45 accordance with laws of protection Hence, this section would focus on the analysis of the process of formation of these laws of water management since 1986 The considerable expansion of harvesting[.]
45 accordance with laws of protection Hence, this section would focus on the analysis of the process of formation of these laws of water management since 1986 The considerable expansion of harvesting areas as shown in Figure 2.2 and increase of hydroelectric and fossil power - as above analysed - indicates the vastly increasing demand for water Đổi Mới (Reform) and the formal introduction of the market economy in the mid 1980s made a perceptible impact on the country’s natural resources management, including water Accordingly, water was, for the first time, perceived as an economic good; the pricing of water (and other natural resources), underscored by fullcost recovery practices, were partially implemented in industrial and commercial usage in urban areas During this time, the first post-war donor investments (Finland) were also utilized to develop water supply and sanitation, and for mitigating the water disasters (Waibei, Gabi 2010) Besides, hydraulic construction constituted the main focus of water arrangements, building on the principles of flood protection and extension of irrigation for food security In 1993, the Environment Law was issued to confirm that water was a resource to be protected In 1995, water management functions were put under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) There were actually less water-related policy interventions, except some guiding principles mentioned in the “Integrated Natural Disaster”, the main focus of the policy making was for irrigation, flood and disaster management Infrastructure development in form of huge dyke systems was prioritized and closely linked to economic growth targets (Nikula, 2008) Moreover, water control was still perceived as a merely technical problem and, therefore, civil engineering rather than institutional approaches was continuously considered In 1996, the first water resources sector review was undertaken and it addressed the technical problems of both water quantity and quality, and highlighted the main institutional challenges for sustainable water resources management in the country (Brown, el at., 2009) In 2002, a new Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE), and water management was put under MONRE In 2006, MONRE issued the “National Water Resources Strategy towards the year 2020”, which complemented the current water laws This is the policy to define key areas in water management, for example: “guiding principles, objectives, missions and implementation measures regarding the protection, exploitation, use and development of water resources, as well as the prevention, and mitigation of adverse impact caused by water” (MONRE, 2006)