Hanoi devotes $32 mln to contain craft village pollution in 2020

Specifically, VND750 billion ($32.46 million) will be spent within 2020 on pollution management systems in 50 craft villages, with 30 others to receive similar support until 2030, said the Hanoi Department of Industry and Trade.

The capital currently has around 1,350 craft villages, in which environmental pollution has directly affected villagers and the sustainability of their livelihoods, said the Department, adding it has surveyed and taken environmental samples from 65 villages and found that 60 suffer either land, water or air pollution.

Most villages have substandard infrastructure, especially when it comes to sewer systems. Most wastewater from craft villages are released into lakes and ponds untreated, causing high levels of pollution, the department said.

Some craft villages, for example Duong Lieu, Cat Que and Minh Khai in Hoai Duc District, which recycle plastic waste or produce agriculture and food products like noodles and malt, can release up to 7,000 m3 of wastewater per day.

Last year, Hanoi authorities identified smoke from production facilities in the city and neighboring areas as one of 12 causes of long-term hazardous air pollution, though these claims are refuted by some villagers.

Vietnam was ranked 4th in the number of pollution-linked deaths in the Western Pacific region, according to the Pollution and Health Metrics report by the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution released last year.

Over 71,000 Vietnamese lost their lives to pollution in 2017, the latest year for which data was available, said the report. Air pollution killed over 50,000, water pollution over 3,000, occupational pollution over 9,000 and lead pollution over 8,000, it said.