Clean Data - Bright Trust: [Part 1] Digital transformation for the people

In the context where digital transformation has become an inevitable trend, Vietnam’s Ministry of Agriculture and Environment is entering a new stage of modernization in land governance, a core sector with far-reaching socio-economic impacts. The “90-Day Campaign to Enrich and Clean Land Data” (September 1 - November 30, 2025) represents a strategic move to standardize, purify, and vitalize the national land database according to the criteria of “accurate - complete - clean - live.”

No longer confined to outdated, fragmented paper records, land data is being digitized, made transparent, and updated in real time, marking the beginning of a transformation in governance thinking.

To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (November 14, 1945 - November 14, 2025), Vietnam Agriculture & Nature News launches the series “Clean data - Bright trust”, portraying the journey from paper-based systems to digital platforms and reinforcing public confidence in a fair, transparent, and sustainable land administration system.

Within Vietnam’s national digital transformation agenda, the land sector, one of the most sensitive and citizen-related areas, is witnessing a major, revolutionary turning point. The campaign “Enriching and Cleansing Land Data,” jointly launched by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, the Ministry of Public Security, and local governments since September 2025, is regarded as a comprehensive nationwide initiative to standardize, synchronize, and make land data transparent. 

This is not merely a technical campaign but a digital revolution for the people, materializing the Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW dated December 22, 2024, of the Politburo on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation. The principle “wherever there’s difficulty, it must be resolved; whichever level faces obstacles, that level must act” has been thoroughly implemented from the central to grassroots levels, reflecting the Government’s strong determination to build a transparent, modern, people-centered land governance system, a government that creates, serves, and empowers citizens.

Two Decades of Building the Land Database

Mr. Mai Van Phan, Deputy Director General Department of Land Management, said that Vietnam’s process of land data digitization began in the early 2000s. Through multiple stages, alongside revisions to land-related policies and laws, the framework has gradually been completed in terms of institutions, technology, and organization, though still fragmented and inconsistent across provinces.

In 2013, with the promulgation of the Land Law, the concept of a “land database” was officially defined, paving the way for a shift from district-level systems to provincial-level and now to a centralized, unified national land information system. Since then, the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (formerly the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment) has issued a series of technical standards and guidelines for local digitization projects. Provinces such as Thai Nguyen, Lao Cai, Ha Tinh, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai, and Vinh Long have become pioneering examples in cadastral digitization and database construction.

From 2020, under the National Digital Transformation Strategy to 2030, the National Land Database was identified as one of six key national data systems. To date, 34 out of 63 provinces and cities have established and operated provincial-level land databases, and 16 localities have synchronized their data with the national data center. However, gaps remain, incomplete datasets, inconsistencies in spatial and attribute information, and overlaps between management levels still hinder data connectivity and public service delivery.

Therefore, the “Enriching and Cleansing Land Data” campaign was launched as the most comprehensive review and standardization effort ever undertaken, laying the foundation for completing the National Land Database by 2026 - a core component of Vietnam’s digital government, digital economy, and digital society.

From "Clean" data to transparent, sustainable land governance

According to Plan 515/KH-BCA-BNN&MT, the campaign pursues three key goals: Establishing a modern, transparent foundation for land management and governance; Enhancing the quality of public services and accelerating administrative reform; Connecting and integrating land data with other national databases to ensure seamless operation across the political system.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, in coordination with the Ministry of Public Security, leads the campaign, addressing technical, institutional, and human resource bottlenecks to ensure data accuracy, completeness, cleanliness, vitality, consistency and interoperability.

The campaign includes 21 specific tasks, with 5 key ones led by the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment: improving existing databases; digitizing uncertified land and housing records; connecting and synchronizing data; ensuring cybersecurity; and guiding and supporting local implementation.

A particularly important task is the restructuring of land administration procedures, cutting paper-based steps and replacing them with digital data. Citizens can verify land information via the VNeID application, eliminating the need for photocopying or notarizing land-use certificates, saving both time and cost while reducing inconvenience.

Once standardized and synchronized, the national land database will manage all information on land-use rights and attached assets through a unified digital platform from central to commune level. This not only strengthens transparency and accountability in public administration but also allows citizens and businesses to access, verify, and protect their legal rights easily.

Linking the land database with national systems on population, taxation, finance, public investment, and credit will open vast opportunities for the digital economy, reducing compliance costs, increasing transparency, and curbing corruption in land management.

Toward a digitally inclusive society

Beyond cleaning data, the campaign carries a broader social vision: reducing the information-related poverty and moving toward a fully digital government and administration. As land data become digitized and widely accessible, citizens will have equal opportunities to access accurate and transparent information, land-related services and development opportunities.

This aligns with the National Digital Transformation Strategy’s principle that all policies and public services must be people-centered, citizens are not only beneficiaries but also contributors, verifiers, and supervisors of the transparent data they help create.

In practice, implementation across 34 provinces has highlighted the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment’s strong leadership role. The Ministry has not only issued professional guidelines and data standards but also deployed working teams directly to localities to monitor progress and troubleshoot issues on-site.

Many localities such as Hai Phong, Bac Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Lao Cai, Ha Tinh, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City, and Dong Nai have demonstrated high determination, treating the campaign as a special political mission, mobilizing the entire political system to participate. The inter-sectoral task force model, combining land management authorities, police forces, tech enterprises, has created widespread momentum, improving both efficiency and progress.