Using Economic Instruments for Urban Environment Management in Vietnam

The environment and the economy are basic and inseparable elements. The environment is the locus and support for the activities of human life. These activities are related to the creation and supply of resources necessary for the economy. They generate large amounts of waste, while the load capacity of the environment is limited. When economic operations go beyond certain limits, then the environment cannot sustain them. This could lead to economic crisis on a global scale. The problem is how to protect the environment, maintain economic operations and improve the lives of human beings, or in other words, find the ways to harmonise environmental factors with the needs of the economy. Vietnam and other developing nations are facing serious problems of environmental degradation, especially in urban areas. Many solutions have been tried, of which the use of economic instruments has received much attention on the part of the government and leaders of Vietnam. This article focuses on the use of economic instruments in urban environment management in Vietnam. The objectives of this article are to explore how economic instruments are being used for urban environment management and to point out the issues and difficulties emerging in the process of using this tool to control environmental pollution and to improve the quality of the environment.