VIETNAM ENVIRONMENTAL INCIDENT RESPONSE CENTER (SOS ENVIRONMENT) ACTING FOR THE ENVIRONMENT WITH KNOWLEDGE AND GRATITUDE

For departments and agencies nationwide, SOS is a unit with a lot of practical experience in incident response, coordinating the organization of seminars, training and drills to respond to oil spills, chemical incidents, and civil defense. The members of SOS Environment are known as the yellow-shirt soldiers because of their enthusiasm, and can immediately deploy to the scene of the incident and all places that need SOS for a safer environment. The goal of SOS Environment is to protect Mother Nature, protect the clean environment from small actions, build natural awareness in every citizen, every officer, every organization to spread to the community and our whole country.

SOS Environment and its footprints 2024

With its continuous efforts, the SOS Environment Center has been successful in resolving environmental incidents, contributing to protecting public health and a sustainable environment, such as responding to the oil spills of the An Binh Phat 68 ship, the Giang Anh ship, the King Rich ghost ship in the Cu Lao Cham sea area, a series of chemical spills at warehouses, acid tank fires at ports, etc. These results not only reflect the thorough preparation and quick response ability of the SOS Environment Center, but also demonstrate a strong commitment to protecting and restoring the environment. In parallel with incident response activities, the SOS Environment Center has continuously promoted training, drills and exercises to improve the capacity and skills of relevant units. The specificity of these training programs is not only focused on oil spill response, but also extends to activities related to environmental incident response in general, including toxic chemicals and other emergency situations.

Mr. Pham Van Son - General Secretary of the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment, Director of the Vietnam Environmental Incident Response Center said: " When the Vietnam Environmental Incident Response Center was established, we always kept in mind that we would act for the environment and for the community. Over the past 20 years, SOS Environment has participated in responding to nearly 300 large and small incidents across the country, but we do not expect many incidents to occur to respond and overcome the consequences, but focus on developing practical, feasible and effective solutions for proactive incident prevention with a team of technicians spread across the country. They are also effective propagandists to make environmental protection activities more accessible. However, we see that it is necessary to start with improving the expertise in identifying incident risks, improving specialized knowledge for the team of officers in charge of assessing and approving incident response plans at the grassroots level, checking the implementation of plans at the grassroots level, and at the same time Strengthening the skills of commanding incident response activities when beyond the control of the grassroots level"

In 2024, the SOS forces in the three regions of North - Central - South have closely coordinated and supported each other, together with the authorities to organize provincial-level training and drill programs in Quang Binh, Binh Dinh, Phu Yen, Khanh Hoa, Binh Thuan, Binh Duong, Dong Nai, Hau Giang... In addition, training and drill programs were also deployed at grassroots units such as Thua Thien Hue Maritime Port Authority, Vicem Hoang Thach, Quang Ninh Thermal Power Plant, Son Dong Thermal Power Plant, Hon Gai Coal Selection, Duc Giang Petroleum Depot, Honda Vinh Phuc and many other units across the country. Not only stopping at improving capacity, the Center also assessed and adjusted response procedures, creating smooth coordination between authorities, businesses and the community. These continuous efforts have contributed to enhancing incident response capabilities, while minimizing negative impacts on the environment and public health.

In the context of the Civil Defense Law coming into effect from July 1, 2024, when a series of plans to respond to oil spills, toxic chemical incidents, waste incidents, and environmental incidents must also be implemented simultaneously with overlapping regulations, the experience of responding to nearly 300 incidents of different scales and complexities nationwide by the SOS Environmental Center can be useful in helping localities and businesses implement regulations most effectively.

Professor, ASEAN Biodiversity Hero Dang Huy Huynh - Vice President of the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment shared: " I have been with SOS Environment for more than 10 years and I always see the passion and heart from the Center's leaders to the team called "yellow-shirt soldiers". I am very impressed with the responsibility and enthusiasm you show, with professional work, with community activities that are always exciting, I feel everything, SOS Environment has never put business profits but always put social responsibility and gratitude above all"

SOS's technical team constantly researches, innovates and creates to produce advanced products, suitable for the specific incidents in Vietnam, based on practical experience in responding to oil and chemical spills nationwide. These products not only improve response efficiency but also satisfy the increasing requirements for sustainability, while optimizing costs in environmental protection.

Oil-chemical recovery equipment with compact, mobile, multi-purpose design: Oil recovery on water surface; liquid oil-chemical recovery on surface, in sewers, in wells, at the bottom of tanks, river and lake bottoms; high pressure spraying; toxic gas removal spraying; fire extinguishing

Super durable fixed buoys for proactive prevention and response to oil spills at ports, oil spills that are at risk of entering the water intake of water plants, irrigation water for agricultural production, and also used to block garbage from flowing into rivers and seas.    

In addition, the Environmental SOS Center is proud to build and maintain an environmental incident response network with more than 100 incident response stations spread across the country, equipped with supplies and a team of experts ready to respond quickly to any incident situation, effectively coordinating with functional forces, businesses and the community, helping to minimize the impact of incidents on the environment and human health.

