Vietnam’s Environmental Conditions Learning intention: To understand how historical factors, population growth and development has effected Vietnam’s environment.

Prep Text pg. 133-4: Environmental Conditions and take notes. Do questions 1 and 2 on pg. 134.

Overall Environmental Degradation Rapid economic and population growth has put pressure on Vietnam’s environment Population Based Increase in scooter (40 million in Vietnam) and car ownership in cities has increased noise and air pollution Greater overall stress on raw resources as population and wealth increase leads to consumption increase Farm Based Increase intensive farming has led to use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides which pollute waterways when runoff occurs Clearing of mangroves in low-lying areas for prawn farming has caused major problems with soil strength etc. Manufacturing and Development Based Building of dams for electricity on Mekong and other rivers has caused the water flow to change affecting fish, irrigation, water supply etc. Increase in manufacturing sector means more pollution runoff from factories, atmospheric emissions

Connections Between Pollution and Manufacturing Several key reasons that giant manufacturing moves to countries like Vietnam: Low labour costs Low labour standards/regulations Tax incentives (low corporate taxes) Loose environmental regulations (NIMBY issue)

Forests Deforestation Forest cover: 1944 – 43% 1988 – 21% - a huge reduction due to war (American’s spraying to find enemy easier) - post-war uncontrolled logging - clearing of land for agriculture and firewood Reforestation Government initiatives to re-green, especially in the highlands – 2005 forest cover 39%

Gapminder Use Gapminder World. Choose Vietnam on the right hand side. Change the horizontal axis to time. On the vertical axis, go into the environment section and look at several of the indicators that are listed. Write down the indicators you’ve used and a summary of what you see (including trends and specifics about change(s) in this time period). Do the indicators show what you would expect?

Prep: Pre-reading Read and take notes on sections: A changing rural environment: the Mekong River Delta and A changing urban environment: Hanoi