet Nam is one of five countries

world-wide most vulnerable to sea-level rise as a result of climate change. According to a study by the Institute of Research for Meteo-Hydrology and Environment, over the last 50 years the average temperature of Viet Nam has increased 0.7oC and the sea water level has risen 20 centimetres. It is forecast that the temperature may increase 3.0oC and the sea level may rise by 1m by the year 2100. If sea level rises 1m, about 40,000km2 of the coastal areas of Viet Nam will be inundated, of which 90% of Mekong Delta areas in Viet Nam will be fully inundated (MoNRE 2003). In the World Bank 2007 scenario of world temperature increases and a 1 m rise in sea level, assessments have determined that Viet Nam would lose 5% of its total land, 11% of the population will be seriously affected, agricultural production would decrease by 7%, and the GDP would decrease by 10%. Sea level rises in some areas would have very major consequences. A 1m rise would flood more than 11,000 km2 of the Cuu Long delta. (Figure 3). Bến Tre and Long An would lose nearly half of their land area. Sea level rise has further consequences such as coastal erosion, higher flood levels in down-river areas, increased salinity in river mouths and groundwater in near-shore areas, higher failure risk for river and sea dikes, extensive drainage problems and extended crop inundation, and higher salinity intrusion affecting fresh water intakes.

2.7 Water Resources Legislations and Agencies in Viet Nam Legal Documents on Water

- 08/1998/QH10 Law on Water Resources

- 179/1999/ND-CP- Decree on stipulating and detailing the implementation of the Lwa on Water Resources

- 67/2000/QD-TTg – Decision of Prime Minister on establishment of the National Council on Water Resouces

- 99/2001/QD-TTg – Decision of Prime Minister promulgating regulations on organization and operation of National Council on Water Resouces

- 67/2003/ND-CP – Decree of the Government on environmental protection and charges for water

- 02/3004/CT-BTNMT – Directive of Minister of MONRE on strenghtening the tasks of underground water resources management

- 149/2004/ND-CP – Decree of the Government regulating the lisencing of water resources exploration, exploitation and use, wastewater discharge in water sources


Page 14

- 02/2005/TT-BTNMT – Ciscular of MONRE guiding the implementation of Decree 149/2004/ND-CP

- 34/2005/ND-CP – Decree of the Government on sanction against administrative violation in water field

- 05/2005/TT-BTNMT – Circular on MONRE guiding the implementation of the decree N0. 34/2005/ND-CP

- 25/2008/ND-CP – Decree of the Government specifying the functions, tasks, authority and organiozational strucuture of MONRE (replaced the Decree No. 91/2002/ND-CP)

- 1035/QD-BTNMT – Decision of MONRE specifying the functions, tasks, authority and organizational structure of the Departemnt of Water Resources Management (replaced the Decision N0. 600/2003/QD-BTNMT

- 102/2008/ND-CP – Decree of the Government on collection, management, exploitation and use of natural resources and environmental data

- 112/2008/ND-CP – Decree of the Government on management, protection and integrated exploitation of resources and environment of hydropowe and irrigation reservoirs.

- 120/2008/ND-CP – Decree of the Government on Reiver basin management

- 15/2008/QD BTNMT – Decision of MONRE on protection of underground water resources.

Water Agecies MONRE is responsible for performing the tasks and powers defined in Government

Decree 25/2008/ND-CP prescribing the level organizations. These include such things as: i) preparation of laws, ordinance and legal documents, ii) development of strategies and plans, iii) information and education on laws and on natural resources and environment, iv) regulatory activities such as implementation of legal documents, plans, strategies and appraisal and supervision of investment projects, v) international cooperation and scientific research activities on natural resources and environment, and other administrative and supervisory responsibilities.

MONRE’s Department of Water Resources Management (DWRM). Within the MONRE, DWRM has been set up to carry out state management of nationwide water resources. Decision N0. 135/2008/QD-BTNMT (former 600/2003/QD-BTNMT) on functions, responsibilities, power and organizational structure of DWRM gives the position and overall function of DWRM, its power and responsibility as well as institutional arrangements. Therefore, the Department of Water Resources Management is a subordinate agency of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. It has function to advise and assist the Minister in state management and implementing the rights and obligations of state management of water resources in the whole country.

Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD). MARD is organized with administrative departments, special management departments and sector institutes. Some principal agencies involving in water resources management are: i) Department for Hydraulic Work Management, where state management of irrigation and other hydraulic works takes place; ii) Department for Flood control and Dyke Management which is responsible for flood preparedness and protection; iii) Institute of Water Resources Planning, Institute of water resources research and Southern Institute of Water Resources Research, which all undertake


Page 15

element of Government planning as well as the investigation and design of irrigation schemes and other hydraulic infrastructures.

Ministry of Planning and Investment. The Ministry of Planning investment allocation and co-ordination of development assistance. MPI is attaining an increasing role in the channeling of development directly to the recipients at provincial level with minimal involvement of representative central ministries.

Ministry of Construction (MOC). MOC retains a small role in rural water supply and sanitation by the setting of standards and approval of designs for piped supply schemes, and significantly larger role as the provider of skilful labor and design expertise to the sector. In urban water supply a clear destination has emerged with MARD responsible for the management of the resources and MOC for development of the urban infrastructure. Construction and maintenance of urban water supply is responsibility of water supply and sanitation companies, which are attached to the Department of Construction of PPCs.

Ministry of Health (MOH). MOH sets drinking water quality standards together with MONRE and controls the quality 0f tap water through Health Prevention Centres under the provincial or municipal People’s Committee. The work of the provincial Health Prevention Centres is supervised by 1 central and 3 regional centres, including the national Institute of Occupational and Environmental Health in Ha Noi, and the Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology in Buon Ma Thuot I the Central Highlands. The MOH is also responsible for implementing household sanitation programmes in the rural areas.

