Environmental Issues Impacting Vietnam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Environmental Issues Impacting Vietnam - Essay Example As such, aqua-cultural methods bring about nutrient loading of the so-called â€Å"grow-out† system in which the food leftovers of the aquatic creatures accumulate in the water causing turbidity, eutrophication, and sedimentation. Hazardous levels of dissolved phosphorus and nitrogen from excrements as well as the pharmaceutical and chemical substances used for developing aquaculture further pollute the body of water and are taken in by the fish which, by food chain, are eaten by men.[1] Additionally, when fish become stressed through grow-out settings in an aquaculture, disease and parasites emerge in transmission between organisms and those that escape inefficient net operations threaten to reduce genetic diversity. Because intensive farming is carried out in culturing shrimp, lobster, and catfish, the clearing of natural habits such as mangrove forests is designed to establish more farms and meet the demands of production in vast numbers. This, nevertheless, has led eventua lly to the salinization of aquifers and soils, making the freshwater reserves more saline and thus, not conducive for use in crops, human consumption, and certain industrial functions as they suffer from low freshwater quality and amount. Pertinent environmental agencies (government and non-government) account for recycling of carbon, phosphorus, nitrogen, and other wastewater nutrients into useful feed supplements and fertilizers. This way, loading of nutrients in an aquaculture may be monitored in order for the aquatic environment to remain in equilibrium with the materials that sustain it. Devastation of Forests by Aggressive Human Exploitation The exploitative approach of deforestation constitutes another issue which designates Vietnam at the height of environmental calamity. According to Do Thanh Hai of the Forest Protection and Management Division, â€Å"The illegal exploitation of forests is most common in natural forests, nature reserves and national parks in northern Dien Bien, Bac Kan, Yen Bai, and Lang Son provinces.† There were about 2,400 reported illegal cases of timber trafficking which indicates how substantial the rate of deforestation is as executed by poachers who have had the backing of some local residents despite the presence of the opposing indigenous minorities. [2] Like the rest of the world that has encountered the undesirable impact of denuding forests, Vietnam similarly experiences how the negative aspects of the practice reflect in unhealthy soil composition and lower capacity to resist floods and runoffs that erode soils to abnormal extent. It would take the Vietnamese a great deal of having to remedy global warming since massive logging implies higher concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, given that only a few number of trees are available to absorb of such gases as carbon dioxide (CO2) to sustain their photosynthetic requirements. At anytime, concerned citizens of Vietnam may opt to complain or bring to pu blic notice any poachers / illegal loggers caught in the act. Though no significant efforts have been documented in reference to nationwide protest against deforestation, the Vietnamese may consider engaging more into campaigns that are ‘pro’ to conservation and preservation of forests. They can also think about being actively engaged in tree-planting activities at feasible regions of the country. Large companies that require timber as the main working component or raw material of their business must be encouraged to seek other alternatives so as to minimize the frequent cutting down of trees. Environmental Damage Brought by the Mid-20th Century War Moreover, the environmental ruins of the Indochina war during the period 1962 –