The World Bank’s work on pollution management includes extensive analytical work and limited direct investments in technical assistance and pollution management through grants and loans. Analytical Work  Industrial Pollution: Air and water pollution from industrial sources and hazardous wastes cause human health risks as well as negative impacts on ecosystems in both urban and rural environments.
The objective of the Bank’s analytical activities in this thematic area are to better understand these issues and to help develop a wide range of effective tools for pollution prevention and control.
- World Bank – Korea Environmental Partnership (BKEP): under this partnership an inception report was recently completed (2009) on Industrial Wastewater Management in Nhue-Day and Dong Nai River Basins. The objective of the commissioned research activity was to provide:
- (i) an inventory of current industrial estates located in two river basins (Nhue-Day and Dong Nai) and
- (ii) a detailed assessment of the status and potential approaches for improving management of wastewater at industrial estates, large scale stand-alone polluting industries and craft villages within the most polluted provinces of the Nhue Day river basin in Vietnam.The final report will be released on this web site when it is completed.
- Report on Polluting Impacts of Manufacturing Sector: A report entitled “Review and Analysis of the Pollution Impacts from Vietnamese Manufacturing Sector” was released in June 2008.
The report highlights the key challenges for environmental management under rapid urbanization and industrialization. The report provides a comprehensive analysis of environmental policy, regulatory framework, and the effectiveness of their implementation in addressing pollution challenges. It also recommends measures to improve results on the ground. The report suggests that in the future, the government should prioritize pollution management interventions for the industrial sector, clarify institutional roles and responsibilities of government agencies regarding pollution regulation, strengthen monitoring and enforcement for industrial pollution, and rationalize expenditure for pollution management and control.
Industrial Development Environmental Management (IDEM): a study was begun in 2006 by the Korean Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET) and the Vietnamese Centre for Environment and Community Development (CECoD). The objectives of the study were to: assess the current status of industrial pollution in Vietnam; forecast the industrial development and the resulting pollution situation to 2015; and present some effective pollution management principles and strategies based on best practices from Korea and China. It is being completed at this time.
Poverty and Environmental Nexus (PEN): A first phase of this study was launched in 2001 in order to understand the extent and significance of the poverty-environment relationship in the lower Mekong sub-region and to expand the dialogue between the World Bank and Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The first draft PEN Study published in 2006 examined seven main environmental indicators for mainly province-level correlations between poverty and environment (deforestation, fragile lands, indoor air pollution, lack of access to water, lack of access to sanitation, outdoor air pollution, and number of diarrhea cases ). A second PEN Study followed addressed several of the unsolved issues raised by the first report. In particular, the study had three main objectives: (i) further identify and elaborate upon PENs in the three countries, (ii) suggest policy interventions vis-à-vis these identified PENs and (iii) ensure links to ongoing PEN project initiatives in the sub-region. The second PEN study is being completed.
Technical Assistance Water Pollution Control in Vietnam: improving the institutional capacity for water pollution management and control is addressed by a recently controled Institutional Development Facility (IDF) grant ($300,000) (PO99405) implemented by the Vietnam Environmental Agency (VEA) of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE). Projects Air pollution affecting air quality is most evident in the largest cities. The main causes are rapid urbanization, extensive use of coal for generation of power, and increase in number of motor vehicles. The Bank is addressing some air quality issues through the Hanoi Urban Transport Development Project (P083581). The project intends to: - (i) upgrade five rundown air quality monitoring stations for Hanoi, and install three new ones; and
- (ii) commission two studies on mobile air pollution source (vehicle) inventory and health impacts of air pollution. The project is also expected to raise capacity on air quality management within the Hanoi Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE).
Pollution of surface and groundwater from domestic sewage sources is being tackled through a large number of important investments of the Bank in the Urban Sector. These projects are covered in the Bank’s web page for the Urban Sector in Vietnam. | 
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