Electricity of Viet Nam (EVN). EVN undertakes the development of hydropower, although MARD should be responsible for planning of multi-purpose schemes. Fragmentation also remains a concern, especially in the parallel and poorly coordinated sector planning that is taking place within MARD, Ministry of Industry and EVN.

Other important Institutions. Institutions involving in water resources management and water services delivery outside of the core national institutions, can be placed in five categories: I) Provincial governments and department with the same functions as the corresponding central government institution, in particular the Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONREs) and Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARDs); ii) Commercialized companies under provincial control, in particular:

The private sector, which is vibrant but limited to very small companies that do not compete directly with the commercialized companies mentioned above. Small companies and individuals provide important services such as stocking and distribution of sanitation hardware as well as providing pipes and pumps for water supply. Small consultancy companies providing design services for urban development including water supply are emerging. The development of larger scale of private sector is still limited by the overall political environment, which favors state owned enterprises. However, it is clear that private sector is likely to grow and become more and more significant in the future;

NGOs: there are many NGOs in Viet Nam and they are usually registered under the Father Front or as part of association of NGOs that is registered. The individual NGOs are too numerous and scattered to mentioned here except for the Women’s Union, which is highly influential, in part, due to its official backing and the Viet Nam Union of Science & Technology Association, which is large association that has taken an interest in water resources and which amongst its members hosts the Vietnamese partners for Global Water Partnership

There are at least three different types of NGOs in Viet Nam. Many NGOs are registered as research-based organizations that also offer services within areas such as


Page 16

capacity building, socio-economic surveys and environmental assessment and these organizations sometimes are called non profit companies. Some NGOs functions as mass organization that serve a very useful function when undertaking large collective tasks such as dyke repair or mitigating flood damage. Other NGOs play an advocate role and seek to influence government and society within specialized areas such as conservation of bio-diversity. Many of these organizations have an important role to play in the broad definition of the Water Sector; and

Users, Consumers ad users of water service such as domestic supply, sanitation and irrigation water are at the core of the sector. In effect, the sector is defined by the many daily decisions made at this level much more than policy statement or institutional arrangements at a higher level. In principle, consumers and users are responsible for paying for the services and ensuring that they are operated and maintained. These responsibilities are discharged in a variety of ways. In the urban situation, water companies undertake management of water supply and sanitation systems in exchange for tariff payment. Often these arrangements involve a considerable degree of subsidy. In the rural situation, water supply and sanitation is sometimes a village level activity but more often is an individual household responsibility, especially where the point source water supply and on site sanitation is used. Irrigation services are usually provided through large companies and farmers are taxed according to a complicated system that assess the amount of land being irrigated and crop yield obtained. Often these are communal duties to upgrade the infield works which fall outside the direct-responsibility of the irrigation companies.

Local Level Each Provinces has Its Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE)

which Responses for Water resourecs management at Province level and manage the river within province

Chapter 3. Understanding the nature of rivers

3.1 Natural, historical and cultural transition of a river system A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake,

a sea or another river. In a few cases, a river simply flows into the ground or dries up completely before reaching another body of water. Small rivers may also be called by several other names, including stream, creek, brook, rivulet, and rill; there is no general rule that defines what can be called a river. Sometimes a river is said to be larger than a creek, but this is not always the case, because of vagueness in the language. Further, a river is part of the hydrological cycle. Water within a river is generally collected from precipitation through surface runoff, groundwater recharge, springs, and the release of stored water in natural ice and snowpacks (i.e., from glaciers). (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River).

Through out the millenniums human settlements started along the rivers as in the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, the Indus, Huang Ho and closer to home, the Red River. Human settlements can also changed and influenced the course of the rivers as the settlement continues to expand and develop. In Viet Nam recent rapid development has cause extensive pollution in its waterways and created flash floods that put a toll to human lives and health. As such, depending on how it is managed, the river can change from providing life lines to civilization to becoming mere backbone for its drainage systems that may afflict future catastrophe and destroy the very civilization that it has initiated (eg ?).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River


Page 17

3.2 A river system as a basin A River basin is the portion of land drained by a river and its tributaries. It

encompasses the entire land surface dissected and drained by many streams and creeks that flow downhill into one another, and eventually into one river. The final destination is an estuary or an ocean. A river basin sends all the water falling on the surrounding land into a central river and out to the sea.

Everyone lives in a river basin as all land drains to a river or estuary or lake. All activities on the will affect water quality and quantity far downstream. The topography of each basin determines the area that it drains, and the direction of the river flow. When rain falls on a street, roof or yard, it will flow into a specific creek or river way downhill towards the sea. When water is drained from a bathtub or a sink, It will flow into a drain which then channeled it into a tributary and then a river on its way to the sea. The water from the tap comes from a treatment centre that source its supply from a river

The National Geographic (http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geography-action/rivers.html) stated that “While each river is unique, all rivers are part of larger systems, and have common characteristics that enable us to understand how they function and how to protect them. River conservation strives to maintain two things: the quantity of water within a system, and the quality of rivers—and of everything else—within a river system and watershed.” Most river headwaters begin in hills or mountain, but as the river flows downstream, it gains more water from other streams, rivers, springs, added rainfall, and other water sources.

Rivers can have different origins and, as they travel, often merge with other bodies of water. Thus, the complete river system consists of not only the river itself but also of all the converging tributaries. Every river has a point of origin. Because gravity plays a key role in the direction that rivers take, rivers almost always follow a down hill gradient. Thus, the point of origin for rivers tends to be the highest point in the watercourse. Some rivers start from springs, which are the most common type of river source in humid climates. Springs occur as groundwater rises to the earth's surface and flows away. As rivers make the trip from their source to their eventual destination, the larger ones tend to meet and merge with other rivers. Resembling the trunk and branches of a tree, the water flowing in the main stream often meets the water from its tributaries at sharp angles, combining to form the river system.

Both river basins and watersheds are areas of land that drain to a particular water body, such as a lake, stream, river or estuary. In a river basin, all the water drains to a large river. The term watershed is used to describe a smaller area of land that drains to a smaller stream, lake or wetland. There are many smaller watersheds within a river basin.

