Article 1.- To approve the overall scheme on protection and sustainable development of the ecological environment and landscape of the Cau River basin (hereinafter called Cau River Overall Scheme for short) with the following major contents:

I. DIRECTING VIEWPOINTS

1. Protecting the ecological environment and landscape of the Cau River basin is a long-term and regular task requiring high determination and concentrated investment resources of the administration and local people in the basin, with the support of the central budget.

2. The protection of the ecological environment and landcape of the Cau River basin must be handled in a comprehensive manner: according to the entire region in combination with administrative boundaries; preservation of water quality in parallel with assurance of adequate water volume.

3. The prevention and stoppage of environmental deterioration shall be considered the key, combined with step-by-step handling and redressing of hot spots of environmental pollution in the entire region. All production establishments starting their operations within the basin must use clean technologies or technologies ensuring that waste treatment reaches environmental standards. Priority shall be given to the realization of the Cau River Overall Scheme in combination with other relevant projects and/or programs of the State, ministries, branches and each locality in the entire basin region.

4. The accelerated socialization and promotion of internal strength shall be combined with the enhancement of state management; the application of advanced technologies and the promotion of traditional solutions to keep clean the living environment of each household and the population community.

II. GENERAL ORIENTATIONS AND SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

1. General orientations towards 2020:

- To materialize in the Cau River basin the Prime Minister's Decision No. 256/2003/QD-TTg of December 2, 2003, approving the National Strategy on Environment Protection till 2010 and the Orientations towards 2020, step by step handling the pollution, improving and raising the quality of the river environment so that by 2020 Cau river will turn clean again, ensuring water balance in efficient service of the socio-economic development demands in the basin, the water flow system becomes stable, irrigation works are safe and sustainable, the natural landscape is fresh and beautiful.

- To elaborate, promulgate and efficiently implement the system of mechanisms and policies with feasible solutions to check the increasing pollution, restore, rehabilitate, protect, regenerate and develop the Cau River basin environmental resources; to establish the basin-environment management model suitable to the natural, socio-economic conditions, ensuring justice for all subjects, all sub-regions in the basin, associating the exploiters' interests and obligations with the long-term protection of the basin ecological environment in the direction of sustainable development.

2. Objectives towards 2007:

- To complete the handling of establishments which have caused serious pollution to the Cau River basin environment in the first phase (from 2003 to 2007) under the Prime Minister's Decision No. 64/2003/QD-TTg of April 22, 2003, approving the plan on resolute handling of establishments which cause serious environmental pollution, restricting the increased pollution of the Cau River water source, creating substantial and positive initial improvements in environmental treatment in the entire region.

- To redress the situation of unplanned exploitation of sand and cobble in the river, protect the natural cross-section of the river.

- To strengthen alluvium deposition, ensure that forests shall reach the set standards in order to overcome water shortage in dry months; to preserve, regenerate and develop the clean natural environment, and conserve biodiversity throughout the basin region.

- To form and step by step perfect the organizational model for management of the basin environment; to formulate necessary mechanisms and policies to create favorable conditions for enhancing the state management and accelerating the socialization of the protection of the basin environment.

3. Objectives towards 2012

- To completely stop the increasing pollution of the Cau River water source. To continue realizing the Prime Minister's Decision No. 64/2003/QD-TTg of April 22, 2003, approving the plan on resolute handling of establishments which cause serious environmental pollution, ensuring that all establishments which cause serious environmental pollution and seriously polluted areas in the Cau River basin shall be completely handled.

- To ensure smooth flow on the entire river, to rationally solidify essential bank sections running through urban centers.

- To preserve existing forests, increase the forest coverage in the entire basin to at least 43% of the natural area, to substantially restore headwater forests which have been degenerated.

- To substantially complete the improvement and upgrading of rain water and waste water drainage systems in urban centers and industrial parks in the entire region; 50% of the production and/or business establishments in the six Cau River basin provinces shall be granted the environmental-standard certificates or ISO 14001 certificates; 40% of the urban centers and 70% of the industrial parks and export processing zones in the basin region shall have concentrated waste water treatment systems up to environmental standards; to gather 90% of industrial solid waste, daily-life solid waste; to treat 60% hazardous waste, including 100% of hospital waste.

III. SPECIFIC TASKS AND SOLUTIONS

1. Tasks:

a/ To fully assess the current situation of, and substantially check the increase in, environmental pollution in the Cau River basin:

- To investigate the actual pollution of environmental components and natural resources (water, soil, air') caused by industrial, cottage-industrial and handicraft and agricultural production as well as daily-life activities of people.

- To supervise and examine the polluting discharge sources; to strictly realize the assessment of environmental impacts of projects before the construction thereof; to manage the environmental protection when projects are commissioned.

b/ To environmentally address and improve areas and establishments which cause serious environmental pollution:

- To resolutely handle seriously polluting establishments in the basin region under the Prime Minister's Decision No. 64/2003/QD-TTg of April 22, 2003, approving the plan on resolute handling of establishments which cause serious environmental pollution.

- To treat seriously polluted river sections; to dredge and clear the flow channels in important river sections and to embank crucial and necessary river sections.

c/ To step by step revive Cau river with a view to conserving and developing the natural environmental resources and biodiversity.

- To restore degenerated protective forests, headwater forests, enhance the enrichment of water sources, build water storage works against drought and water exhaustion; to qualitatively and quantitatively ensure water in service of socio-economic development demands; to ensure the stability and smoothness of natural flow channels and the sustainability of water works in the region.

