Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Developing a provincial environmental performance index for the environmental health of Vietnam

  • Published:
Environment, Development and Sustainability Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This research develops the 2020 environmental health performance index (EHPI) of Vietnam to measure the progress made by individual provinces toward achieving national environmental performance targets. Six indicators that nest under three issue categories (Air Quality, Water Quality, and Solid Waste Management) are constructed. We follow and extend the Global EPI methodology for aggregating single indicators into a composite index to create our provincial EHPI of Vietnam, which takes into account the availability of quantitative data and the indicators that support the assessment of overall environmental quality in the provinces. We use the PA method as a straightforward weighting technique to determine the priorities of the different attributes of sustainable composite indicators. The results take the form of PTT scores for the individual indicators and EHPI color-coded star ratings for the 63 provinces of Vietnam. Results are clearly presented in tables, graphs, and maps. In-depth analysis of the PTT scorings per specific issue category and indicator provides valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of provinces that can aid information-based decision-making. In order to improve air pollution, the study’s findings indicate the need for management by region and inter-provincial cooperation. The results, viewed in light of the PAPI findings on environmental governance, show that the populous have not properly evaluated the environmental performance of the provincial authorities. In order to improve this, Vietnam’s local government must focus on presenting and managing three kinds of basic environmental information to their constituents.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

References

  • Beelen, R., et al. (2013). Development of NO2 and NOx land use regression models for estimating air pollution exposure in 36 study areas in Europe – The ESCAPE project. Atmospheric Environment., 72, 10–23.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • CECODES, VFF-CRT, RTA and UNDP (2020). The 2019 Viet Nam Governance and Public Administration Performance Index (PAPI): Measuring Citizens’ Experiences. A Joint Policy Research Paper by the Centre for Community Support and Development Studies (CECODES), Centre for Research and Training of the Viet Nam Fatherland Front (VFF-CRT), Real-Time Analytics, and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Ha Noi, Viet Nam.

  • Cohen, A. J., et al. (2017). Estimates and 25-year trends of the global burden of disease attributable to ambient air pollution: An analysis of data from the global burden of diseases study 2015. The Lancet, 389(10082), 1907–1918. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(17)30505-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cookey, P. E., Darnsawasdi, R., & Ratanachai, C. (2016). Performance evaluation of lake basin water governance using composite index. Ecological Indicators, 61, 466–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cowie, C. T., Frances, G., Edward, J., Luke, D. K., Ivan, H., David, M., Anna, H., Gerard, H., & Guy, B. M. (2019). Comparison of model estimates from an intra-city land use regression model with a national satellite-LUR and a regional Bayesian Maximum Entropy model, in estimating NO2 for a birth cohort in Sydney. Australia. Environmental Research., 174, 24–34.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Decision No. 1566/QD-TTg dated 9 August 2016 Approval of National program for safe water supply dring 2016–2025

  • Decision No. 491/QĐ-TTg signed on 7 May 2018 on approving the adjustment of the National Strategy for Integrated Solid Waste Management to 2025, with a vision to 2050.

  • Decision No. 1460/QD-TCMT dated 12 November 2019 Regarding the promulgation of Technical Guidelines for calculation and publication of the Vietnam Water Quality Index (VN-WQI).

  • Dobbie, M. J., & Dail, D. (2013). Robustness and sensitivity of weighting and aggregation in constructing composite indices. Ecological Indicators, 29, 270–277.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El Gibari, S., Gómez, T., & Ruiz, F. (2018). Building composite indicators using multicriteria methods: A review. Journal of Business Economics, 89, 1–24. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11573-018-0902-z

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Emerson, J. W., Hsu, A., Levy, M. A., de Sherbinin, A., Mara, V., Esty, D. C., & Jaiteh, M. (2012). 2012 Environmental Performance Index and Pilot Trend Environmental Performance Index. New Haven: Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy.

  • Esty, D.C., and Levy, M.A. (2006). Pilot 2006 Environmental Performance Index. Center for Environmental Law & Policy, New Haven, Yale.

  • European Environment Agency (EEA) (2001). Reporting on environmental measures: Are we being effective. London.