3.3 Dynamism of a river system The early course of a river is often in steep, mountain areas, with rapidly-flowing

water. As a river continues along its course, always changing as it flows along, the surrounding terrain flattens out and the river widens. Rivers often meanders along their middle course. Tributaries (smaller rivers or streams) and runoff flowing into bigger river, increases the river's volume or the amount of water it has.

Most rivers end when they flow into a large body of water. The end of the river, the river mouth, is usually a river delta (the Mekong Delta), a large, silty area where the river splits into many different slow-flowing channels that have muddy banks. New land is created at deltas. Deltas are often triangular-shaped, hence the name (the Greek letter 'delta' is shaped like a triangle).

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/geography


Page 18

At the source of a river, the water is relatively pure. As the water flows downstream, it picks up silt and minerals (including mineral salts) from the soil and rock in the river bed. Many other chemicals enter river water as it flows downstream, including animal waste, human sewage, agricultural (farm) runoff, urban runoff, and mining/factory effluent.

The course of a river changes over time, as erosion caused by the flowing water and sediment sculpts the landscape around the river. Rivers erode land and carry it downstream towards the sea or lake it flows into. This kind of erosion can even form canyons, like the Grand Canyon (eroded by the Colorado River), waterfalls, like Victoria Falls (formed by the Zambezi River), oxbow lakes, and other formations.

As eroded soil is carried downstream, it is deposited at areas where the river slows, especially where the river meets the body of water it flows into (often the ocean or a lake), forming a fertile river delta that has muddy swamps and/or sandbars.

An estuary, at the river mouth, is the area where a river meets the sea or ocean, where fresh water from the river meets salt water from the sea. Estuaries are often called bays, sounds, or harbors (like Tampa Bay, Puget Sound, or Boston Harbor). Salt marshes are low, grassy, coastal areas surrounding an estuary; the tides often overflow the marsh. Since salt water is heavier (denser) than fresh water, when the two meet, the heavier salt water sinks and the lighter fresh water rises. The rate of change in salinity (the amount of salt in the water) with depth is called the salinity gradient. Estuaries are transitional areas between rivers and seas, and are home to many organisms that have adapted to life in brackish water (water that is saltier than river water but less salty than sea water).

3.4 The role of a river system and its stakeholders As an artery connects the parts of a body to one another, so a river threads together the

creeks and streams, valleys and hills, lakes and underground springs that share a common assembly of water. Whatever happens to surface or groundwater in one part of the river basin will find its way to other parts. If water is diverted out of its downward course in one section, other parts will come to "know" of its absence. A river basin comes closer than any other defined area of land, with the exception of an isolated island, to meeting the definition of an ecosystem in which all things, living and non-living, are connected and interdependent.

The river systems as have been noted above provide sustenance for the varied activities within the human settlements. Rivers have always been important for travel, transportation, and trade routes. Most settlements were built along major rivers. Rivers are also important for farming because river valleys and plains provide fertile soils. Farmers in dry regions irrigate their cropland using water carried by irrigation ditches from nearby rivers. Rivers also are an important energy source. In early industrial era, mills, shops, and factories were built near fast-flowing rivers where water could be used to power machines. Today steep rivers are still used to power hydroelectric plants and their water turbines.

The river systems also provide the needs of natural ecosystems which need to balance with the needs of human settlements in order to ensure the sustainability of the settlements. As such all stakeholders and users need to ensure that the natural systems of the rivers in terms of quality and quantity be maintain for its own survival. Hence, river systems, starting with river environment, need to be conserved and if deteriorated need to be rehabilitated and restored.


Page 19

Chapter 4. Basic requirements in restoring river environment

4.1 Setting multi-objectives of river restoration by considering river history and local culture

The source of deterioration of a river is almost always from the area around it and is a function of its historical development, local culture and activities. It is therefore a necessity and pragmatic approach to study the area identified to be surrounding the river (or stretch of river) to be rehabilitated and restored. These include identifying all the activities - agriculture, industry, commercial, housing, utilities, etc - within the area and analyze how they have and can contribute to the river’s deterioration. As these causes and activities are normally multi-stakeholders and involve the entire community, it is necessary that multi-sector and multi stakeholder objectives be discussed, agreed and followed through, with all the stakeholders, including the NGOs and community based organizations (CBO).

Because it is multi-sectors, there need to be an identified organization that can lead the river restoration program and action plans. This lead organization, which may be different for different area/locality, must be committed to ensuring the restoration and have the capability and the capacity or linkages to available capacity to follow through the program to finalization and to follow up routine maintenance once the restoration is completed. It can be the local authority or a local branch of line agencies or CBOs or others, as agreed together and supported by all stakeholders in the area.

4.2 Planning river restoration from the view point of the basin Sometimes the source of the deterioration may be outside the specific local authority

involved and may be further upstream (or downstream – because of the hydraulic nature of the river, e.g. high tides and sea level rise), but almost always it is within the same river basin or river systems.

As a river basin and its tributaries encompasses the entire land surface dissected and drained by its tributaries, streams and creeks that flow downhill into one another, and eventually into a bigger water body (huge lakes or sea), it is important that the entire river basin of the specific river to be rehabilitated and restored be identified. This identification, besides identifying the area and boundary of the river basin and its sub basins, include also data and information availability identification. These should include hydrological and hydraulic, land use (including solid waste and wastewater from all activities), capacity (both human resource and finance), etc. There is a need thereafter to identify what more critical information is needed, and this form part of the challenges

Once this information are identified then a preliminary proposal with a generic framework and action plans for each and every sector within the area contributing to the said “stretch of deteriorated river” can be proposed, discussed and agreed, with the action plans prioritized. This allows the required budget to be estimated. Prioritized action plans and available budget can also be an iterative process as agreed by all stakeholders.

