Public relations program for improving water pollution situation in van phuc handicraft village, ha noi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my very great appreciation to Dr Tran Thi Thu Ha, my research supervisor, for her enthusiastic encouragements and useful critiques of this research work Without her thoughtful, patient guidance through every step of my research, this thesis could not have been realized Thanks to cooperating between Vietnam Forestry University and Colorado State University, I have chance to approach a reservoir of international knowledge and experience I would like to extend my thanks to Ms Nguyen Thi Huong Giang and Ms Do Thi Phuong, the Principal and the Vice Principal of Van Phuc Primary School, for accepting the responsibility of my research as well as Mr Can Van Khoa and Ms Le Thi Nga for giving me the knowledge accompanied with the enthusiastic guidance to collected data when I worked as an apprentice in Natural resource and Environment Department in Ha Dong District Moreover, I highly appreciate to Mr Dang Quang Hai, the Vice Principal of Van Phuc People’s Committee and Mr Pham Khac Ha, the President of Van Phuc Silk Villages Association for supporting me carried out survey questionnaires and interviews to local residents, followed by providing me with useful information about Van Phuc Villages Many other people have contributed to the success of this thesis but I would like to particularly thank my friends in GoGreen Club and other members in Action For Water project for their support Last but not least this thesis could have never been completed without the support of my parents because of their encouragements and giving me the favorable conditions during the entire process of doing research and going field works for having my works done i CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i CONTENTS ii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS iv LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF DIAGRAMS vi LIST OF FIGURES vi INTRODUCTION GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 2.1 Goals 2.2 Objectives SITE DESCRIPTION METHODOLOGIES 4.1 Existing data collection 4.2 Primary data collection 4.3.1 Descriptive statistic 4.3.2 Regression Analysis 4.4 Building PR campaign (June, 2015- June, 2016) RESULTS 10 5.1 Water pollution situation in Van Phuc handicraft village 10 5.2 Awareness and behavior of villagers on water pollution situation and ability to build PR campaign in Van Phuc handicraft village 13 5.3 PR program for improving water pollution situation and raising fund to build waste water treatment system in Van Phuc handicraft village 20 5.3.1 Executive summary 20 ii 5.3.2 Research and situation analysis 21 5.3.3 Goals and objectives 22 5.3.4 Key message 22 5.3.5 SWOT analysis 23 5.3.6 WWWWWH analysis 24 5.3.7 Target publics 24 5.3.8 Strategies 25 5.3.9 Tactics 25 5.3.10 Schedule and budget 28 5.4 Evaluation of PR program 29 5.4.1 Output 29 5.4.2 Output 33 DISCUSSION 34 6.1 Experimental setup performance 34 6.2 Data analysis performance 34 6.3 Future research 35 CONCLUSION 36 REFERENCES ANNEXES iii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS PR Public relations VEA Vietnam Environment Administration TTS Total Suspended Solids COD Chemical Oxygen Demand BOD Biochemical Oxygen Demand MONRE Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment EPA Environmental Police Agency SPSS Statistical Package for Social Sciences iv LIST OF TABLES Table Sign Expectation of Regression Coefficients with attitude towards water pollution situation Table Sign Expectation of Regression Coefficients of willingness to pay or donate money for building water treatment system Table Descriptive results for selected variables 13 Table Local’s awareness about water pollution situation in Van Phuc 15 Table Effect of some selected variables on respondents’ attitude towards water pollution situation 17 Table Willingness to pay for building waste water treatment 18 Table Effect of some selected variables on respondents’ willingness to pay for building waste water treatment 19 Table SWOT analysis of PR program 23 Table WWWWWH analysis 24 Table 10 Timeline and budget for PR campaigns 28 Table 11 The list of video performed in the environmental training course 29 Table 12 The result of analyzing water sample in the canal Hong Phong hamlet of Van Phuc village which is the place received domestic waste 45 Table 13 The result of analyzing water sample in Van Phuc village’s pond 46 v LIST OF DIAGRAMS Diagram The comparison some water indicators in with the standards of Vietnam – QCVN14: 2008/BTNMT 10 Diagram The comparison some water indicators in with the standards of Vietnam – QCVN14: 2008/BTNMT 12 Diagram The percentage of local's concern about PR program 19 Diagram The plan of 03 lectures on environmental training course 26 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Geographic location of Van Phuc Village