VOV: Could you briefly tell us about your organization, ENVICO (Korea Environment & Resources Corporation)?

Mr Jung: The Republic of Korea government has put a lot of efforts into achieving sustainable development in which both the environment and the economy can coexist harmoniously. ENVICO is one of the major organizations under the Ministry of Environment, RoK. It set up its representative office in Vietnam in March, 2006 to act as a linkage to help promote the cooperation between Vietnam and Korea in terms of environmental policies and industry. We also focus on waste management policy and waste treatment infrastructure such as consulting and installation of recycling, incineration and landfill facilities etc.  

VOV: What are some achievements made by ENVICO in Vietnam so far?

Mr Jung: Even though it has been operating only for a short period of time, I am quite happy to see the encouraging results, thanks to the support of both governments. We have offered study tours for Vietnamese officers and companies in the environmental field to the RoK for improving their waste management expertise (including the treatment of hazardous & solid waste and waste-water) in October 2007.

ENVICO has also helped businesses in both Vietnam and RoK to swap information by arranging visiting delegations of both Vietnamese and Korean environmental officers and companies, supporting several memoranda of understanding between companies from two countries, and so forth. We have also arranged short-term courses funded by KOICA to train 10 Vietnamese officers in charge of environmental management. The project will last for five years. Besides, ENVICO has sponsored the International Environmental Technology Exhibition since 2006 (in April 2006 in Hanoi and in April 2007) with Vietnam Environmental Protection Agency (VEPA), Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment (VACNE) and Korea Environmental  Industry Association.  

These all indicate our important role in promoting cooperation between the two countries’ environmental sectors.  

Personally, I’m happy to learn and understand Vietnamese culture day by day. Actually I am spending most of my time with Vietnamese concerns. 

VOV: In your viewpoint, what kinds of efforts will be carried out for more successful environment protection in Vietnam?

Mr Jung: I am very impressed to learn that there are a lot of excellent human resources and well-organized regulation systems in Vietnam.  Especially the new environment protection law is quite impressive and enough to show the strong will of the Vietnamese government to protect the environment and human health, and this is a more positive status than I expected. 

However, I think that Vietnam still needs to improve water & air quality, waste management & treatment (hazardous and solid waste) systems, and human resources capacity. It will be helpful that the officers in Vietnam learn practical experiences through study tours to other countries with advanced environment technologies and make specific guidelines to successfully implement present environmental regulations.

I know that the establishment of an integrated hazardous management system is a top priority among environment protection strategies in Vietnam. ENVICO has accumulated experiences and know-how to successfully manage hazardous waste. I hope that there will be a meaningful cooperation between Korea and Vietnam in this field. 

VOV: Promotion of Recycling is one of ENVICO’s main roles. What will be an effective way to facilitate recycling activities inside Vietnam?

Mr Jung: ENVICO provides around US$100 million in Korea to promote recycling industry on behalf of the Korean government. I am sure that minimization of waste generation and maximization of recycling is the best way to protect the environment and achieve sustainable development. Korea has shown a dramatic increase in its recycling rate since it introduced “Volume based collection fee system” in 1995. Now it shows approximately a 30% increase in recycling municipal waste. This system successfully encouraged people to carry out “Separation at source”.

 “Separation at source” is one of the most important factors to promote recycling. Organic and in-organic, recyclable and non-recyclable materials should be collected separately from the beginning. This will help companies to recycle recyclable waste more easily. It needs the absolute cooperation of the public. 

Sharing the responsibility, from producers to consumers, is a core issue to build sustainable development. Vietnam has many things in common with Korea.  Consumption culture is one of these. 

Government level support, such as finance and policy will also be one of the effective ways to promote the recycling industry.

VOV: Do you have any expectation for cooperation with Vietnam in the future?

Mr Jung: ENVICO will continuously offer itself to help environment protection and the development of environment-friendly industry in both Vietnam and Korea. We will make all-out efforts to cooperate with Vietnam to transfer our environmental policies, technologies and environment protection systems.

The ENVICO representative office in Vietnam is open to all Vietnamese people from government to enterprises, so feel free to visit and ask for our support if there is anything we can do for environmental policies and industry in Vietnam. I expect your warm regard for our activities in Vietnam.

VOV: Thank you.