Senior Lieutenant General, Academician Nguyen Huy Hieu - Former member of the Party Central Committee, former Deputy Minister of National Defense, Hero of the People's Armed Forces said " I have attended many drills with the participation of the Vietnam Environmental Incident Response Center, all of which were impressive, but I remember most the Civil Defense Drill organized by the Chemical Command, where I saw the professional concentration, advanced technical equipment, improvements to suit each activity with the attention of the entire team, I feel that when people call the members of SOS Environment "soldiers" it is completely correct, they are enthusiastic soldiers, ready to act anytime and anywhere"

Civil Defense Drill to Respond to Environmental Incidents on an Inter-Provincial Scale in 2020

 

Delegates attending the 2020 Inter-Provincial Civil Defense Exercise to Respond to Environmental Incidents

In addition to directly participating in responding, commanding the scene, directing, consulting on environmental incident response, and environmental restoration in many localities nationwide, such as: Hanoi, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai, Hoa Binh, Hai Phong, Quang Ninh, Nam Ha, Thai Binh, Ninh Binh, Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Tri, Binh Thuan, Dac Lac, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Dong Nai, Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Hau Giang..., the SOS Environmental Center also has outstanding strengths in proactively researching, designing, manufacturing, and producing specialized equipment and materials for preventing, responding to, and handling environmental pollution incidents with superior features suitable for responding to specific incidents in Vietnam, taking the initiative and not being dependent on imported goods in the complex world context. The Vietnam Environmental Incident Response Center also actively participates in international projects, contributing to global environmental protection solutions, such as: Sharing practical experience in incident response at interdisciplinary conferences on State regulations in the field of prevention and response to oil spills at sea and on the territory of the Russian Federation; Sharing practical experience in environmental incident response in mining at the international conference in Azerbaijan; Participating in the environmental engineering and disaster response expert group of the Federation of Asian Technical Organizations in Malaysia; Sharing experience in organizing incident response resources nationwide under the Vietnam-US Joint Disaster Management Cooperation Program in Hue City.

Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Sinh - Chairman of the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment said: " SOS Environment is a member of the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment, always enthusiastic and proactive in all activities, especially international exchange programs and community programs. Everyone acts for the environment, with a true heart towards the environment. I still remember the yellow SOS specialized response vehicles traveling to take scientists to all parts of the country to survey, award heritage tree certificates, bring them to conferences and seminars, all with the heart and readiness of SOS with their knowledge and gratitude for the environmental protection activities they participated in."

In addition to being a specialist in environmental incident handling, the Center also participates in the important project “Assessing the current status and proposing solutions to minimize the impact of open burning and the use of pesticides in agriculture on climate change, human health and biodiversity in Vietnam”. This project is funded by the UK Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFRA) through the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP). Over the past 2 years, in charge of project communication activities, the Center has carried out many meaningful activities such as: Publishing more than 200 documents; 500 sets of handbooks and leaflets; 50 posters and reports simultaneously built a media ecosystem with 5 main channels and coordinated with 18 other channels, published 76 posts and conducted a talk show on national television to raise awareness for farmers and local officials, attracting great attention from the community. Within the framework of the project, the contest "GREEN INNOVATION - HEALTHY LIVING" attracted nearly 100,000 accesses via social networks, with dozens of articles and online writing, contributing to promoting the community's search for sustainable agricultural solutions.

The project also opens up hope for a more sustainable agriculture, in which people are not only beneficiaries but also key players in protecting the living environment.

Statement by Dr. Petr Sharov – Regional Coordinator of GAHP Asia “ I have been to Vietnam many times, but in this project, I am very happy to meet Director Pham Van Son, to work with you in SOS Environment, I see that you are truly passionate and creative. Each proposal, each trip, each program has its own color, its own meaning, and during the years participating in GAHP, I will hardly forget the feelings and things you have done. I think with environmental projects, if not done from the heart, it will be difficult to be effective, you have done everything you have and it is wonderful”

Dr. Petr Sharov – GAHP Regional Coordinator in Asia (sitting in the middle)

 

The programs all bear the unique mark of SOS Environment but bring together the wisdom of many people, from professors, domestic and international environmental experts, SOS Environment members and all with a spirit full of enthusiasm, full of wisdom, full of gratitude.

Act from gratitude

Over the past 20 years of journey with the members of SOS Environment, each person has a deep understanding and knows clearly the path they are on, even though the past and the path ahead are still full of difficulties.

Hoang Long - Deputy Director of the Vietnam Environmental Incident Response Center said: " Currently, with the SOS Environment network, response stations at important locations across the country, all the yellow-shirt soldiers have extremely difficult times, not having time to eat, sleeping urgently, but everyone feels lucky and grateful to be able to accompany the work of environmental protection. We have been able to travel to all provinces and cities, meet many people, and through training programs, through seminars, each person understands more about the importance of environmental protection from each person's awareness, so that everyone is more self-aware, everyone shares more, and is more proud of what they do"

The Vietnam Environmental Incident Response Center is proud of the tireless efforts of all members of the SOS Family. From organizing large-scale training and drills, responding to dangerous incidents to participating in international programs and conferences, each achievement demonstrates the increasingly solid position of SOS Environment.

Incident Response Technician of SOS Environmental Center Northern Region

 

Mr. Pham Van Son - General Secretary of the Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment, Director of the Vietnam Environmental Incident Response Center said: " Action from gratitude may be a vague phrase for many people, but we always understand the path we are on, there are difficulties, there are obstacles, but we believe that this journey will be meaningful to everyone because every action, every program has meaning for a clean environment. Like music without borders, hearts that are ready to move towards environmental protection activities will have a common voice, to connect everyone in the country, connect with experts and members abroad, all will create a solid network, sharing many wishes and passion for the environment. That is the aspiration and also the goal that SOS Environment will act with all its enthusiasm and heart"

There are many things to share about the journey that SOS Environment has gone through, the marks that always remain with time through each contribution, the enthusiasm that always grows with the length of the journey across the country, across countries to spread and share the enthusiasm and dedication to this journey.

Protect the environment with all your intelligence

Protect the environment by action

And certainly SOS Environment will realize its wish when it is connecting leading domestic and international experts every day, who are always focused and devoted all their enthusiasm to this path.

Let each of us protect the environment with gratitude and the smallest natural actions.