Participation of all stakeholders is critical as they hold the key to sustainable maintenance of the rehabilitated and restored river or stretched of river.

4.3 Considering river restoration based on dynamism of river Restoration of a river basin requires looking at both the quality (pollution) and

quantity (excessive water resulting in floods) aspects. Unless there are natural sources of pollution from volcanic eruption, landslides etc, most pollution are caused by human activities.


Page 20

Similarly, other then the natural floods due to rainfall and high tides or a combination of both, flash floods are also cause by human activities. These can be due to increase surface flow due to paved and impermeable development, reduce channel flow form sedimentation or blockage from solid waste or a combination of both. It has to be noted that at the source of a river, the water is relatively pure, and it becomes polluted as it crosses human settlement. Flash floods occur more in urbanized and densely build up area.

As river systems are dynamic, identifying the causes and sources of pollution and flash floods and taking action to treat the root causes is a major part of river restoration and rehabilitation. Once the source of pollution is stopped and the excess surface runoff is managed, the river will began to heal itself due to the dynamics of the river hydraulics (Kallang River in Singapore, Rhine, Thames rivers, etc). There are literatures on best management practices including modular structures for waste water treatment, which are available on the market. (see Ref: DID Storm water management Manual). Some of these modular structures can be easily fabricated in-situ, while others may be prefabricated in factories.

Generally managing the river system in a sustainable manner will require considerations and acceptance of the concept of river basin. As such there is a need to understand management for all human activities within the floodplain and the need to have a basin wide management framework. The choice and design of the hard infrastructures will require hydraulic analysis by experts. It is of course expected that a hydraulic analysis on the river system/ or stretched of river to be rehabilitated, itself be carried out to identify the size of the hard infrastructure and other recommendations. In consideration of current management practices and sustainable development (which incorporates green growth and eco-efficiency concepts) the design of the water/river channels are expected (see Active, Beautiful and Clean - ABC- Waters Programme” of Singapore).

4.4 Proceeding with river restoration in cooperation with stakeholders The stakeholders of a river restoration programs include all communities (CBOs,

NGOs, schools and other public and private premises in the area), businesses, industries contributing to its waters (ie draining waste water into the river system), requiring the river water for their activities as well as public sector agencies such as local authorities, planners, relevant implementing agencies. These stakeholders are critical as they are the primary sources that created the problems and therefore will be the most effective in assisting public sector agencies in solving the problem, given the proper guidance and incentives.

All the stakeholders, as a group, will be able to provide historical narratives of the river over the previous years, provide essential and current information and also valuable ideas, acceptable to the area for planners to initiate proposals. They are also a valuable human resource capacity pool to provide and ensure future maintenance of the rehabilitated area is followed through. Not involving them can also cause disenchantments for some with respect to potential programs. This may create pockets of resistance which can festered and may be developed into real challenges to potential rehabilitation/restoration programs, if poorly handled.

4.5 Considering a combination of river conservation, restoration and rehabilitation The words conservation, restoration and rehabilitation may have different meaning and

perceptions to different people coming from different regions of the world with accompanying with Vietnamese context and environment. The following definition is recommended here so that there is a common understanding and synergistic efforts can be


Page 21

facilitated in ensuring a vibrant, beautiful and clean (VBC – Vietnam Beautiful Country) river environment in Viet Nam.

i. Conservation: the protection, preservation, management of wildlife and natural resources such as forests, soil, and water, in its natural conditions.

ii. Restoration: Bringing back to a former, original, or normal condition iii. Rehabilitation: Upgrading current situations, restoration to good condition, operation,

or capacity.

Thus conservation, in the context of river environment, means the need to ensure that the environment be conserved and is not allowed to be deteriorated in the 1st place. Restoration is to bring it back a deteriorated river environment to its natural conditions and rehabilitation is restoration process that has yet to achieve the initial natural state.

It is an economic initiative to combine these three efforts together. It is more difficult and expensive to restore a deteriorated environment to its natural pristine condition. More so as the dynamics of human development in requires necessary changes to the environment to move up the economic scale of development, as land use need to change from natural habitat to accommodate agriculture, industry and commercial activities. And not all river environments can be restored as there will be various requirements of the communities.

As such a framework of river restoration for a river basin should identify areas which still pristine areas can be conserved, which area can be restored to its natural condition and which stretched of river can at least be rehabilitated to a minimum standards acceptable to the local stakeholders.

Chapter 5. Implementation approaches for river environment restoration

5.1 Pre-planning approaches for river environment restoration. There are a number of references outlining the approaches to river restoration (see

references) planning and implementation. Once a stretched a river has been chosen to be restored, either by the stake holders in the locality or as part of action plans of a river basin framework for development, than the planning for the restoration can start. The planning approaches must be holistic and must encompass both the management and technical requirements. Just as in the Policy Brief on IWRM by GWP (2004) on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM), the three key areas of enabling environment, institutions/agencies and planning/management of the restoration projects will be required. Below are suggested details for considerations at the pre-planning stage of any river restoration projects:

Enabling environment Identify policies and legislative frameworks under which the restoration can be

implemented and are supported as well available financing structures and support for the restoration project. Financial support can be from various sectors or a combination of sectors or agencies. These can include federal, provincial and local governments, private sectors, public donations through NGOs and CBOs and/or loans and grants from international agencies and/or developed countries. Some main mandate Agencies and legadoccument are the MONRE, DONRE, The MARD, Ministry of Transportation (MOT), and the legal doccuments regarding to this are: Decree 25/2008/BD-CP for MONRE Function, responsibilities, the Decree 118/2008/ND-CP on Protection the Nattural resources and Enviornment of Irrigation and Hydropower Reservoir, Decree 120/2008-CD-CP on River basin management).


Page 22

Role of Institutions Identify within existing organizational structure, agency/agencies that has the capacity,

human resources, financing capability and expertise to lead, and/or networks to access support from, for the restoration project. The lead agency should be given the mandate (by a mandated national level agency??) and resources to initiate and facilitate the restoration work. Among its first responsibilities is to identify all the stakeholders involved and to bring them in the program by, together assigning task and responsibilities.

