Industrial Estates and the Environment: A Study of Water Pollution in Vietnam

In Vietnam, as in many other rapidly-developing countries in Southeast Asia, industrial estates have sprung up to provide the infrastructure that factories need. Such estates can reduce the environmental impact of the industries they support, by providing central wastewater pollution control facilities. Since there are economies of scale in wastewater treatment, sharing common facilities should reduce costs. Unfortunately, wastewater treatment is often not practised and Vietnam is currently experiencing a lot of water pollution from the factories in its industrial zones. Now a new report has highlighted why many industrial estates in Vietnam have not invested in wastewater treatment plants and why many companies still fall far short of the necessary compliance. It finds that fines for polluters are ineffective and that factors such as a lack of investment capital, and a perception that the fees charged for waste treatment are unfair, are stopping many firms from investing in wastewater treatment. It makes a number of recommendations on how this situation can be improved. These include tightening pollution monitoring and assessment and imposing stricter legislative controls and stiffer penalties to deter polluters.