Supreme Audit Institutions collaborate to aAddress environmental challenges

Working towards Sustainable Development Goals

Recognizing the importance of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development for each country, INTOSAI has prioritized auditing the SDGs as one of the key objectives of its Strategic Plan for the period 2017-2022; it urges member SAIs to "contribute to monitoring and evaluating the efforts of governments in implementing the SDGs in line with the national context and the functions and duties of each SAI."

The ISAM (IDI’s Sustainable Development Goals Audit Model) is a guide developed as a "step-by-step" approach to assist SAIs in conducting high-quality audits of SDG implementation based on the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions (ISSAI). It is grounded in five principles: focusing on audit outcomes; evaluating SAI diversity; actions based on ISSAI; emphasizing comprehensiveness and added value.

As an active member of INTOSAI, the State Audit Office of Viet Nam (SAV) has proactively participated in numerous INTOSAI forums, sharing experience and collaborating with other member SAIs to address environmental audit challenges related to the SDGs. To achieve this goal, SAV has established working groups tasked with engaging in international cooperation activities.

Accordingly, the SAV Working Group on Environmental Auditing (INTOSAI WGEA) participated in the 21st INTOSAI WGEA Congress held virtually in June 2022 under the theme "Enhancing Resilience"; participated in the 2023-2025 INTOSAI WGEA work program survey in May 2023; and attended a webinar on "Multi-dimensional Aspects of Auditing Blue Economy" in July 2023.

Due to strong interest from INTOSAI and SAIs regarding how to audit SDG implementation, the INTOSAI Development Initiatives (IDI) decided to develop the "Sustainable Development Goals Audit Model" (ISAM) in 2020-2021, aiming to assist SAIs in effectively auditing SDG implementation.

As a member of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), SAV has participated in ASOSAI's SDGs Working Group and Environmental Auditing Working Group. Additionally, it has joined various other activities as per international cooperation program requirements, such as: the international seminar in June 2023 on enhancing the impacts of performance audit for the green economy in Indonesia; cooperating in proposing personnels to join the cooperative audit on climate change adaptation actions for ASOSAI member SAIs in 2023-2024; and assigning staff to participate in the international cooperative audit on climate change led by IDI-INTOSAI, among others.

Thanks to lessons drawn from international experience and knowledge, SAV has successfully carried out numerous in-depth environmental audits, contributing to increased transparency and accountability in the management and use of public finances and assets for environmental protection and SDG implementation.

Collaborating to address environmental challenges

At SAV, environmental audits, specifically in SDGs is a key focus. One of the SAV’s efforts to collaborate with other SAIs in addressing environmental challenges is the international cooperative audit on “Water Resource Management in the Mekong River Basin in line with SDGs Implementation” – conducted during the period when SAV held the ASOSAI Chairmanship from 2018 to 2021.

The success of this audit has affirmed the necessity and effectiveness of creating a platform to encourage collaborative audits among member SAIs on sustainable development topics. It also contributed to the promotion of training activities, capacity building, knowledge sharing, and cooperation among SAIs in environmental auditing, highlighting the efforts and contributions of the ASOSAI community toward achieving the SDGs.

The audit results provided a comprehensive evaluation of the efforts, solutions, and outcomes of government agencies in managing water resources linked to the goal of “Integrated water resource management by river basin, including transboundary waters through international cooperation” and highlighted the deficiencies, limitations, and risks of water resource degradation in the Mekong River basin.

Based on these findings, the SAIs proposed valuable recommendations and solutions, contributing significantly to addressing these shortcomings and enhancing the economic, effective, and efficient management of water resources, aligned with the SDGs of each nation and the Mekong River Basin community.

The audit serves as evidence of the successful application of INTOSAI’s GUID 9000 on Cooperative Audit among SAIs, the ISAM model, and the "whole-of-government" approach, as well as the flexible use of suitable audit methods in the new normal context.

In this international cooperative audit on water resource management in the Mekong River Basin, led by SAV, the State Audit Office of Thailand focused on assessing the state of the Mekong River water resources and the impacts of management, usage, and exploitation of these resources concerning SDGs implementation in Thailand. They also emphasized management activities, including monitoring, reporting, warning, and mitigation actions.

In Thailand, the audit delegation surveyed 602 households across eight provinces along the Mekong River, with 79% of the households reporting that changes in the river had negatively affected their income. The audit team gathered feedback from 24 communities along the river, with 66.7% of these communities reporting livelihood changes due to fluctuations in the river, particularly regarding water consumption and local fishery activities.

Meanwhile, the Office of Auditor General of Union of Myanmar aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of water resource management concerning the SDGs and the Government's Sustainable Development Plan. The audit focused on assessing water quality and the implementation of plans to reduce chemical and biological pollutants in water sources from 2018-2020.

The audit results also identified limitations and challenges in managing water resources in the Mekong River. The SAIs highlighted difficulties in implementing the 1995 Mekong River Development Cooperation Agreement, showing that riparian countries need to consider improving future cooperation effectiveness.

Based on the audit findings, the SAIs, especially SAV, recommended that governments, ministries, and localities enhance the management and monitoring of water resources. They also urged the adoption of monitoring systems and the effective operation of these systems by member countries to ensure comprehensive water resource management across the Mekong River basin.