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(MONRE) "The next five years to complete the legal framework in water resource data sharing, the tools to share water resource data and facilities to promote the process of water resource data sharing" Deputy Minister Nguyen Thai Lai directed at the Workshop "Water Information System" by the Center for Water Resources Economic Information (The Department of Water Resources Management) in cooperation with German experts held on 21 and 22 September.

Water resources information, data is an important tool for the construction process of normative law documents, the decision process and socio-economic development. However, Vietnam has not still had data information systems on water resources.

During the recent meeting with Department of Information Technology (IT), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Deputy Minister Nguyen Thai Lai guided Department of Water Resources Management should work closely with the Department of Information Technology to build quickly water resources data information system. Because the current water resources data information scattered in various ministries and sectors in different form of documents or data that are not standardized and revised following the standard. In this workshop, managers, experts initially share experiences in building water information systems.

Challenges

Following Dr. Claudia Kunzer, German expert is attending WISDOM project to support MONRE in building and developing information system on water resources, there exists a few challenges in building this system. That is, the collection and management of information access on land and water resources, which are also distributed. The data of the different agencies are lack of consistency and communication between state agencies. “Information System in warning and monitoring water quality, flood forecasting, flood and drought have not been fully constructed” Dr. Claudia Kunzer said.

Therefore, building capacity for WISDOM project is very necessary. Namely, the construction of training courses on knowledge management, training in multi-purpose classrooms (lab) for analysis of water quality. In addition, it needed to have training courses on remote sensing, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), information technology (IT), building program...

Mr Chau Tran Vinh, Director of Center for Economic Information of Water Resources (Department of Water Resources Management) concerned again with a number of challenges in information management, and water resources data. That is, a lack of information sharing both data and lack of regulations on storage, exploitation and use of information and data; data information is also overlapped and lack of coordination, information exchange and data among agencies, departments, between local and central government. On the other hand, it is still slow to file, store in the exploitation and use.

"Water resources information, data scattered in various ministries, agencies as raw materials or data are not standardized and revised following the standard" Mr. Vinh said. Source of data information is large, high value and long-term use. Nevertheless, so far this database has been organized into databases due to do not have information technology platform.

Because of the backward of infrastructure, the capacity of IT is also shortcoming and has not yet meet the implementation of IT applications for management and exploitation and use of water resources information, data.

Representative of IT Department also said that the centre for IT under Department of Natural Resources and Environment of provinces has just focused on the information technology applications for land management, and other applications were not interested properly for other areas in the industry. The funding for IT application did not meet the demand. The standards of infrastructure, specialized data and norms for economic and technical, IT application as the basis of formal application to the whole industry are still under construction.

Three phase in construction of water resources data information system

Here are his recommendations Chau Tran Vinh. Accordingly, phase 1 (2010 - 2011) needed to build information system which aims to connect the Department of Water Resources Management, Center for Water Resources Survey and Planning, Vietnam National Mekong Committee and also connect to underground water dynamics monitoring networking, hydrologic monitoring network as well. Phase 2 (2012 - 2013), expanding the system to connect more units involved in water resources such as The General Department of Environment, Vietnam Sea and Islands General Department, Center for Meteorology and Hydrology, National Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment to simultaneously connect more meteorological monitoring network, water quality monitoring network. Phase 3 (2014 - 2015), to expand the system in connecting the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of provinces and other concerned units, the local water resources monitoring network.

To mention technical solutions and technology that aim to build environmental information systems in general and information system model for environmental management of river basins in particular. PhD. Duong Hoang Tung (General Department of Environment) said that information system for environmental management of river basins are one of the major environmental information systems which has currently been deployed by the General Department of Environment.

Needed to complete policy mechanisms: required urgency

"We need to standardize data, concept, and general purpose of the whole water resources data information system. It should be priority to build data information which is being concerned”, the German expert, Dr. Thilo Wehrmann’s proposal.

"To integrate specialized environmental information system into environment information system generally requires a uniform standard across the system. It is necessary to establish mechanisms, administrative regulations, technique to guarantee, share data and assign specific responsibilities to the local for the system ", PhD. Tung said. Additionally, it is necessary to have funding to maintain and update regularly in order that information systems can operate effectively. Operational staffs should be regularly trained and improved their study to ensure stable operation system.

Together with the objective to improve the mechanisms, policies, the representative of Department of IT said that the Department of Information Technology would coordinate with local units who have information clues for all fields and building legal documents in 2010. That are regulations provided data, construction, management, update, exploitation, maintenance of resources database and the national environment, technical process to build the list of natural resources and environment database, established regulations, implementation , inspection, product official acceptance of IT application projects in the natural resources and environment field, assessment and usage recommendation regulations to software products in the natural resources and environment industry.

Also in 2010, four legal documents will be developed such as Circular of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment - Ministry of Finance stipulated unit price in providing data in the natural resource and environment database; Circular of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment - Ministry of Information & Communications stipulated on legal for the natural resources and environment databases; Circular of Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment - Ministry of Information & Communications also defined to use electronic signatures in the industry; circular guiding organizational structure and operation of the IT centers under the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of provinces and central cities.

Ideas, discussions, contributions at this conference were initially showed that water resources data information system has many problems mentioned while building system. However, many delegates said that the complete of legal document is the first task to do now.

Source: http://www.monre.gov.vn