  • GBOD, 2020 https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-compare/?fbclid=IwAR0vQc4ixxCLvYeNiSRNqp0xIBK5mUOtXwFARWIHPyL6q-FZ7HTx3GRFcW

  • Gómez-Limón, J. A., Arriaza, M., & Dolores Guerrero-Baena, M. (2020). Building a composite indicator to measure environmental sustainability using alternative weighting methods. Sustainability, 12, 4398. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12114398

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • GSO (2019). Population and Labors. Retrieved March 20, 2020 from https://www.gso.gov.vn/px-web-2/?pxid=V0201&theme=D%C3%A2n%20s%E1%BB%91%20v%C3%A0%20lao%20%C4%91%E1%BB%99ng

  • Hansen, M. C., Potapov, P. V., Moore, R., Hancher, M., et al. (2013). High-resolution global maps of 21st-Century forest cover change. Science, 342(6160), 850–853. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1244693

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hien, P. D., Bac, V. T., Tham, H. C., Nhan, D. D., & Vinh, L. D. (2002). Influence of meteorological conditions on PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 concentrations during the monsoon season in Hanoi Vietnam. Atmospheric Environment, 36, 3473–3484. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1352-2310(02)00295-9

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hien, P. D., Loc, P. D., & Dao, N. V. (2011). Air pollution episodes associated with East Asian winter monsoons. Science of the Total Environment, 409, 5063–5068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2011.08.049

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hsu, A. and Zomer A. (2015). Final Report: Feasibility Study for a Provincial Environmental Performance Index in Viet Nam; Terminology as used in the 2015 report.

  • Jeffrey, A. G., Randall, V. M., Brian, L. B., & Van Donkelaar, A. (2016). Long-term trends worldwide in ambient NO2 concentrations inferred from satellite observations. Environmental Health Perspectives, 124, 281–289. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1409567

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kloog, I., Alexandra, A. C., Allan, C. J., Francesco, N., Petros, K., Brent, A. C., Alexei, L., Yujie, W., & Joel, S. (2014). A new hybrid spatio-temporal model for estimating daily multi-year PM2.5 concentrations across Northeastern USA using high resolution aerosol optical depth data. Atmospheric Environment, 95, 581–590.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kristensen, P. (2004). The DPSIR Framework. National Environmental Research Institute, Denmark, pp. 10.

  • Lee, H. J., Liu, Y., Coull, B. A. Schwartz, J. and Koutrakis P. (2011) A novel calibration approach of MODIS AOD data to predict PM2.5 concentrations. Atmos. Chem. Phys., 11(15), 7991–8002,

  • Luong, L. M., Phung, D., Sly, P. D., Morawska, L., & Phong, K. T. (2017). The association between particulate air pollution and respiratory admissions among young children in Hanoi Vietnam. Science of the Total Environment, 578, 249–255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.08.012

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ly, B. T., Matsumi, Y., Nakayama, T., Sakamoto, Y., Kajii, Y., & Nghiem, T. D. (2018). Characterizing PM2.5 in Hanoi with new high temporal resolution sensor. Aerosol Air Quality Research, 18, 2487–2497. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2017.10.0435

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Malaysia NRE and UTM (2014). The 2014 Malaysia EPI. Final report.

  • MONRE (2016). National environmental report: the thematic of urban environment. Retrieved February 21, 2020 from http://vea.gov.vn/bao-cao-moi-truong-quoc-gia1105-7662.

  • MONRE (2019). National environmental report: the thematic of solid waste management. Retrieved February 20, 2020 from http://vea.gov.vn/bao-cao-moi-truong-quoc-gia1105-7662.

  • Myhre, O., Fjellheim, K., Ringnes, H., Reistad, T., Longva, K. S., & Ramos, T. B. (2013). Development of environmental performance indicators supported by an environmental information system: Application to the Norwegian defence sector. Ecological Indicators, 29, 293–306.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, T. T. N., Bui, H. Q., Pham, H. V., Luu, H. V., Man, C. D., Pham, H. N., Le, H. T., & Nguyen, T. T. (2015). Particulate matter concentration mapping from modis satellite data: a Vietnamese case study. Environmental Research Letters. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/10/9/095016

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nhung, N. T. T., Schindler, C., Dien, T. M., Probst-Hensch, N., Perez, L., & Künzli, N. (2018). Acute effects of ambient air pollution on lower respiratory infections in Hanoi children: An eight-year time series study. Environment International, 110, 139–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2017.10.024

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sagar, A. D., & Najam, A. (1998). The human development index: A critical review1. Ecological Economics, 25(3), 249–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thuy, N. T. T., Dung, N. T., Sekiguchi, K., Thuy, L. B., Hien, N. T. T., & Yamaguchi, R. (2018). Mass concentrations and carbonaceous compositions of PM0.1, PM2.5, and PM10 at urban locations in Hanoi. Vietnam. Aerosol Air Qual. Res., 18, 1591–1605. https://doi.org/10.4209/aaqr.2017.11.0502

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tuyet, N. T. A., Chi, T. T., & Khoa, D. B. (2018). Analysis of waste flows using IO table. Vietnam Journal of Science and Technology, 56, 201–206.

