THE COST OF DEVELOPING VIETNAM

From the reform happened in 1986, Vietnam achieved the annual growth rate is about 7%. It was slow a little in the recession in 2008; however, this growth rate is high for a developing country in general. This is an impressive number for many people, but we should look back the real cost we have during this development: our environment. In this article, I concern about two serious problems in environment that happen in Vietnam now are water pollution and air pollution.

The first concern of mine is water pollution. In 1986, income per capita in Vietnam is $100, and was ranked one of the five poorest countries in the world. In 2013, our income per capital increased to nearly $ 2,000 thank to the renovation in 1986, shift Vietnam from an agricultural country to an industrialization and modernization country. However, the industrialization and urbanization rapidly without concerning enough about environment had a bad effect to the environment. Wastewater wasn’t treated before throw out to the rivers from more than 3,000 industrial enterprises had caused water pollution seriously. Typically, Vedan factory has released wastewater into Thi Vai River for 14 years. The authority of Dong Nai province only detected that in 2008, after Thi Vai became a dead river. The cost for building a wastewater treatment system is pretty high, so most of businesses in Vietnam avoid to spending this cost. If businesses were detected to release wastewater into rivers, they were fined a smaller amount of money in comparison with the cost for treatment water. That makes the water pollution in Vietnam become more seriously. The urbanization takes place rapidly is also a reason of water pollution. At big cities such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi capital, Can Tho City, more and more people from other areas come to these cities. However, the trash treatment system and the water treatment system capacity is not enough to solve for more and more immigration. As you can see at trenches, lakes, river near residential areas, there are municipal waste or water released into these sources of water. In 2012, Nhieu Loc trench renovation project was finished after 10 years operated, and it cost 8,600 billions VND (about 43 millions USD), a huge cost. Therefore, industrialization and modernization country besides bring a benefit for citizens is improving their standard living, it produces an enormous cost to the society is water pollution.

The second social cost of the development of Vietnam is air pollution. According to EPI survey (Environmental Performance Index) Vietnam was ranked 10 worst nations in the world about air quality. The main source cause air pollution is traffic. The main vehicle for traveling in Vietnam is motorcycle. Along with the growth of population, the demands for motorcycles are more and more. Especially in big cities like Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Noi Capital, the air pollution is more serious. We used to have the law prohibit using motorcycles, which are too old. However, that law can’t be applied because most people use old motorcycles are the poor. Those old motorcycle are the tools help they earn money for living. Thus, even the law is good for environment; we still can apply it in the society.

Industrialization and urbanization are necessary for our development. However, we should control those processes and have better policies to protect our environment. The laws should have stronger effects to firms so that they will expense money to build wastewater treatment systems to improve the water pollution. Another solution is the public transportation in Vietnam should be improved; more people use this kind of transportation will decrease the amount of motorcycles used, and reduce the air pollution.

SPECIES ARE THREATENED WITH EXTINCTION IN VIETNAM

An article was published on Vietnamnews.vn about 15 monkeys were hunted and traveled in Nghe An province, Vietnam. A month ago, an elephant was killed in Dak Lak province. If you read the news frequently, you will see there was a lot of animals were hunted, killed, and many of them are threatened with extinction. How people manage the hunting in Vietnam, and why so many endangered species are hunted?

The first reason is people get much benefit from this business. There are more and more restaurants open to serve those kinds of foods, which they call special foods, so the prices for them are pretty high. People make benefits from that business, so they ignore the law and continuous hunting. People believe that bear bile or bear hands are good for their health, so they try to buy it even though how high of the price. Because of the demand of rich people, and they ready to pay for high price, the hunter ignore the fact that they will hurt bears, they can make the bears become extinction. I read some news about bears was shot, and when people find it, those bears lose hands. Or there is news about how cruel people do bear bile businesses. They raise bear and take the bear bile every year; some bears lose their behaviors because they have been taken bile for 20 years. To avoid bears can hurt themselves and die during the time people take bile, they put bears in steel frame so that bears can’t move. This is not ethical, and people argue about that. Many controversial about this kind of businesses, however, it still exists because there are demands for it.  

