Hanoi (VNA) - Experts discussed the role of the state audit inmanaging waste and wastewater towards sustainable development during aconference held on Hanoi on September 19.

The conference, held by the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV), aimed atfinding quality and effective measures for environmental audit, analysing andmaking clear the role of the SAV in environmental protection.

Speaking at the conference, Deputy Director of the SAV Doan Xuan Tien saidsustainable development together with environmental protection was not only anational issue, but also a global issue.

In Vietnam, environmental protection was an inseparable part of the country'ssocio-economic development, he said.

In recent years, the SAV has conducted many audits related to the environment,such as the five million hectares of new afforestation project, the nationaltarget programme on clean water and environmental sanitation, and an audit ofwater issues in the Mekong River.

Besides, it also conducted audits on urban planning, mineral resourcesmanagement, exploitation and use, and factories’ and industrial parks’wastewater discharge projects.

Thereby, the SAV has gradually evaluated environmental management andeffectiveness.

Experts at the conference said that the quick urbanisation and higher living standardsincreased the nation’s socio-economic development, but also produced a greatamount of waste.

Statistics from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment showed thatthe country discharged 15.6 million tonnes solid waste annually.

Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s two biggest cities, discharge about80 tonnes of plastic and nylon waste per day.

The country’s plastics and nylon waste occupies about 8-12 percent of dailysolid waste.

Nguyen Dinh Hoa, acting Director of the Audit Training School, said manycountries pursuing increases in gross domestic product (GDP) facedunpredictable consequences of environmental pollution and climate change.

Economic development but increasing environmental pollution and effects onpeople’s health is not acceptable, he said.

Luu Truong Khang, deputy chief audit from the SAV, said via the audit, concernedorganisations would have the foundation to promulgate, adjust and supplementpolicies related to waste management and improve work effectiveness.

The audit results helped people become more aware of waste management, andsince then give warnings to those intending to harm the environment, he said./.