Figure The lists of photos and drawings performed in exhibition 31 Figure Website model of crowd-funding campaign 33 vi ABSTRACT Early attempts to produce a better understanding on the cause of pollution from craft production and to halt this problem have achieved little success without provide thorough reasonable measures at the village, district, provincial and national levels Meantime, the small scale and dispersed nature of craft production has continued to defy effective management by the state, and pollution levels in craft villages have increased alarmingly Drawing on case study site in Van Phuc Handcraft Village in Hanoi, this study was undertaken to assess the water pollution situation and awareness and behavior of villagers on water pollution situation and ability to build PR campaign, whereby PR programs were established for improving water pollution situation and raising fund to build waste water treatment system in this area Collecting existed data, survey questionnaires, participant observation and focus group discussions were the methods used in data collection Using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences program, Microsoft Excel software was used to analyze some quantitative data The results revealed an overview on the critical issues on water pollution in Van Phuc, the relationship between attitude of local people towards water pollution situation and willingness to pay or donate money for building water treatment system fluctuated according to different person with different sex, age, types of job, income and level of education The study also figures out some PR campaign and test the effectiveness one out of two PR strategies which already carried out by author in Van Phuc Handicraft Village, Ha Dong, Ha Noi vii INTRODUCTION Vietnam is estimated to possess about 1,450 craft villages which have contributed significantly to rural areas However, associated with economic benefits, they is also undergoing severe environmental problems A report states that “the economic development in craft villages has caused serious impacts on the environment due to the use of small scale, outdated technologies, low material/fuel efficiency and limited manufacturing space” (MONRE, 2008) Another report also shows that 90 percent of craft villages are undergoing the excessive pollution level over the permissible level in accordance with the national environmental protection law (EPA, 2009) Van Phuc handicraft village is an obvious illustration Located on the bank of Nhue River about 10km to the southwest from Hanoi, it is an ancient silk handicraft village with a history of more than 1,200 years However, in recent years this village is facing critical issues about environmental degradation Van Phuc water resources suffer serious pollution by organic matter while the main pollutant sources from wastewater without treatment Most wells in eastern Van Phuc craft village – Ha Dong – Ha Noi contain arsenic concentrations 10 – 50 times beyond the guideline for arsenic in drinking water set by World Health Organization (van Geen et al., 2013).While water resources are put in such alarming situation, local people still lacks some basic knowledge to protect water resources and reduce pollution Public relations (PR) is “the management function which evaluates public attitudes, identifies the policies and procedures of an individual or an organization with the public interest; and plans and executes a program of action to earn public understanding and patience” (Public relations News) In the information era, PR is not only a technical activity for business but also useful for natural resource management However, PR is a new communication tool in Vietnam natural resource management that it has not been utilized widely by environmentalists Basing on the practical significant above, I proceed to carry out the research: “PR program for improving water pollution situation in Van Phuc handicraft village, Ha Noi” This research will show the critical issues on Van Phuc water pollution and point out some PR strategies in the hope of improving the situation GOALS AND OBJECTIVES 2.1 Goals The general goal of the research is to raising local’s awareness on water pollution situation in Van Phuc Handicraft Village, Ha Noi 2.2 Objectives The objectives of this thesis are as follows: (1)To assess water pollution situation in Van Phuc Handicraft Village; (2)To ascertain awareness and behavior of villagers on water pollution situation and ability to build PR campaign in Van Phuc Handicraft Village; (3)To establish PR program for improving water pollution situation and raising fund to build waste water treatment system in Van Phuc Handicraft Village; (4)To evaluate the effectiveness of the PR program in Van Phuc Handicraft Village SITE DESCRIPTION The research was conducted on Van Phuc handicraft village (or Van Phuc Silk Village) which is located on the banks of Nhue Thi River, Nguyen