Training human resources for environmental management in Dong Nai province: initially take shape

The need for human resource training in the field of environment in Dong Nai province:

Dong Nai province has potentials to develop industry

Dong Nai province is located in the Southern key economic zone, and has many advantages in geographical position, natural conditions, infrastructure system and human resources. In the past years, Dong Nai has been appreciated as one of the largest economic potential and most dynamic economic development in the whole nation with many contributions to the development of the Southern area. With its potentials and strengths along with the direction of socio-economic development by the Ministry of Planning and Investment: Dong Nai province was focused on investment by the Government so that it could become one of areas with the most dynamic economic development, the great economic growth rate, and the fast structure transfer process over other areas, and that it could be a pioneer in some key fields, making contribution to enhancing effectiveness and competitive capacity of the economy.  

Additionally, Dong Nai province had to face some big problems such as lack of human resources with professional skills, the recession, and environmental pollution and so on. Researchers analyzed actual situation of environmental pollution due to a large number of industrial zone (IZ): Bien Hoa 1 IZ, Bien Hoa 2 IZ, and the industrial zones of Amata, Lotecco, Nhon Trach, Song May…with hundreds of factories operating in following production fields: food, drugs cosmetic, chemical, fertilizer, pesticide, plant protection drugs, electronic products, garment, footwear, wood processing and mechanics, etc. Every day these factories more or less release a large amount of dust, exhaust fumes, liquid and solid waste, even noises, changing living environment in local areas and neighboring provinces. According to statistic figures by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the average waste water flow now is estimated more than 60,000 cubic meters/ day and night. As for industrial solid waste, the amount of the arising solid waste includes about 140,000ton/year of non-hazardous solid waste and about 20,000ton/year of hazardous solid waste.

The corner of Bien Hoa 2 IZ

Beside its strength of industrial development, Dong Nai province has strongly developed planting and  breeding, and supplied materials for  processing factories of agricultural products and foodstuffs, slaughtering poultry slaughtering factories, and rubber production ones, etc. The agricultural sector’s development has brought many benefits, and farmers’ lives have been improved much more. However, this development has led to the increase in using plant protection chemicals and growth stimulating drugs and it was difficult to control in many places. Popularizing and instructing the use of fertilizers were deployed, enhancing awareness of farmers and the amount of organic fertilizers was used more widely. Besides, there still remained households using inorganic fertilizers unmethodically and inadequately, which led to low index of using fertilizers. It was estimated that 50% of fertilizers was used, and 50% of chemical fertilizers was evaporated and swept away, which caused pollution to the air, soil and water sources.

Lac Hong University: first school training the human resources specialized in the environmental management for the IZs:

“The economic development must be in parallel with the stably environmental protection”, said MA Le Thi Thu Huong, lecturer of Faculty of Environment, Lac Hong University. “In order to carry out technology solutions and manage environment effectively, the staff of cadres, engineers and technicians with specialist knowledge about the environment should be trained and provided for the industrial zones (IZ).

Students did scientific research

Due to the importance of environmental management and treatment, only Lac Hong University early had policy to establish and train the environmental engineering. In the past years, Faculties of Biology and Environment had been established. The training programs of these Faculties had focused on the technology for treating exhaust fumes, water supplied for daily activities, water waste, and solid waste. Besides, students had been equipped with the knowledge of the cleaner production, ISO 14000, the geographic communication system and so on. This would help future engineers to meet different requirements of recruiters.

Currently, the Faculty has many experienced cadres, including full-time lecturers 1 professor cum scientific PhD, 1 professor cum PhD, 5 PhDs, 6 MAs, and part-time lecturers at universities and research institutes in Ho Chi Minh City. In the past years, a large number of scientific research topics had been done in Lac Hong university, among which some done by teachers, for example, “Studying and applying water waste treatment with animal charcoal” by PhD. Phan Dinh Tuan-the HCM city University of Technology and the staff of faculty; and “Designing eco-industrial parks” by lecturers Dinh Thi Nga and Le Tran Ngoc Trang. This research allowed treating waste of a factory to provide production materials for another factory with circular process, but this model could be applied to some newly-established industrial zones only.

It can be said that the scientific research movement was launched among teachers and students. Many research topics by students were highly appreciated such as producing alcohol from agricultural wastes, turning solid wastes into useful products, and creating dust filtering system with xycolon and so on.  Specially, the research topic “Studying the process of alcoholic fermentation from products of starch hydrolysis” by students Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen and Hoang Thi Thuy Minh associated with Japanese specialists was presented at the Contest of Students do scientific research at national level. In 2007, students of the faculty carried out 7 scientific research topics instructed by teachers.

So far, 32 graduate students have had stable jobs. Although the faculty was newly established in 2005, it brought many promises for human resource training in the fields of technology, environmental management, contributing to the stable industrial development in Dong Nai province.

Reported by Le Lan, Translated by THKC