The threat of global warming
Vietnam is one of the countries hardest hit by global warming. The UN even ranks it among the 10 countries with the most storms since the turn of the millennium. These typhoons and storms are contrasted by prolonged periods of drought. In the grip of ever-higher temperatures, it continues to break its own records. On May 6, 2023, a weather station in the northern province of Thanh Hoa recorded the highest temperature ever recorded in the country: 44.1°C. With its long coastline, the country is particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels. It is estimated that a one-meter rise in sea level would swallow up 5% of the country's surface area, affecting more than 10% of the population.
The country's response is highly contrasted. On the one hand, it has made numerous commitments in favor of the climate. At COP26, held in Glasgow in 2021, Vietnam set itself the goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050. It is also seeking to reduce itsCO2 emissions by 9% by 2030 compared with the normal scenario. On the other hand, behind these promises, action seems to be lacking, and emissions continue to rise. At the same time, the country has imprisoned several climate activists, accusing them of various offenses, including tax evasion. This situation is widely condemned by human rights NGOs. Finally, air pollution in Vietnam remains very high in most major cities, including Hanoi.
A wave of plastic
With almost 30,000 tonnes of plastic waste ending up in the sea, Vietnam is the 8thcountry in the world throwing the most plastic into the oceans. In the spring of 2023, the Along Bay Administration Department published figures on the amount of waste recovered from this Unesco World Heritage site. The statistics are mind-boggling: in just three months, 10,000 t of garbage - the equivalent of 4 Olympic-sized swimming pools - will have been collected.
Due to a lack of resources and a lack of ecological awareness among the population, the dumping of waste in rivers, coastal areas or in unauthorized dumps, where it is left to the wind, is a current problem. This phenomenon is accentuated by the rapid growth of the population (which has doubled from 50 to almost 100 million since the 1980s), and the transition from communism to capitalism. Vietnam has set itself the target of reducing the amount of plastic waste discharged into the oceans by three-quarters by 2030, a goal that seems, once again, ambitious for a country that is not yet weaned off single-use plastics.
Fifty years on: the ravages of war
Fifty years on, the war continues to wreak havoc on biodiversity and human health. The United States used Agent Orange, a powerful herbicide, extensively as a weapon of war, in order to overcome the thick jungle in which the Vietnamese were hiding. Over 3 million hectares of forest were wiped off the map in this way. The phenomenon was so serious that it gave rise to the term "ecocide". Even today, animal and plant diversity in the areas that were sprayed is much lower than in those that were spared. It is estimated that thousands of Vietnamese are still suffering from health problems (cancers, malformations, heart or respiratory diseases, etc.) linked to this chemical rain. Despite trials in the United States and France, only American veterans have been awarded compensation for the damage caused by Agent Orange. The United States is entitled to wartime compensation, while the companies that produced the herbicide were deemed irresponsible by the courts, as they were implementing a decision of the sovereign government.
Agent Orange played an active part in the major deforestation phenomenon raging in Vietnam. But it didn't stop there. In addition to the herbicide, there are slash-and-burn farming practices, the cutting of firewood by the population, and the trade in tropical wood. Deforestation has many consequences, such as soil erosion, causing a significant loss of biodiversity and increasingly frequent natural disasters such as landslides and soil desertification. In recent years, however, deforestation has slowed. In 2020, former Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, in response to the country's numerous natural disasters, also launched a colossal project to plant a billion trees by 2025.
A global platform for animal trafficking
In November 2016, the NGO Wildlife Justice Commission published a report shining a spotlight that the village of Nhi Khe, on the outskirts of Hanoi, could have done without. The report reveals that the village has become an international hub for illegal animal trafficking. According to the association, the total value of the lot in the village, including rhinoceros horns, elephant tusks, pangolins and live bears, is estimated at 53 million euros. Most of the animals were destined for the Chinese market. While these businesses are illegal in Vietnam, convictions are still rare. Between 2018 and 2023, 60 tons of ivory, pangolin scales and rhinoceros horns were seized in Vietnamese ports, but no prosecutions or arrests were made. In early 2023, however, a rare conviction delighted international NGOs. A trafficker who transported 10 tons of animal products to Vietnam between 2021 and 2022 was sentenced to 13 years' imprisonment.
National parks
Northern Vietnam boasts some of the country's most emblematic parks. Cuc Phuong Nature Park is the oldest in the country. In the heart of its valleys and lush tropical forests lies exceptional biodiversity, and is the setting for three conservation programs protecting the Delacour's Langur monkey, the Annam leaf turtle and the pangolin.
Further east, in Cat Bà National Park, located on the largest island in Along Bay, terrestrial and aquatic environments come together to create magnificent landscapes of tropical forest, mangroves and high relief.
Tam Dao National Park is also dotted with peaks, the highest of which rises to 1,591 m above sea level. Particularly wild, it is mainly covered by a thick carpet of tropical forest. It is home to some rare species, such as theAmphiesma angeli, a snake endemic to northern Vietnam.
