It is therefore not surprising that the Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit advises that for a fee, you can find some one at Binh Chau to take you hunting. You can expect 'wild meat' in local restaurants. Challenge Vietnamese scientists have few resources to promote nature's wonder and majesty, or its practical value ins maintaining global 'life support systems'. The challenge is to rebuild respect for nature that was once ingrained in Vietnamese culture. Environmental awareness in Vietnam today is as it was in many developed countries thirty years ago when economic advancement was also a priority.
Vietnamese biologists understand it is vital to maintain biodiversity.
They know that as forests shed species, they will be less resilient and so the environment will slide into ecological oblivion. A recent UN report on Vietnam's environment shows increases in planted forests and perennial crops, and a consequent decrease in what is variously defined as 'barren land' in this region. Barren land demands great care to make it productive again. But even as productive land, its biological diversity is disappearing. The lesser diversity of agricultural species is far more susceptible to pests, nutrient loss, erosion and flooding.