The 6-day trip aims to drop their students at the site where students have a practical view on environmental technology and sustainable economic development in a province in Viet Nam. During the trip, MEE’s lecturers, JICA experts and students visited several sites including Ba Ha river Hydropower Plant in Song Hinh district, Hoa Hiep Industrial Park, Dong Hoa town; Nguyen Hung Seafood processing factory, Song Cau Industrial Park, and Central Pharmaceutical Research center... At those places, students have listened to the staff of provincial environment department and local people talking about the production activities, the current wastewater treatment process and their future development plan. From the talks and observations, students have an overview of the relationship between production activities and the environment, the impact of climate change on the local lives and their livelihoods, as well as local economic development based on available resources and living conditions in Phu Yen. The provincial staff who accompanied students provided a lot of useful information.

Learn from wastewater treatment technology in Phu Yen

With an aim that students will expose to visual experiences of the wastewater treatment system, students have visited more than one places. At Hoa Hiep industrial park, students and their lecturers have seen the treatment model and its performance (wastewater categories, operation technology, and discharge standards. The lecturers gave them some suggestions to improve treatment efficiency.

Environmental issues in local economic activities

Shrimp farming is an ongoing industry among the emerging economic activities in Phu Yen. It is the reason why students dropped a visit to two large shrimp farming areas in Vung Ro bay and Xuan Dai bay. These are two closed bays less affected by wind because they surrounded by islands and rocky cape. Here the water temperature is less volatile, suitable for shrimp farming. However, that the densified farming cages have contributed to pollution due to excessive shrimp food and waste. Currently, popular household farming, changing weather in rainy seasons, and market demand make it difficult for the local government to manage the industry. In details, the unprocessed packages and growth substances is one of the risks that contaminate water and soil, which directly influences shrimp farming water quality as well as local people’s health.

Drop in shrimp feeding farm in Xuan Dai

To solve this problem, the locality has been implementing a number of measures on farming areas, established a management-monitor system run by the local and authority. In terms of technology, shrimp feeding farmers in Xuan Dai bay are committed to support water pollution treatment by JICA, that commits to reduce the arising odor. It is hoped that, water quality in the shrimp bays will be improved in the near future.

Another site in this field trip is Ba Ha river Hydropower Plant, which is located on the last step on Ba river ladders and is one of the largest hydroelectricity in the Central region covered 15 mountainous communes of Hinh river (Phu Yen province) and Krong Ba districts.

Here, students learned about how hydroelectric power plants, a renewable and sustainable energy is run; also got to know about its role in downstream floods regulation in rainy seasons especially in serving irrigation needs in the local.

In Ba Ha river hydropower plant

Students also paid a visit to BB Farm, a model that incorporate growing vegetables and fruits under VIETGAP standards and the Central Pharmaceutical center, which conserves precious plants for medicinal use, and research on native plants in Phu Yen for conservation. These organizations apply sustainable development in their activities.

The trip has offered students good chance of reviewing what they learnt in classes and comparing them to practice with their insight and observations.