    Google Scholar 

  • UNDP and INEST (2020). The 2020 Vietnam EPI. Final report.

  • Van Donkelaar, A., Martin, R. V., Brauer, M., & Boy, B. L. (2015). Use of satellite observations for long-term exposure assessment of global concentrations of fine particulate matter. Environmental Health Perspectives, 123, 135–145. https://doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408646

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • WB (2018). Solid Waste and Industrial Hazardous Waste Management Assessment: Options and Action Area to Implement the National Strategy. Public Disclosure Authorized. Retrieved March 20, 2020 from http://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/352371563196189492/pdf/Solid-and-industrial-hazardous-waste-management-assessment-options-and-actions-areas.pdf

  • WHO (2006). Air Quality Guidelines: Global Update 2005: Particulate Matter, Ozone, Nitrogen Dioxide, and Sulfur Dioxide. Copenhagen. Retrieved March 30, 2020 from http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/environment-and-health/air-quality/publications/pre2009/air-quality-guidelines.-global-update-2005.-particulate-matter,-ozone,-nitrogen-dioxide-and-sulfur-dioxide.

  • WHO (2018). One third of global air pollution deaths in Asia Pacific. Retrieved March 25, 2020 from https://www.who.int/westernpacific/news/detail/02-05-2018-one-third-of-global-air-pollution-deaths-in-asia-pacific?fbclid=IwAR38WFmqKDiL6yg2oO7PKDkH3-lsZPBG53vwZn-Xk0uKAqHnjf7eI_T2hTY.

  • WHO-European (2019) European Health Information Gateway https://gateway.euro.who.int/en/datasets/enhis/

  • Xuan, Z., Hui, H., Zhanfeng, D., & Chunxu, H. (2017). Environmental performance index at the provincial level for China 2006–2011. Ecological Indicators, 75, 48–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy (YCELP, Yale University) and Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN, Columbia University) (2020). Environmental Performance Index 2020 Global metrics for the environment: Ranking country performance on sustainability issues.

  • Yen, T. T., & Tuyet, N. T. A. (2020). Determination of life cycle GHG emission factor for paper products of Vietnam. Green Processing and Synthesis, 9(1), 586–594. https://doi.org/10.1515/gps-2020-0061

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Mr. Hoang Thanh Vinh (UNDP), Dr. Zainura Binti Zainon Noor (Universiti Teknologi Malaysia), Dr. Angel Hsu (former principal investigator of the global EPI 2012-2016), Dr. Hoang Duong Tung (the president of Vietnam Clean Air Partnership) for the valuable discussions. The authors’ sincere appreciation goes to the governmental and academic bodies for providing data relevant to the Vietnam Provincial EHPI. The data of “Population-weighted Average PM2.5 Concentration” was developed under the Collective Actions for Clean Air. The data of “Average NO2 Concentration” was developed by the Dalhousie University, Canada.

Funding

This study was partly funded by the UNDP under the contract number C.2019-12-01 and the Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST) under project number T2020-PC-033, Vietnam.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Tuyet T. A. Nguyen, Chi T. Tran & Thuy B. Ly

  2. Faculty of Information Technology, University of Engineering and Technology, Vietnam National University Hanoi, Hanoi, Vietnam

    Thanh T. N. Nguyen

Authors
  1. Tuyet T. A. Nguyen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Chi T. Tran
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Thuy B. Ly
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Thanh T. N. Nguyen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

Tuyet T.A. Nguyen is responsible for waste management indicators, all data processing and manuscript preparation. Chi T. Tran is responsible for “T2020-PC-033” project and water quality indicators. Thuy B. Ly is responsible for air quality indicators and mapping process. Thanh T.N. Nguyen is responsible for developing data of “Population-weighted Average PM2.5 Concentration” All the authors have read and contributed to the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tuyet T. A. Nguyen.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nguyen, T.T.A., Tran, C.T., Ly, T.B. et al. Developing a provincial environmental performance index for the environmental health of Vietnam. Environ Dev Sustain 25, 622–647 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-02072-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-021-02072-x

Keywords

Search

Navigation