1. Course: Climate Change and Urbanization
Lecturer: Dr. Dirk Heinrichs
Student: Nguyen Ngoc Anh
Date Submission: June 30, 2011
Improving Integrated Solid Waste Management in Ho Chi Minh City
to Support Climate Change Mitigation
I. Introduction - Ho Chi Minh City and Climate Change
Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) is the largest primate city of Vietnam with the population of 7.4
million people in 2010, and the average annual population change is 3.1% 1 . HCM city
covers the area of 2,095 km2, including 24 districts and in which there are 322 wards in
smaller administrative division. The annual temperature is 270C and average annual rainfall
is 1,800mm. In 2007, the average temperature in HCMC is 0.8-1.3 0C higher than 1931-
1940, and 0.4-0.50C higher than 1991-2000 2 .
The projected information of sea level rise is based on the officially used medium emission
scenario (B2), 30cm increase by 2050 and 75cm by 2100 3 . With 75cm increased sea level,
10% of HCMC areas will be in threat of inundation, this could be even higher due to
inappropriate land use planning 4 . This paper proposes one climate change mitigation
measure in waste management sector, short description and some discussions on reasons
of selection are included.
II. Green House Gases (GHG) Inventory in Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City
Vietnam signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 and
ratified it in 1994, signed the Kyoto Protocol in 1998 and ratified it in 2002. Under the
UNFCCC, Vietnam completed five national green house gases (GHS) inventories since
1990, two of which are under UNFCC and conducted in 1994 and 2000.
Total CO2 emission in Vietnam increased significantly, five times in the period of 1990-2007,
and gradually increase in 1994-2000. Although GHG emission from waste sector contribute
to only 2.4-5.3% of national GHG, it increase significantly from 2.6 to 7.9 million tons (three
times in six years) 5 .
1
Ho Chi Minh City Statistic 2010, http://www.pso.hochiminhcity.gov.vn/
2
MONRE 2008, National Strategy to Climate Change
3
MONRE 2009, Climate change, sea level rise scenarios for Vietnam
4
Stotch, H. 2008 Adapting Ho Chi Minh City for Climate Change. Urban Compactness: a Problem or
Solution?, 44th ISOCARP Congress 2008
5
Vietnam’s Second National Communication under the UNFCCC 2010
1

2. Table 1: Summary of GHG emission in 1994, 1998 and 2000 6
As agriculture contribute only 1.3%, industry 44% and services 54.7% in HCMC’s economic
sectors, it is assumed that GHG emission in agriculture is low, and higher proportion of GHG
emission is primarily from industry, energy, and waste sector.
III. Proposed Mitigation Measure: Improving Integrated Solid Waste Management
Solid waste has not been sorted at source, therefore everyday HCMC produces 7,500 tons
of solid waste, of which 6,200 tons are collected and sent to landfill 7 . The high proportion of
waste to landfill shows the waste in resources for recycling, pressure on landfill capacity,
pollution and increased GHG emissions. The proposed program for an integrated solid
waste management to mitigate climate change impacts in HCMC includes:
- Separate waste at source for better waste treatments
- Increase the waste recycling through organic fertilizer production
- Improve landfill waste treatment through Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
Participant for segregating solid waste at sources are mainly at households, therefore the
awareness and communication program are very important. This needs to be strongly
organized in wards and district level. Pilot projects can be carried out firstly in some districts,
and propaganda/communication program should be focused. Moreover, the waste collection
system should be also re-organized. Landfill improvement may include the improvement in
sanitary landfill. GHG emission can be reduced by improving the landfill quality, capture and
utilize the emissions under CDM.
The leading agencies are: Department of Natural Resources and Environment (DONRE),
municipalities of HCMC, funding agencies (WB, ADB, etc.), CDM committee, Carbon
Finance Agency (Prototype Carbon Fund, WB), NGOs and CBOs.
6
United Nation 2011, Climate Change Factsheet: Greenhouse gas emissions and options for
mitigation in Vietnam, and the UN’s responses
7
MONRE 2010, State of Environment Vietnam 2010
2

3. For monitoring and evaluation, some indicators can be: number of districts improved in
sorting waste; % of total waste are sorted; volume & percentage (of total) organic waste to
fertilizer; changes in waste volume to landfill; reduced in GHG emissions; volume and
changes of GHG capture; energy generated from GHG emission; carbon traded.
IV.Reasons for selection
Reduce GHG emissions:
GHG emission from urban waste sector contribute has increased significantly from 2.6 to 7.9
million tons (three times in six years) due to the high urbanization rate and economic growth.
Moreover, in HCMC, as a largest city in Vietnam, waste management can contribute to more
than 10% of GHG emission. Thus, reducing GHG emission in waste sector is an important
mitigation measure. It is estimated that the CDM project in improving landfill in Cu Chi and
Dong Thanh can reduce 3.13 million tons CO2 equivalent during the crediting period 8 . The
increase in urban solid waste is also very significant (about 10-16% annually), expecting the
very high increase in GHG emission in this sector if no sufficient management and treatment
measure are implemented.
Sustainable development:
Solid waste has not been sorted at source, therefore it is an crucial task for waste
management sector in HCMC in order to improve the its effectiveness and efficiency. The
current urban solid waste is far beyond the city treatment capacity, which then create high
risk of environmental pollution, community health and unsustainable development. This
proposed CC mitigation measure in solid waste sector can also support the sustainable
development strategy of HCMC. Through the segregating waste at source at the community,
increasing the community awareness, some expectations can be: (1) the improvement in the
current situation- waste recycling and treatment, (2) the improvement in community
sustainable attitude/behavior- reducing the waste volume and increasing waste recycling.
Link to climate change adaptation:
The proposed mitigation measure for climate change can be linked to adaptation measure.
Urban to city migration has been significant in recent years, with the urban population
increasing by 78% from 1990 to 2007 9 , and the increase in population from migration in
HCMC is 20.7% annually. As projected that Southern Vietnam (in Mekong Delta and HCMC)
will be highly affected by sea level rise, the migration issue can become even more
significant as the consequences of climate change. By that way, urban solid waste
management is very important. The projection is for 2020 and/or 2050, not very far future,
that is why the concern and action at this present is significantly essential.
8
Hoang, H 2005, Potential CDM Projects in Vietnam, Workshop on the Financing Modalities of CDM,
Indonesia 2005
9
Ho Chi Minh City Statistic 2010
3