Another reason for that hunting is coming from the poverty and lacking of knowledge. The poverty and lacking of knowledge in Vietnam still remains highly, especially in minority ethnics. People in these areas are easy to be affected because they don’t know the important of preserving endangered animals, and they don’t know the laws either.

As news “time running out for endangered species” indicated that Vietnam is ranked top 16 countries in the world in term of richness of biodiversity. However, our country has not been able to protect this. The WWF (World Wild Fund for Nature) confirmed about the Javan rhino extinction in Vietnam in 2011, and they warned about the extinction of other species if Vietnam doesn’t have any better management and any policies to protect the wildlife. The laws of Vietnam now about buying and selling wildlife are not enough strict to prevent people from doing that. More details, hunters or people who kill wildlife animals were fined 3 millions to 5 millions VND. If it is more seriously, they can sentence 3 months to 3 years in prison. Those laws are not strict in comparison with the benefits they get from the businesses, that is the reason why hunting and transaction wildlife animals still happens in Vietnam.

In my opinion, one of the most important and necessary solutions to preserve the wildlife is revising the laws of protecting endangered animals. People who hunt and kill wildlife animals should be fined strictly to prevent the situation of selling and buying animals. Moreover, people who buy and use products from endangered species should be fined too. If we can reduce the demand for it, the supply will also reduce. By these ways, we can protect the diversity of nature, and preserve the endangered species for future generations.

CLIMATE CHANGES, AND HOW IT AFFECTS TO FARMERS

Last week, I called my mom in Quang Ngai, Vietnam, and I heard that my hometown had flood. That happened in March, when people in my country call it is spring so it is weird to my parents, it’s also make people surprised. Flood occurs frequently in my hometown, so it doesn’t surprise to people, but it usually took place in winter, from October to December. This is the first time that people in my country have flood in March. I think every one know the reason for that is the climate changes; the earth is getting warmer and warmer due to human activities. Climate change affects to many fields of economy, however, I will focus on the effects of it on farmers.

The first effect is that climate changes result in drought, flood and storm, which directly affect to plant. Drought happens will cause farmers don’t have enough water to provide for their farm, thus the result of the farm will low, farmers earn less from their hard working on the farms. Floods and storms bring vegetables, trees to go far away from the farm. For example, the blood last week in my country made farmers loose everything on their farms. That is one of many reasons make farmers suffer poverty for many years. Now, the situation even worse because of the suddenly change in weather that they can’t have preparation, and they don’t know when they should prepare for the changes.

         The second effect of climate changes to farmers is the changing in planting and harvesting schedule. Every year, my country has faced a lot of storm in winter, and the storms now occur more and more frequently. For example, in 2010 we had about 5 big storms from October to December. Last year, we had 10 storms total, and it took place earlier in July. Not only the storms happen more frequently and earlier, these storms are also stronger in the magnitude. Because of those changes in weather, farmers change their schedules in planting and harvesting to avoid being affected from the weathers. It seems like farmers have no effect when they change their planting schedule, however, this change has large consequence in the productivity. Planting and harvesting earlier in spring and summer, when the weather is still too cold or too hot, will cause vegetables and trees grow more slowly. It also cost more for farmers to bring water from rivers to the farms because it usually has drought in summer.

Natural disasters have effects on the economy of all countries where that happen; nevertheless, farmers are affected firstly and seriously. That is the reason why people in the middle of Vietnam work hard, but they still face poverty for many years, and they can’t change it.

        These images above are in the middle of Vietnam last year in the flood, middle of Vietnam is the place where suffers the most storms and natural disasters. 

          Image is about a farmer on her farm after flood. It is very common in the middle of Vietnam after any natural disasters; farmers lose all their capitals and their hard working the whole year.