About: The study Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Hydropower Master Plan in the context of the Power Development Plan VI aimed to enable Vietnamese governmental bodies to perform international state-of-the-art SEA for the energy sector.

The objective was to perform a pilot SEA of the Vietnamese hydropower plan in the context of PDPVI, with a view to the broader energy sector development. This involved carrying out analysis, building capacity and awareness, and developing broad-based deliberations to ensure that significant sustainability issues arising from the Vietnamese hydropower plan and reasonable alternatives were identified, assessed, subjected to deliberation, and taken into account by decision-makers.

The SEA study developed specific recommendations on SEA for the next PDP cycle, specifically integrating elements of energy security and access, energy balances and climate change planning into the study. In addition to the broader assessment of the national hydropower planning framework, the SEA conducted a more detailed case study of a specific river basin with a view to:

• Evaluating the hydropower development scenarios and trends;
• Understanding the linkages and development impacts of hydropower planning with other energy sub-sectors within PDP VI and other development sectors (for example, water, fisheries, forestry and transport) in the national planning framework;
• Suggesting possible adjustments and alternative energy options, where appropriate; and
• Recommending follow-on investment opportunities.