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Vietnamese perspectives on ESD
Le Dong Phuong, Viet Nam Institute of Education Sciences
V
iet Nam, in Southeast Asia, has a land area of approxi-
mately 331,688 km
2
. The topography consists of hills
and densely forested mountains, with low land covering
no more than 20 per cent. Mountains account for 40 per cent
of the area, with smaller hills accounting for 40 per cent and
tropical forests 42 per cent. Viet Nam has diverse geographic
features including large deltas (Red River Delta in the north
and Mekong Delta in the south), high mountain chains and vast
basalt plateaus. The 3000km coastline contributes to the liveli-
hood of much of the population of 86 million.
1
Because of differences in latitude and the variety of topographical
relief, the climate varies considerably from place to place, which
creates a high level of biodiversity in Viet Nam. Viet Nam is ranked
16th in biological diversity (having 16 per cent of the world’s
species
2
).The Vietnamese government is very well aware of this and
has done much to preserve the precious nature and environment for
future generations.
In the wake of economic reform, Viet Nam has realised a number of
significant achievements in terms of development. Economic growth
has been maintained at a high rate. Poverty alleviation efforts have
resulted in a range of successes that have been highly recognized
by the United Nations and international partners. Living standards
have been improving continuously. Vietnamese people now have
greater access to a number of high-quality services. The Vietnamese
government pays close attention to socio-economic development
and poverty reduction, as well as environmental protection through
sustainable natural resource use and sound environmental manage-
ment for sustainable development.
3
Aside from these successes, Viet Nam is facing a number of severe
and urgent environmental problems. We are aware of the short-term
and long-term challenges, and are preparing for these in terms of
comprehensive consciousness, policy mechanisms, workforce and
resources to create a breakthrough in environmental protection activ-
ities in the coming years. The Vietnamese government has drawn
up a range of policies to express its view of the importance of envi-
ronmental protection as an indispensable condition for sustainable
development. The Prime Minister has approved Agenda 21 and the
National Strategy for Environmental Protection to 2010 and Vision
toward 2020, which provide detailed and clear objectives, content
and solutions for environmental protection. The National Assembly
approved the amended Law on Environmental Protection in 2005.
Education in environmental protection and sustainable
development policies
In the National Strategy for Environmental Protection, measures for
sustainable development have been clearly defined.
4
These include:
• Education to improve awareness of responsibility
• Balance in economic growth and social progress and
equity, as well as environmental protection
• Increased research and development capacity in envi-
ronmental protection technologies.
In the Strategic Orientation for Sustainable Development
in Viet Nam (Viet Nam Agenda 21),
5
sustainable devel-
opment has been identified as a cause for concern for
the whole of society and the principles for this are:
• Human beings are the centre of economic
development
• The environment is inseparable from the
development process
• A balance between current and future generations
must be maintained
• Science and technology provide the foundation and
momentum for development.
In order to realize success in sustainable development,
Viet Nam Agenda 21 has also identified the importance
of education. The measures related to education can be
grouped as follows:
• Environmental and sustainable development
education in schools
• Workforce training in the fields of environmental
protection and sustainable development in higher
education institutions
• An awareness campaign for sustainable development
as a means to improve people’s knowledge and
citizens’ consciousness
• Information for local populations on rational use
and protection of resources
• Encouraging the local population to participate in
the protection of environment and local resources.
These broad policies have had an impact on the educa-
tion system in Viet Nam. Environmental protection
education began in the early 80s and gradually expanded
to cover education for sustainable development (ESD).
In 2008 the new school curriculum was finalized and
this included elements concerning sustainable develop-
ment. Teachers and students are now encouraged to
discover issues related to local environment and devel-
opment and bring them into the classroom.
On 5 May 2006, at the end of the second National
Conference on Sustainable Development, the Prime
Minister decided to form the National Sustainable
Development Council chaired by the Deputy Prime