Trai Road, near Ha Dong city, 10 Km southwest of Ha Noi, the capital of Vietnam It takes you only 30 minutes by motorbike to go there from the center of Hanoi The east bounder is adjacent to Van Mo district, the north bounder is on Dai Mo and Tu Liem districts, the west borders with La Khe and the south is adjacent to Quang Trung The village has been much well-known for its traditional sericulture, weaving, and silk products Here, it is a traditional silk worm breeding and silk weaving area Despite historical changes and the urbanization process, silk worm breeding has disappeared, but Van Phuc silk weaving has still been growing for the last 10 centuries whereas silk textiles and garments industries have rapidly developed Figure Geographic location of Van Phuc Village Source: Google map and author There used to be three types of producing organizations Cooperatives, in the past period, had provided with 200 weaving machines operated by numerous contract worker who must ensure the responsibility of each production step to each workshop However, this former is no longer exist Cooperatives just manage now only inputs and outputs, support to advertise products images and find markets Households produce in large-scale: These households had around 10 looms and usually have to hire outside workers Workers Source: Providing by students joined in environmental training course 5.4.2 Output Crowd-funding campaign effectiveness will be evaluated whether or not by the amount of money donated through the website “Hanhdongvinuocsach” after months running campaign in 2016 Figure Website model of crowd-funding campaign 33 DISCUSSION During the implementation and analysis of the study several issues had to be faced 6.1 Experimental setup performance The basis of the research was the assessment awareness of local people towards water pollution, therefore defining the target publics and the main effected people through PR program plays as an important part However, in reality, this research failed to classify them The main problems in water issues has been came from dyeing and weaving activities, so objectives of the environmental training course should also depend on primary students who has significant relationship with handcrafters – indirectly targets ones of PR program On the other hand, due to lacking of money, the schedule of PR campaign has been delayed for months There is no a plan providing for all possible contingences Furthermore, whether PR program are successful or not based much more on the size affected to mass media communications but the study have not been utilized the former as a tools of PR campaign popularized 6.2 Data analysis performance The study was the first of its kind in the area of Van Phuc Handicraft Village and also quite new in natural resource management field in Vietnam Research was done in the first months PR campaign but it still continues until the next June, 2016 Therefore, the research might not be representative enough for further scientific research for evaluating wider of the effectiveness of PR – just only some outputs performed Since research has never been done before in study site, it were hard to predict and implement PR campaign without make survey carefully 34 6.3 Future research A logical resumption of the study would be extend to either other study areas in Vietnam or other fields in natural resources management such as air pollution situation, soil pollution situation and so on The results of research would be better if the timeline of research keep longer because it will be easier to evaluating and test the effectiveness of PR campaign Besides, the same applies should be surveyed on more than sample of respondents and look insight to choosing who will be main target publics, who will be affected publics in a pursuit of improving the effectiveness of PR campaign 35 CONCLUSION Over a time span of approximately three months from early June to last August of 2015, initially, water pollution and locals’ awareness were measured, besides, the first campaign of PR program were performed in Van Phuc Primary School The results of the study make clear that water resource in Van Phuc Village is facing with some critical issues such as high concentration of arsenic and some indicators Associated with this issues is the increasing of lacking basic knowledge of local handcrafters and local residents in terms of using water resources Their attitude based on some social – democratic characteristics such as age, gender, occupation, educational level, and income The later characteristics also influence to people willingness to pay money and taking part in PR program Looking at the results of surveyed data, PR program were established There were two main campaign, environmental training course carried out in August, 2015 and public raising fund intend to implement in the next June, 2016 36 REFERENCES Douglas L Gilbert, 1964 Public relations in natural