Chapter 1
THE ECONOMY AND THE
ENVIRONMENT
I. Definitions
1. Environment
Article 3, Vietnam Law on
Environmental Protection 2014:
Environment refers to a system of
natural and artificial physical factors
affecting the existence and
development of human beings and
creatures
3. Change in environment
a) Environmental pollution refers to the
change in the environment components
in breach of technical regulations on
environment and environmental
standards, which can result in adverse
impacts on human beings and creatures.
a) Environmental pollution
Technical regulations on environment refer
to a set of parameters relating to the
environmental quality in surrounding areas,
amount of contaminants that remain in
wastes, technical and managerial
requirements which are issued by a
competent regulatory authority in the form
of a written document that entities involved
must be binding on to serve the purpose of
environmental protection.
QCVN 08: 2008/BTNMT
Surface water quality
Value
No Parameter Unit
A1 A2 B1 B2
1 BOD mg/l 4 6 15 25
2 COD mg/l 10 15 30 50
3 Arsenic mg/l 0.01 0.02 0.05 0.1
4 TSS mg/l 20 30 50 100
A1: water use for domestic use and another purposes as A2,
B1 and B2
A2: water for domestic use with appropriate technical
treatment; protecting of animal and aquatic; or using
purposes as B1 & B2
B1: water for irrigation and purposes as type of B2
B2: water for transportation
QCVN 40:2011/BTNMT
Industrial wastewater quality
Value
No Parameter Unit
A B
1 BOD mg/l 30 50
2 COD mg/l 75 150
3 Arsenic mg/l 0,05 0,1
4 TSS mg/l 50 100
Column A in Table 1 indicates the values of parameters of
industrial wastewater (C) when it is discharged into the water
sources serving tap water supply;
Column B in Table 1 indicates the values of parameters of
industrial wastewater (C) when it is discharged into the water
sources not serving tap water supply;
b) Environmental degradation
Environmental degradation refers
to a reduction in the quality and
amount of environment
components, which can pose a
threat to human beings and
creatures.
c) Environmental emergencies
Environmental emergencies refer
to any unexpected event that
happens as a result of human
activities or environmental
changes, which can seriously
contaminate, degrade or disturb
the environment
4. Natural resources
Natural resources are materials
created in nature that are used
and usable by humans
4. Natural resources
Renewable resources: those that are
constantly available or can be
reasonably replaced or recovered
Non-renewable resources: those that
cannot easily be replaced once they are
destroyed
II. The Economy and the
Environment
Nature
(a) (b)
Economy
1. The roles of the environment
The provider of location and space for
economic activities
1. The roles of the environment
The provider of raw materials and
energy inputs, without which production
and consumption would be impossible
1. The roles of the environment
Production and consumption activities also
produce leftover waste products, called
“residuals” which will find their way back into
the natural world
2. The fundamental balance
Recycled Rpr
Raw
materials M Residuals Rp Discharged Rpd
Producers
Goods G
Discharged Rcd
Consumers
Residuals Rc
Recycled Rcr
2. The fundamental balance
M = G + Rp - Rpr – Rcr
→ There are essentially three ways of
reducing M
• Reduce G
• Reduce Rp
• Increase Rpr + Rcr
3. Economic development and
the environment
• Economic development is the process
of using and creating negative or
positive impacts on the environment
• Negative impacts
• Positive impacts
• Capital accumulation
• Technology advance
• Raising public awareness
3. Economic development and the
environment
• The PPF (Production possibility curve): different
combinations of marketed output and
environmental quality a society may produce at
any time, given its resources and technological
capabilities.
3. Economic development and the
environment
• The Environmental Kuznets Curve depicts the
relationship between environmental degradation
and per capita incomes
3. Economic development and
the environment
•The environment can affect the
economic development
→ The two-way linkage between
economic development and the
environment
III. Sustainable development
“Sustainable development is development
that meets the needs of the present without
compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs”
Social: Satisfying human needs
(in terms of health, housing,
social integration, consumption,
education, etc.) and working
towards social justice objectives
Environment: Preserving, improving
and valuing the environment and natural
resources in the long term
Economy: Developing and sustaining
economic growth and efficiency to
encourage the creation of wealth for
all, through sustainable modes of
production and consumption.
Sustainable development
◦ Social
◦ Environment
◦ Economy
Only when development takes all three of
these pillars into account can it be
considered sustainable
Human Development Index
The Human Development Index (HDI) is a
summary measure of average achievement in
key dimensions of human development: a
long and healthy life, being knowledgeable and
have a decent standard of living.
Human Development Index
A long and healthy life – measured by life expectancy.
Access to education – measured by expected years of
schooling of children at school-entry age and mean years
of schooling of the adult population
A decent standard of living – measured by Gross
National Income per capita adjusted for the price level of
the country
Human Development Index
3
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Visit [Link] for HDI ranking