Vietnam NA Adopts Amended Law on Environmental Protection on Nov 17

Vietnam’s National Assembly, the country’s congress, on November 17 afternoon approved the amended Law on Environmental Protection with 91.91% of votes in favor, state media reported. The revised law, including 16 chapters and 171 articles, will become valid from January 1, 2022. However, five contents about initial environmental assessment will take effect from February 1, 2021. Notably, the new law for the first time regulates residential communities as subjects in environmental protection. It also regulates new criteria on environment such as size, capacity, environmental sensitivity, and more to divide investment projects into four categories based on the impact on the environment. Lawmakers adopted synchronized tools for environmental management in line with each periods of projects. The new law cut over 40% of administrative procedures and between 20 and 85 days in duration for implementation of administrative procedures. (Tuoi Tre, Nhan Dan, Bao Chinh Phu)