Planning and Management of the Restoration The lead agency may want to identify local social structure that would be critical

factors in the success of the restoration program, and base on these set up a steering group to assist in the planning and implementation of the restoration. Concurrently and/or together with its steering group the lead agency may need to identify the potential challenges vis-à-vis cross cutting jurisdictions, sectors, etc. It would be an advantage if local respected and committed personality can be invited in to be the champion of the project.

Assuming that the budget and financial allocation are already available, some steps in planning and designing a river restoration project are given below

Survey and information gathering This is a prerequisite for the planning and subsequent design, implementation and

construction of river restoration. Included in this is the identification of existing available instruments for planning and implementation of the project, such as topography and land use maps, future development plans, hydrology and hydraulic information and other relevant required. Identification of needed information analyzing what is available and what may need to be procured.

The information gathering must include the current existing condition of the area, the water quality and quantity status of incoming flow into the rivers. Potential of ensuring that incoming waste water are fully treated and quantity of incoming water can be maintain at previous natural volume to ensure secure and sustain healthy water quality and quantity flowing into the river. Options of using on in-situ construction or pre-fabricated modular infrastructure will depend on the nature of the flow. On minimizing water quantity, the survey of the existing land use and landscape will indicate potential retention and detention areas to attenuate the flow, rainfall harvesting, potential use of pervious surfaces, etc. Identify also resources required technology, experts and skill craftsmen that will be required with respect to the various alternatives and approaches considered. Together with information on topography, hydraulics and hydrology of the area, information on local fauna and flora will assist in developing and creating a river restoration proposal that is focus on natural perspective, have a lively water front and at the same time provide space, amenities and recreation for the community.

Awareness Creation and Consensus Building As restoration of rivers will invariably involved communities it is critical to create

awareness among residents in the basin in order to build and develop support and Consensus, particularly for activities requiring public participation. Generally this is better done by NGOs with the support of CBOs, private and public sectors in the area, as it requires general participation of all stakeholders. NGOs normally would have greater flexibility to lead in this area. Bringing in the media would enhance the awareness creation.

5.2 Planning ,Design Construction Phase of Restoration Projects Actual technical planning, designing and construction of a river restoration work,

especially if it is complex, will require technical expertise to analyze the hydrology and


Page 23

hydraulics of the area and to propose and recommend the required infrastructure and landscaping needs. But the planning and designing proposal should be finalized through discussions with local stakeholders to ensure commitment and support for some of the actions that will be required. This is particularly so as coverage of the area, to ensure water quality and quantity flowing to the river are managed, will involved those living and contributing flow to the river, within the basin area fronting the restoration project. The construction of the restoration project will follow once the planning and design is completed and acceptable and usually will require professional expertise and normal construction procedures.

Many books and references are available on the market and some are available on the internet. It is also possible for local communities and stakeholders to initiate the restoration, on their own, by phases. For example by installing wastewater treatments in markets, restaurants, factories, commercial installations and private premises and installing rainfall harvesting techniques to reduce the volume of surface flow to the river/drains immediately after a rainfall. Both waste water treatment and rainfall harvesting may be also part of future requirements of new buildings or retrofitting of old buildings.

5.3 Post Construction and Maintenance Phase While restoration of rivers is not easy, maintenance of the restoration is more often

then not more difficult as it is usually either neglected or overlooked. If this is allowed, the restored river will soon be neglected again. A “standard operating procedures” (SOP) as a “terms of reference” (TOR) of the maintenance agency will need to be prepared and handed over to the maintenance agency at the local level

If no maintenance agency, such as a local authority can be identified, then at planning stage, this need to be highlighted and discussed and recommendations made. This should include providing regular training and capacity building for the maintenance group as well as ensuring that there is sufficient resources, human and finance, make available. It may be that there is no legislation or policy governing the maintenance of restored rivers. If so, this need to be highlighted at the preplanning stage and discussions and recommendations made to provide the necessary mandate and empowerment to the maintenance agencies. The policy and legislations should include also ground rules what the public can and cannot do within the restore environment.

Chapter 6. Case study

1. River Restoration and polution in Day nhue river basin, Viet Nam The Nhue-Day sub-river basin (“the sub-basin”) is part of the Red River Delta

(Summary Figure 1) and has a total area of approximately 7,900 square kilometres. The sub-basin is located across six provinces in Northern Vietnam: Hoa Binh; Ha Tay; Ha Noi; Ha Nam; Nam Dinh; and Ninh Binh. Both the Nhue and Day rivers flow in a southerly direction from the Red River until they join at Phu Ly in Ha Nam province. From here, the Day River continues in a southerly direction until it reaches the South China Sea. Due to the location within the delta system and the current control structures, the system displays a mix of both regulated and unregulated rivers.

• In the dry season, wastewater discharge from Hanoi and Ha Tay can form up to 95 per cent of the total flow in the Nhue River (Sweco Groner and Delft Hydraulics, 2005). While initially extracted from groundwater sources, this wastewater must be considered as a water source of supply in allocation planning.


Page 24

• Urban and industrial wastewater, and to a lesser extent, agricultural drainage, causes significant social, environmental and economic impacts. Authorities are currently pursuing long term initiatives to improve treatment of wastewater, but they are using flow based approaches in the meantime to dilute high-concentration pollution events and mitigate adverse impacts. Therefore, the dilution of wastewater pollution is an important non-consumptive use of water which should be considered in water allocation planning.

The economical and social value of water rerourcse in the basin is low and being reduced due to water pollution.

