National Assembly Standing Committee on Friday discussed the revised Law on Water Resources. High on the agenda were the definition of water resources term, the authority for zoning water resources, and management of upper and lower sections of a river. The Committee members called for the clarification of Vietnamese management of some rivers which run across some countries, such Red river and Mekong river. Phan Xuan Dung, Head of the National Assembly Committee for Science, Technology and Environment said: “Water issue is related not only to Vietnam, but also neighboring countries, which share river, sea and water sources.  So international cooperation is very important. Some countries engaged in wars because of water sources”.

Legislators agreed that water resources need to be protected from pollution and waste and proposed the Law should define responsibilities, rights and obligations of individuals and collectives involved.