The Vietnam-Sweden Cooperation Programme on Strengthening Environmental Management and Land Administration in Vietnam (SEMLA) has proved very effective in localities, according to a seminar held in Hanoi on July 8. Representatives of the localities benefiting from the programme met to review the five years of implementing the SEMLA programme in the provinces of Ha Giang, Nghe An, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Binh Dinh, Dong Nai, and Phu Yen.
The programme is aimed at improving national, provincial and local-level capacity to prevent and control pollution as well as providing efficient and equitable services in land registration, land information, land use planning and land valuation. Nguyen Duc Doi from the Land Administration Department said the programme has helped the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment discover weaknesses in the current Land Law and other relevant legal documents and improve the management of information related to land registration and the real estate market.
The programme has run from 2005-2009 with a budget of 250 million SEK, of which 200 million SEK came from the Swedish Government.
