Environmental management measures for controlling vehicular air pollution : case study of Hanoi, Vietnam | |
| Author | Trinh Thi Bich Thuy |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.UE-05-24 |
| Subject(s) | Environmental management--Vietnam--Hanoi Air--Pollution--Vietnam--Hanoi |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of Master of Science, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Abstract | Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, is known as the political, administrative, economic and cultural center of Vietnam. The city has achieved rapid economic development at an average growth rate of around 11% per annum since the Doi Moi policy. Urban transportation problems are becoming important challenges to the city. The mode share of motorcycle has been growing dramatically in Hanoi in the last decade. The problems of heavy congestion, noise, air pollution and traffic accidents have been caused by rapid motorization and insufficient road network. Transportation activities are main contributor of CO to Hanois atmosphere, with 95.51% of total CO emission, and it is also the second largest contribution of SO2 and NOx (10.00% and 34.85 % respectively). It is estimated that vehicular air pollution and other traffic related issues will be more serious with the trend of transport modal shift from motorcycle to automobile in Hanoi. There is however enough stock of knowledge and experiences suggest that environmental pollution and traffic jams can be reduced by employing an integrated policy package. With the above in view, objective of this study has been to investigate Hanoi governments responses to vehicular air pollution problems in the city. Based on analysis of primary and secondary data this study has sought to identify current issues, priority policies as well as gaps and constraints in setting and implementing policy measures. A case study of unleaded gasoline program has also been analyzed to clarify the contribution of environmental management measures. Beside, lessons are drawn from experiences of other countries in controlling vehicular air pollution in their cities to propose suitable and feasible policy measures for Hanoi city. The findings of the study suggest that the present situation is a consequence of different factors such as underdevelopment of urban public transport system, high rate of private vehicle ownership, inadequate road networks, low fuel quality and lack of enforcement of control measures that are already in place. Although the Hanoi government has employed several kinds of policies and instruments to curb these problems, it appears that it focuses predominantly on applying command and control instruments to controlling environmental problems. But this approach entails high cost for implementation and enforcement. It also has no incentive for vehicle users, and auto manufactures to curtail emissions. In view of this, the study proposes a holistic approach, incorporating environmental management measures (EMM) framework which incorporates regulatory, economic and suasive measures. Specifically, vehicular and fuel targeted policies switching to PLG bus and tax, reducing sulfur content in diesel and reducing emission from motorcycle are proposed by using all three set of EMMs as complementary policy package to achieve policy goals. In addition, travel demand management is also introduced as supplementary measures. |
| Year | 2005 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Urban Environmental and Management (UE) |
| Chairperson(s) | Amin, A. T. M Nurul |
| Examination Committee(s) | Nguyen Thi Kim Oanh;Nowarat Coowanitwong |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Swiss Development Cooperation (SDC) / Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2005 |