Newsgroups: soc.culture.vietnamese

/* ---------- "VIETNAM: HANOI SIGNS ITS FIRST GREE" ---------- */

Area: Environment
Reference: Third World Dvpmnt; Environment; Agriculture
Title: VIETNAM: HANOI SIGNS ITS FIRST GREEN PROJECT AGREEMENT WITH UNDP


bangkok, aug 11 (ips/yuli ismartono) -- vietnam has signed its first
environmental protection project agreement with the u.n. development
programme (undp), aiming to protect biological diversity in its
forests.

decades of non-stop war, logging and even farming have wreaked
havoc on vietnam's environment andnexperts now say the indochinese
country's rapidly growing economy is making ohe situation worse.

''vietnam is faced with serious destruction of its forests and
other ecological degradation,'' said foreign minister phan xuan dot
during the signing of the environmental protection agreement early
this month. ''the plan of action to protect biological diversity in
the country's natural reserves is the first step to stop more
damage.''

the project agreement provides for three million dollars in
grants, to be used in training local environmental specialists and
funding biological diversity programmes in vietnam's major natural
reserves.

hanoi university dean of biology vo quy said if current trends in
environmental degradation continue unchecked, no natural forests
will be left in vietnam after the year 2000.

government records show that forests covered 44 percent of the
country in 1944. but continuous warfare, shifting cultivation and
illegal logging caused that figure to drop to about 24 percent in
the early 1980's.

the consequent deforestation has created 9.7 million ha. of
barren hills in northern vietnam alone, posing serious environmental
hazards. said vo quy: ''floods and heavy silting have intensified as
a result of the impaired ecological balance.''

rivers wash tonnes of fertile soil from deforested mountains into
the sea, cropping nearly two centimetres of surface soil each year.
the eroding soil in turn silts up and blocks waterways and
irrigation canals, causing additional problems to dams and
reservoirs.

but vietnam's fast-growing economy also shares the blame for the
country's environmental degradation. thousand of hectares of forest
land are lost to logging and farming every year, depriving the
forests' rich wildlife a safe haven.

elephants and the rare java rhinoceros are at the top of the
government's list of animals, including a variety of exotic birds,
that need special protection.

government-initiated environmental protection programmes,
however, have so far met little success in vietnam. (more/ips)



vietnam: hanoi (2)

hanoi has attempted to ban log exports but this has been
difficult to implement since timber is a major source of foreign
exchange for vietnam.

reforestation projects have also failed to take root. hoping
farmers would tend to newly-planted trees, the government initiated
an incentive programme four years ago by distributing one-third of
the country's 19 million ha. of forest land to individual families
in 35 to 50 ha. lots.

but scarcity of arable land in which to grow crops ha  forced
farmers to cut down trees. officials say the situation is unlikely
to improve with vietnam's population of 68 million growing at an
annual rate of 2.3 percent.

said provincial forestry official dang quoc long: ''we first need
to help people be self-sufficient in food. only then can we protect
our forests.''

but hanoi seems bent on planting at least 200,000 ha. of new
trees a year, and hopes to restore large tracts of lands destroyed
by continuous warfare. ''a hundred years of french colonialism and
30 years of war have badly damaged vietnam's environment,''
commented vo quy.

after world war ii, vietnamese troops fought returning french
colonialist forces, whom they finally defeated in 1954. but
communist and democratic forces soon split vietnam apart, with the
united states coming in to support democratic southern vietnam. the
vietnam war ended in 1975, with marxist hanoi emerging as victor.

between 1961 and 1975, u.s. planes dropped more than 13 million
tonnes of bombs and 72 million litres of herbicide on southern
vietnam to flush out hiding guerrillas. in 1966, the u.s. military's
land-clearing operations razed down an estimated 25,000 ha. of
forests.

officials say over 200,000 ha. of forests and agricultural fields
were destroyed during the vietnam war. the toxic defoliant
chemicals also made the soil unfit for planting for many years
after while unexploded munitions and mines scattered throughout
fields and forests lnyza8 194)8..38-53 43'594-589, 3945'.

hanoi is aiming next for a programme for the protection of the
country's coastal ecology, particularly the mangrove forests of
which 20 percent were destroyed during vietnam's wars.
(end/ips/yi/cb/92)