Evaluation of the rural area in local IWRM planning based on the example of the craft village Tong Xa, Nam Dinh Province

Within the joint R&D project IWRM Vietnam this chapter describes research for local IWRM measures in rural areas. The focus here lies on the typical Vietnamese craft villages. Even though there should generally be sufficient water in the Red River delta, the rural areas increasingly has to deal with misdevelopment in water resource usage. Relevant factors here are a lack of waste water treatment within the context of growing industrialization, also in rural areas, but most of a growing movement away from traditional sanitation (e.g. increased replacement of traditional dry toilets by flush toilets). In the example of the craft village Tong Xa (Yen Xa Commune, Y Yen District, Nam Dinh Province) we carried out a water resources assessment, a social impact assessment, an environmental impact assessment including a health risk assessment as well as a water demand assessment. Several indicators were developed with the result of these examinations. These indicators will serve to describe the status quo in the future and help to deliver prognoses for future development. In addition, a water management settlement concept with seven recommendations was developed for metal processing craft villages. Apart from the development of technical installations (anaerobic waste water treatment) for the rural industrial zone, the development of an Eco-Meter parameter, to measure the success of introduced measures, recommendations within production integrated environmental protection (cleaner production), water management recommendations and approaches for a broader involvement of local agents (local self management).