- To conserve biodiversity, protect the natural landscape and ecological environment in the Cau River basin region.

2. Major solutions:

a/ To socialize the protection of the ecological environment and landscape of the Cau River basin region, which covers:

- Intensification of communication activities to raise the people's awareness of their environment-related interests and responsibilities (relations between environmental sanitation and people's health as well as social development'), the organization of community participation, the implementation of mechanisms for coordinated actions of mass organizations, the popularization of self-management models, the maintenance of regular mass movements for environmental protection in combination with irregular movements for a specified duration, focussing on key projects and tasks.

- Accelerated application of economic tools and job creation in the management of sustainable exploitation and protection of the ecological environment and landscape in the Cau River basin region; the formation and development of the rural sanitation service market under the State's orientations.

b/ To enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of the state management throughout the region:

- To strictly implement the State's normative documents on natural resources, environment and relevant domains in management of the sustainable exploitation and protection of the ecological environment and landscape.

- To formulate, complete and operate in a coordinated manner the regional management mechanism; to formulate natural resource and environment-observing, -supervising and -forecasting systems and an environmental resource database.

- To formulate, approve and put into operation a system of policies including plannings, five-year and annual plans, international cooperation plans, financial mechanisms, investment incentive mechanisms, programs, projects and mechanisms for coordinated actions of managerial bodies, mass organizations'.

c/ To diversify investment resources so as to attract to a utmost and efficiently use resources with appropriate incentive mechanisms with a view to redressing, treating pollution and servicing the protection, regeneration and development of environmental resources in the Cau River basin region:

- All enterprises operating in the Cau River basin must invest by themselves capital in environmental protection and redressing of environmental pollution caused by their production and/or business activities. The State shall consider and provide partial funding supports for the implementation of this task in the form of targeted support for each specific task or project.

- The state budget investment shall be made to redress the pollution caused by waste water discharged from residential areas into the river basin and handle concentrated garbage dumping sites in the form of targeted support for each specific task or project.

- To prioritize the use of assorted environmental protection charges under the mechanism stated in the Prime Minister's Decision No. 82/2002/QD-TTg of June 26, 2002, on the establishment, organization and operation of the Vietnam Fund for Environmental Protection.

d/ To step up international cooperation in forms of bilateral or multilateral cooperation with foreign countries, international organizations and non-governmental organizations in order to make full use of their cooperation and support in experience and advanced technologies, encouraging and creating conditions for ministries, branches and localities to mobilize various sources of international financial assistance and ODA capital of other countries and international organizations with a view to accelerating the realization of this oversall scheme.

e/ To formulate, approve and implement programs under the Overall Scheme on Protection of Ecological Environment and Landscape of the Cau River basin region, concretely as follows:

- Program 135 of the 1999-2005 period on resolute handling of establishments which cause serious environmental pollution in the Cau River basin, as identified in the Prime Minister's Decision No. 64/2003/QD-TTg of March 24, 2003, approving the plan on the resolute handling of establishments which cause serious environmental pollution.

- Program 135 of the 1999-2005 period on protection of the environment in the Cau River basin region as stated in the Prime Minister's Decision No. 256/2003/QD-TTg of December 2, 2003, approving the National Strategy on Environment Protection till 2010 and Orientations towards 2020.

- Programs and projects on environmental handling and protection, organization and management of natural resources and environment in the Cau River basin region (not included in two Programs 135 of the 1999-2005 period), which are managed by provinces.

The above schemes and programs shall be formulated, managed and implemented in accordance with the Construction and Investment Management Regulation promulgated together with the Government's Decree No. 52/1999/ND-CP, Decree No. 12/2000/ND-CP and Decree No. 07/2003/ND-CP, the Prime Minister's Decision No. 82/2002/QD-TTg on the establishment, organization and operation of the Vietnam Fund for Environment Protection, and relevant documents.

IV. ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. Responsibilities of ministries, central branches:

- The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall have the responsibilities: to direct and monitor the implementation of this Scheme, biannually sum up and report on the implementation results to the Prime Minister; direct the implementation of the assigned programs, schemes related to the environment in the Cau River basin region; propose to the Prime Minister the establishment of the Cau River Basin Environment Protection Committee to comprise the People's Committees of the Cau River basin provinces of Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Vinh Phuc, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh, Hai Duong and competent representatives of relevant ministries and/or branches for coordinated implementation of the Cau River Overall Scheme.

- The Ministry of Planning and Investment shall assume the prime responsibility for, and reach agreement with the Finance Ministry on, balancing and arranging capital from the state budget and other capital sources every year and five years, submit them for approval according to current regulations, inspect the use of the approved funding support of the state budget for proper purposes.

- The Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Construction and relevant ministries and branches shall, according to their state management functions, formulate mechanisms and policies related to the implementation of the Cau River Overall Scheme and participate in the implementation thereof according their assigned tasks.

2. The presidents of the People's Committees of the six Cau River basin provinces (Bac Kan, Thai Nguyen, Vinh Phuc, Bac Giang, Bac Ninh and Hai Duong) shall have the responsibilities:

- To closely coordinate with one another in directing the successful implementation of the Scheme.

- To take initiative in bringing into full play the internal strength and mobilize to the utmost the provincial resources for the implementation of the Oversall Scheme.

- To direct the provincial Services, Committees, branches and administrations at all levels to fruitfully materialize the contents of the Scheme in their respective localities.

Article 2.- This Decision shall take effect 15 days after its publication in "CONG BAO."

Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, and the presidents of the People's Committees of the six Cau River basin provinces shall have to implement this Decision.