resources management, Burgess Pub Co Environmental Police Agency 2009 Scientific Report on Preventing and Fighting Against the Violation of The Environmental Protection Law in Craft Villages, EPA (Vietnam Environmental Police Agency), Hanoi Van Geen A et al., 2013 The article “Retardation of arsenic transport through a Pleistocene aquifer”, http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v501/n7466/full/nature12444.html Ha Dong Natural resources and Environment Department, Report of Environmental information – Ha Dong district, 2010, 2012 and 2014 MONRE, 2008 Environment report of Vietnam, 2008: Craft village environment'/'Bao Cao Moi Truong Quoc Gia 2008: Moi Truong Lang Nghe Viet Nam, MONRE (Ministry of National Resources and Environment), Hanoi http://khoahoc.tv/giaitri/video/56040_video-nuoc-tren-trai-dat-bat-nguon-tu-dau.aspx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6m2Ii5JEFiI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7SPgMTPp6Q https://www.hanhdongvinuocsach.com ANNEXES Annex 01: SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE FORM  Introduction: This survey is part of a research into the general assessment water pollution situation; awareness and behavior of villagers on water pollution situation and ability to build PR campaign in Van Phuc Handicraft Village, Ha Dong, and Hanoi The research is conducted by: Le Thi Dao – Student at K56 Natural resources management – Advanced curriculum as part of thesis studies in cooperation with the Colorado State University and Vietnam Forestry University The reason for this interview is to gain your awareness about water pollution situation and willingness to pay for building a waste water treatment in Van Phuc handicraft village of Ha Dong, Ha Noi The questionnaire will take about 15 minutes Of course you have the freedom to decide whether you want to participate in this survey questionnaire or not You will not suffer any ill consequences form not taking part, nor will you gain any direct benefits from participating The information provided by you will be kept confidential and will be used for academic purpose only Your name will not be mentioned in any publication following from this research Thank you very much for your participation!  Instruction for completion: Select the right option and tick square Write briefly the answer on the … Open lines in appropriate GENERAL INFORMATION Full name: Sign: Address: Phone number: Sex: Male • Job: Female • • Non – silk handcrafts • Silk handcrafts What is your age? □ Under 26 □ 46 – 55 □ 26 – 35 □ 56 – 65 □ 36 – 45 □ Over 65 Education level  Illiterate  Vocational school  Primary school  College or University  Secondary school  Post University  High school  Other (Please specify………………………….) How many people in your family: persons How much your monthly average income? □ Under million VND □ – million VND □ – million VND □ – 10 million VND □ – million VND □ Over 10 million VND GENERAL QUESTIONNAIRES Do you aware any water pollution situation happened in your local area? □ Aware and subscribe □ Not aware If the answer is YES, please give some example: …………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………………………………………………………………… Do you think that you have directly responsibilities for protecting water resources?  Yes  No In your opinion, water resource surrounding your house is polluted?  Strongly Agree  Disagree  Agree  Strongly Disagree  Moderate If the answer is Yes please specify: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… ……………… In your opinion, domestic water used in your household is polluted? □ Strongly Agree □ Disagree □ Agree □ Strongly Disagree □ Moderate If the answer is Yes please specify: ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………… ……………… Does your house use water purify or other relevant water treatment? □ Yes □ No In your opinion, what drivers cause water pollution? □ Industrial activities in large and small scale □ Domestic activities □ Animal husbandry □ Poor infrastructure □ Low human awareness □ Ineffective government manager From your point of view, who are the main forces of saving and improving the environment, especially water resources?  Residents  Local environmental agencies  District People’s Committees  Provincial People's Committees In your idea, should we build a treatment system to relieve water pollution situation?  Strongly Agree  Disagree  Agree  Strongly Disagree  Moderate Are you willing to pay money for water treatment to keep water clean and drinkable?  Ready to pay  Still need sometime  Pay money only if certain conditions will fulfil  Not ready to pay  No response If yes: what amount are you willing to pay for waste water treatment system per household member? (Rank from to most prefer and to least prefer)  Up to 20 000 VND  500 001 VND – 000 000 VND  21 000 VND – 100 000 VND  Over 000 000 VND  100 001 VND – 500 000 VND 10 Do you want a solution to solve environmental contamination at your local area?  