In this basin, economics is useful in understanding the values of water for consumptive

and non-consumptive use and across administrative boundaries, sectors, and the environment. It can be used to identify and quantify the trade-offs between competing uses of water as well as the trade-offs between allocation based on economic efficiency versus social justice objectives. Through exploration and analysis of the values of water and trade-offs associated with alternative allocations, economic appraisals provide decision makers with information and understanding to assist in selecting an appropriate allocation regime.

accurate economic analysis of the alternative values of water is not sufficient to ensure efficient and sustainable water allocation outcomes. The step-by-step process and the associated guidelines developed in this report are designed to place economics within a participatory planning process that involves all key stakeholders and water users in the analysis and decision making process through consultation and appropriate representation. The planning process should be viewed as the first part of an on-going and adaptive process of engagement between the resource manager (government) and the users. Failing to develop mutual understanding between managers and users as well as between users in this planning process is likely to adversely affect not only the outcomes of the planning process but also the long term sustainability, efficiency and equity of water resource allocation and use.

The case study in the Nhue-Day sub-basin demonstrated that such an economic approach could be used in Vietnam for water allocation and more broadly in integrated water resource management.

Recommendations for future work

Many opportunities for further work both in the Nhue-Day and in other basins in Vietnam have emerged as a result of the study. Within the Nhue-Day, the case study could form the basis of an actual water allocation plan with the addition of some further technical assessment and stakeholder engagement including:

• confirming spatial and temporal demand estimates with provincial authorities; • assessing non-consumptive flow requirements in more detail; • developing or refining the hydrological model for the system; • defining the system for implementation and on-going management; • defining and assessing a range of options in detail; • negotiating with stakeholders to identify the preferred allocation option; and, • drafting the water allocation plan. Other related activities in Nhue-Day could include: • developing the river basin framework plan for the Nhue-Day and establishing a

RBO; and, • completing economic research on a range of water related issues and impacts

including water quality. More generally, other opportunities exist including:


Page 25

• trialling the water allocation planning process and developing water allocation plans for other basins;

• further developing the national policy guidelines and specific tools for use in the water allocation planning process;

• further investigating and applying economic principles to water resources within Vietnam; and

• further dissemination of the results of this study to enhance capacity for future implementation.

Achievement:

So far, Vietnamese Government has decided to invest for the “4 gates project”, thís is structure measure, that build the sluce to get more water from Red river to the Day-Nhue river sytem to dilute polution in the sytem and creaate mor opportunities for toursim sector and other puposes relating to water.

Recommendations for future retoration activities

We recommned that one segment or the Nhue triver in Day-Nhue river sytem will be upgrade and restored following with the international approach.

2. Kallang River, Singapore The cleaning-up of the Singapore River and Kallang Basin demonstrates a lesson in

environmental restoration. The project, which was started in 1977, took ten years to complete. The clean up transformed a river, which was filth and stench and heavily polluted to one where today aquatic life is thriving.

On February 27, 1977, at the opening of the Upper Pierce Reservoir, the then Prime Minister, Mr. Lee Kuan Yew said in his speech: "It should be a way of life to keep the water clean. To keep every stream, culvert and rivulet, free from pollution. The Ministry of the Environment should make it a target: in ten years let us have fishing in the Singapore River and Kallang River. It can be done."

By October 1977, plans were put up and actions were taken to clean up the Singapore River and Kallang Basin. The main objective of the effort was to cleanse the rivers connecting to the Kallang Basin and the Singapore River so that aquatic life could return to the rivers. There was massive housing development, more than 26,000 families living in unsewered premises and 2,800 backyard and cottage industries were resettled. Other measures taken in the clean up the river programme were resiting of street hawkers to food centres, phasing out of polluting activities and resettlement of squatters, industrial workshops, backyard trades, industries and farmers,

To keep the rivers clean, a committee comprising various government ministries and statutory boards, namely, the Primary Production Department, Housing Development Board, Jurong Town Corporation, Urban Development Authority, Sewerage Department, Hawkers Department, Drainage Department, Environmental Health and Parks and Recreation Department was set up to plan, coordinate and implement programmes to prevent pollution to the rivers. One main programme is the adoption of engineering measures to minimise pollution of the rivers. These measures include:

• Prevention of litter entry by covering of drains in litter-prone areas with slabs.


Page 26

• Installation of vertical gratings at selected outlet drains leading to main canals and rivers.

• Installation of floatbooms across rivers and canals.

Today, the River and Basin are used for recreational purposes such as boating, fishing and river cruise, adding to a higher quality of life for Singaporeans. The price of land around these areas has been enhanced, adding to economic and social development. There are now recreational businesses like restaurants along the riverfront.

3. South Pine River Restoration Queensland

The South Pine River is one of the longest untamed coastal waterways in South East Queensland. It forms an important part of a wildlife corridor from the subtropical rainforests of the D’Aguilar Ranges (Mt Nebo and Mt Glorious) north west of Brisbane through Samford, Albany Creek, Bald Hills and feeds water to the Moreton Bay Marine Park which is a Ramsar declared waterway of international significance. The existing remnant riparian rainforest, (once found along the banks of most streams in the Pine Rivers catchment), is classified as an endangered ecosystem; Simple- complex Notophyll Vine Forest (RE 12.3.1). Less than 10% of pre-European vegetation of this type now remains in the catchment.

The area was initially settled in the 1860's with dairy farming and cattle grazing the primary land use until recently. Gravel extraction from the South Pine River in this vicinity occurred during the 1960 and 70's. Loss of riparian vegetation, bank erosion and invasion of exotic plant species have resulted from these previous land uses.

To help address this degradation the South Pine River Rehabilitation Project was initiated in 2001with a federal government grant to the Pine Rivers Catchment Association and support from the Pine Rivers Shire Council. Since that time, with many more grants and continued support Council (pays for a part time project manager), the project has planted 91,127 (to June 08) local provenance seedlings across 64.7 hectares of previously weed infested areas of the South Pine River.

The project area runs for 7 kilometres on both sides of the South Pine River from Cash’s Crossing Bridge to Drapers Crossing. All the preparation work and on-going maintenance is done by volunteers known as River Warriors during weekdays, and plantings occur on weekends so that the rest of the community can participate.

