(3) Water Valuation

The principle of water allocation for high economic value use is included in the National Strategy on Water Resources [123], but in practice, water allocation and reallocation is, typically, not based on economic values; although, water pricing [129] and charges [130] have been identified as instruments for water policy. Instead, the administrative allocation of water in Vietnam is principally based on biophysical information [118]. Further, while the concept of environmental water values is part of the national law [125], few studies have been undertaken (for example, Nam and Son [131]; Do and Bennett [132]; Vo and Khai [133]) to support water decision-making [134].