Desiring have a solution to environmental problems  Willingness participate to find out solution  No response 11 Do you have any suggestions for the state authorities to enhance water quality of water at your local area? ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………… SURVEY ON ATTENTION AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES ENVIRONMENTAL CLASS PARTICIPATION OF STUDENTS The answer of the children in this survey will help to determine their attention to the environment and the environmental issues today, and the organizing an environmental classes for the children with their direct participation School: Class: _Date: _ (Circle one): Male Female Have you ever seen water source polluted in your local areas? a Yes b No Have you ever joined any environmental classes or educational extra activities? (including in and out of school) a Yes b No If you answer YES, list them in these blanks below: If you say NO,choose the reason why: a I am not interested in joining those classes b T are no classes related to these environmental classes in my school c Other: Would you like to join an environmental classes? a Yes If you answer YES, register the class “I am A WATER HERO” for protecting b No environment and spreading messages to other people Write your name to register as a “Water Warriors” in the blank: INTERVIEWING LOCAL GOVERNMENTS Full name: Age: Position: QUESTIONNAIRES The general information about Van Phuc silk village: History, area, administrative maps The most recent statistics (Clearly note the source and time of the information) a The number of households in the area, population b The number of households/ manufacturers producing silk in the area: How many kinds of manufacturing, please enumerate them on list c The number of silk shops d The number of plants and companies in the areas List some large plants and companies Does the entire area has any clean water systems? If so, which certain plants? (In case it rains, had it happened to any roads flooded?) How to treat household wastewater? How to treat enterprise wastewater? Regulations and policies issued in the management and treatment of water resources in the area Was, is or may be environmental project – water source protection implemented in the area? Why had the majority of producers in the region been no longer favored dyed silk fabric anymore? And when did it start? Which kind of mainly production takes place? If not, where the natural dye materials they used from? Evaluate the impact of assessment village location issues on environmental and water resources About noise pollution, air pollution, especially water pollution Give the Proposed Solution to the Local Government Annex 02: The results compared with Vietnamese standards – QCVN 14:2008 / BTNMT was written by the Compilation Board of national technical regulations on water quality, submitted by the General Department of Environment and Legal Department for approval and issued under the Decision No 16/2008/QD-BTNMT dated December 31, 2008 of the Minister of Natural resources and Environment Table 12 The result of analyzing water sample in the canal Hong Phong hamlet of Van Phuc village which is the place received domestic waste 2010 2012 QCVN14: 2014 Unit 1st nd 1st nd 1st nd 2008/BTNMT period period period period period period (A2) - - 22 24 30 27 - pH 7,04 7,01 7,03 7,1 7,4 7,2 5,5-9 - TSS 93 92 76 78 83 80 100 mg/l BOD5 142 72 81 83 60 59 50 mg/l H2 S 3,2 2,8 4,2 3,2 1,5 1,3 4,0 mg/l NH4+ 39,0 34,0 25,0 17,0 10,2 9,9 10 mg/l NO3- 21,5 11,5 21,0 19,0 16,0 15,7 50 mg/l PO43- - - 2,9 3,1 2,7 2,6 10 mg/l 14 000 15 500 12 000 11 000 700 550 000 MNP/1 T Colifor C 00ml ms Source: Environment Analysis Department (2010, 2012, 2014) This standard specifies value of pollution parameters as a basis for calculating the permissible maximum value in domestic wastewater as being discharged into water resources used for the purpose of domestic water supply (with water quality equivalent to that in column A2 of the national technical Regulation on surface water quality) Table 13 The result of analyzing water sample in Van Phuc village’s pond 2010 1st 2012 2014 QCVN14: 2008/BTNMT nd 1st nd 1st nd period period period period period Unit B1 period pH 6,56 6,51 6,5 6,7 6,7 6,5 5,5 - TSS 27 30 32 33 40 37 50 mg/l DO 3,1 3,0 6,6 6,3 6,1 5,9 >=4 mg/l COD 22 22 25 27 25 22 30 mg/l BOD5 9 11 13 13 11 15 mg/l 7200 7100 7000 7200 6850 6780 7500 MNP/100ml Coliforms - Source: Environment Analysis Department (2010, 2012, 2014) This standard specifies value of pollution parameters as a basis for calculating the permissible maximum value in domestic wastewater as being discharged into water resources not used for the purpose of domestic water supply (with water quality equivalent to that in column B1 and B2 of the national technical Regulation on surface water or coastal water quality) Annex 03: Research activities at Van Phuc handicraft village