Over the time of the project 7,049 volunteers have helped out for a total of 30,532 hours. These figures do not include training and work performed by 5 Green corps teams, 2 green reserve teams, 3 work for the dole, and school children.


Page 27

4. Thames River, London The Thames Rivers Restoration Trust (TRRT) is an independent charity dedicated to

improving the river and its tributaries to benefit people and nature. TRRT was first established in 1986 as the Thames Salmon Trust, which successfully installed fish passes on the upper river and on the River Kennet. But a wider river basin approach is needed to restore the Thames system to full health. Many parts of the system still suffer from problems such as pollution, physical alteration and low water flows; causing loss of benefits to people and wildlife.

Vision for the Thames

Vision is for a future where the Thames still performs vital functions such as navigation and water supply for human uses, but where possible the river and especially its 600 kilometres of tributaries have:

- the natural river structure restored - adequate water flow in all seasons to support wildlife - floodwaters stored on floodplains or in wetlands - native wildlife restored - native fish populations and opportunities for angling - access for people for recreation

Five point strategy for Thames river:

- Policy work: lobbying government to improve legislation and funding for river restoration and restoring wildlife - Planning: influencing planning processes such as the Thames River Basin Management Plan and Thames Water's plans


Page 28

- Practical projects : supporting action on the ground to improve rivers for the people and nature - Promotion: including education and awareness of the public, through our website newsletter and activities - People: involving them in solutions through supporting the Trust or in consultations over plans and projects

Some other activities and archiverments:

Restoring the River Kennet TRRT supports a number of activities and projects to help improve the River Kennet.

We support the work of the Kennet Chalkstream Restoration Project. We also support Action for the River Kennet and their projects. We are working with these organisations and others to ensure the implementation of the actions required for the River Kennet in the EA's Thames River Basin Management Plan under the EU Water Framework Directive.

Restoring London's Rivers

TRRT will be working with these partner organisations in a new London Rivers Action Group to help drive forward more projects to restore rivers in London. The LRAG will meet throughout the year in different parts of London to help community groups, local authorities, developers and others get more restoration projects off the ground. Our Mayesbrook Park Project in Barking will be a flagship project for the London Rivers Action Plan.

TRRT worked with the Environment Agency, Natural England, London Wildlife Trust, WWF and the GLA to produce the first ever plan for restoring all of London's rivers. The plan was published in January 2009. The plan shows how even degraded and polluted city rivers can be restored to wildlife havens for people to enjoy

5. Hudson River, New York

Historic and continuing discharges of PCBs from two industrial plants have contaminated natural resources of the Hudson River for about 200 mi. Trustee government agencies have begun a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) to ascertain the appropriate type and scale of action necessary to restore natural resources injured by this contamination.

From the 1940s to 1977, two electrical capacitor manufacturing plants located at Hudson Falls and Fort Edward, NY discharged up to 1,330,000 lb of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to the Hudson River (USEPA 2000). PCBs are hydrophobic and readily bind to sediment where they are available to enter the food web; fractions dissolved in the water column are also bioavailable. PCBs pose human health risks and can have many adverse effects on wildlife (Eisler 1986, Eisler and Belisle 1996).

Data collected since 1969 reveal that sediment, surface water, ground water, floodplains, and a variety of biota in the Hudson River environment are contaminated with PCBs. PCB oils continue to leach from the fractured bedrock beneath the Hudson Falls plant. Contaminated sediments in the upper river remain a significant source of PCBs to the entire river environment at least as far south as New York Harbor where about half of the PCB contamination is derived from the two capacitor plants in the upper river (USEPA 2000).


Page 29

USEPA (US Environment Protection Aganecy) has designated two-thirds (~200 miles) of the Hudson River—from Hudson Falls to the Battery in New York City-as a Superfund site. USEPA (2000) has determined that this contamination poses unacceptable human health and ecological risks and has proposed a remedy that would remove 2.65 million yd³ of contaminated sediment from approximately 40 mi of the upper Hudson River between Ft. Edward and the Federal Dam at Troy.

The Hudson River valley is a unique and nationally significant ecological, cultural, and economic resource. The valley provides breeding, feeding, nursery, and migratory services for up to 206 species of fish, 143 species of resident and migratory birds, and many other species. Sixty-four animal and plant species are listed as threatened, endangered, rare, or of special concern (USEPA 2000). Thirty-four areas have been designated Significant Coastal Fish and Wildlife Habitats; four locations are included in a National Estuarine Research Reserve.

In recognition of the role that the Hudson River plays in maintaining commercially

important fish species, it has been designated as Essential Fish Habitat by the National Marine Fisheries Service. In addition, the Hudson River Valley below Troy is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the entire Hudson River has been designated as an American Heritage River.

Role of trustees Superfund [§107(f) of CERCLA as amended, 42 U.S.C. §9607(f), §311(f)(5)], the

federal Clean Water Act, and other applicable federal and state laws name federal and state authorities that may act on behalf of the public as natural resource trustees. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC), U.S. Department of the Interior (USDOI), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are the designated trustees of the Hudson River's natural resources

Trustees are stewards of the public's natural resources and are responsible to hold these resources in trust for the public and future generations. As part of this responsibility, trustees may pursue claims for natural resource damages for injury to, destruction of, or loss of publicly held natural resources resulting from the discharge of hazardous substances to the environment. Trustees do not seek compensation for private party claims. Claims may be pursued against those responsible for the discharges.

The formal process by which trustees evaluate the effects of chemical contamination on natural resources is known as a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA). The trustees' goal is to restore injured natural resources and compensate the public for lost use. To implement their goal, the trustees develop and implement appropriate restoration projects.

Using the NRDA process, the trustees will:

+ Assess the effects of PCB contamination on the Hudson's natural resources + Identify and evaluate alternatives for:

1. Returning injured resources to baseline (that is, the condition of the resource in the absence of the release)

2. Compensating for the lost resources from the time they were injured until restoration to baseline.

+ Implement the restoration projects.


