Road traffic noise policy in Vietnam
Hai Yen Thi Phan, Takashi Yano

Over the past decade, Vietnam has experienced a period of market liberalization, and tremendous changes occurring in its economy and industry on one hand, enhanced developmental opportunities, but on the other hand have made it more vulnerable to environmental deterioration. Noise emitted from road traffic is an increasingly noticeable and serious problem in large cities like Hanoi (northern Vietnam) and Ho Chi Minh City (southern Vietnam). The current situation of noise pollution in these cities has not been resolved despite the fact that a Vietnam noise standard was built assigning the maximum permitted noise levels in public and residential areas. The execution of appropriate measures is therefore critical to coping with the current situation. Yet, there has been no reliable data source on community response to noise and an appropriate approach regarding the establishment of a practical noise policy for Vietnam. The main purposes of this paper are firstly investigating the validity of the current Vietnam noise standard, and secondly to propose a practical approach to the establishment of a noise policy in Vietnam based on precedent available knowledge on road traffic noise policies around the world.

Key words: road traffic noise, policy, Vietnam