Page 30

USEPA and the trustees USEPA and the trustees have distinct, though complementary, objectives at a

hazardous waste site. USEPA's focus is on cleaning up or containing the hazardous substances and protecting human health and the environment from further harm. The trustees' goal is to develop restoration projects that will compensate for past, current, and future harm.

The trustees have worked closely with USEPA to develop a remedy that will maximize restoration of trustee resources to baseline conditions and minimize ongoing or residual injuries. USEPA's proposed remedial plan is projected to remove over 100,000 lb of PCBs from some of the most contaminated portions of the upper Hudson (USEPA 2000). Even if this plan were fully implemented, however, injuries to natural resources (for example in the form of fish advisories) would continue for many years (USEPA 2000).

Preliminary assessments of injuries USDOI regulations provide guidance on definitions and methods to assess injuries to

natural resources. Generally these resources are injured if:

1. The concentration of a hazardous substance exceeds government criteria or standards set to protect the use of the resource by people or wildlife—for example, issuance of fish advisories, or exceeding water quality standards [43 CFR 11.62(b)(1)]

2. The hazardous substance causes a measurable adverse change to the resource—for example, causing cancer, reproductive, and other effects in biota [43 CFR 11.62(f)(1)(i)].

As a first step, the trustees are conducting literature reviews and making initial assessments of the scope, extent, and severity of potential exposure and injuries. Some of the preliminary injury information that has been assembled to-date is presented next.

Thousands of samples collected by several entities document the widespread contamination of sediment, water, soil, and biota (NOAA 2001, NYSDEC 2001). The trustees are assessing these data to ascertain if they exceed government standards or criteria set to protect uses of these resources by wildlife and humans. For example, preliminary analysis of data from thousands of water samples collected over the past 25 years shows a widespread temporal and spatial violation of New York State water quality standards

Contaminated resources such as river sediment, surface water, ground water, and floodplain soils can also serve as pathways of contamination to biota. PCB concentrations of upper River sediments range up to 4000 mg/kg and generally exceed guidelines established to be protective of the environment (USEPA 2000). Ground water beneath both industrial plants is contaminated at levels that exceed State standards. Finally, recent sampling of upper river floodplain soils revealed a range of <0.011 to 360 mg/kg PCBs (NYSDEC 2001). These data indicate that aquatic and terrestrial habitats of the Hudson River are contaminated with PCBs at levels that may harm wildlife or harm the uses of those wildlife by humans (for example, as food from fishing or hunting).

In a preliminary effort to examine the movement of PCBs from contaminated habitat into the food chain, information on exposure to a variety of biota is being assembled. The table below summarizes several recently observed maximum PCB concentrations in Hudson River biota. USEPA found that wildlife that eat PCB-contaminated fish from the Hudson River are at risk and will remain at risk for many years (USEPA 2000). The trustees are


Page 31

evaluating these studies and other data and contemplating the design of studies to assess potential adverse effects from these exposures.

Injury to fishery

USDOI regulations provide that a natural resource injury exists whenever a hazardous substance is present in fish flesh at concentrations sufficient to exceed levels for which an appropriate state health agency has issued directives to limit or ban consumption [43 CFR 11.62(f)(1)]. Since 1975, high levels of PCBs in fish have led New York State officials to close recreational and commercial fisheries and to issue advisories restricting the consumption of fish taken from the Hudson (USDOI et al. 2001).

From 1976 until 1995, recreational fishing was prohibited for 40 miles of the upper Hudson between Hudson Falls and the Troy Dam. This reach is presently designated as catch-and-release only, and possession of fish remains illegal. Several important commercial fisheries below Troy Dam have also been closed or severely restricted for nearly 25 years. Consumption advisories have been in effect concurrently for 200 miles downstream of Hudson Falls (USDOI et al. 2001). In particular, from 1976 to the present, all species have been subject to a no-consumption advisory directed to women of childbearing age and all children under age 15. Many of these closures and advisories continue today. PCB concentrations in fish remain one to three orders of magnitude greater than levels identified as protective of human health or the environment (USEPA 2000).

So Exposure data reveal levels of contamination that have the potential to injure biota.

Fishing bans, consumption advisories, and exceedance of water quality standards may constitute injuries to these resources. The trustees will release an assessment plan in 2002 that will address how they will ascertain the nature and magnitude of these potential injuries and the selection and scaling of appropriate restoration projects. The trustees welcome the public's input to this process


Page 32

References

ESCAP (1998): “Water Resources Series N078: Guidelines and Manual on the

Protection and Rehabilitation of Contaminated Rivers” S Darby & D Sear (2008): “River Restoration: Managing the Uncertainty in Restoring

Physical Habitat”, John Wiley & Sons Ltd L D Waal et Al (1999):“Rehabilitation of Rivers: Principles and Implementation”,

John Wiley & Sons Ltd DWRM, MONRE, Viet Nam (2009): Evaluation report on Eco-efficient water

infrastructure In Viet Nam, DWRM, MONRE The Vietnam Water Sector Review, ADB TA 4903-VIE, 2008 SEDP, ….. DID (2000): Urban Stormwater Management Manual for Malaysia (MASMA),

Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia.

DID (2009): Rainwater Harvesting Guidebook, Planning and Design, Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Malaysia.

ESCAP/NAHRIM (2010): Implementation of ‘Eco-efficiency’ (EE) Concept in Water Infrastructure for Building Construction in Malaysia.

LC Malone-Lee & CK Heng (2009) Evaluation of the “Active, Beautiful and Clean Waters Programme” of Singapore: A report submitted to the UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMISSION FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC (UNESCAP) Under its “Eco-efficient and Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Development in Asia and Latin American” Project.

Frame guideline river restoration-final update, 2010 -Final report.pdf · The total average yearly...

Documents

Transcript of Frame guideline river restoration-final update, 2010 -Final report.pdf · The total average yearly...