The issue of environmental protection is no longer a problem of only one country, but also an

urgent issue of the whole of humanity. The ecological environment is a neat, organic,
interconnected network of land, water, air and living organisms on a global scale. Instability at
some point in this system will be severely affected. Humans and society are both part of nature.
In the process of labor and development, people have exploited, protected and built up for nature,
however, people gradually have opposites, destroying nature and their natural living
environment. Currently, with nearly 8 billion people living, the earth is suffering heavy
consequences associated with the fact that nature is gradually being destroyed, due to
increasingly severe pollution and environmental degradation.

1. Some environmental problems in Vietnam

According to many international experts, Vietnam is currently facing many serious
environmental problems such as deforestation, soil erosion, over-exploitation of coastal
resources threatening ecosystems, biodiversity and genetic depletion. This environmental
situation, coupled with climate change and sea level rise, are posing hot issues and challenges for
Vietnam's rapid and sustainable development in the near future (it is one of the five countries
most affected by climate change). Some specific manifestations of environmental issues in
Vietnam today can be seen as follows:

- Unscrupulous and irresponsible action when exploiting.

Increasing ecological pollution is a difficult problem today. Many factories discharge industrial
and daily-life wastes, toxic substances from the production process that are not treated seriously,
but are put directly into the environment, causing ecological pollution and causing diseases to
people. Some enterprises have small-scale production facilities, generally outdated technology,
and have not invested properly in the treatment of environmental pollution and waste, which has
caused serious pollution of water sources and the environment. .
Besides, the problem of official and free mining, building materials, gold, gems, etc., has also
been destroying the ecological environment. The use of mines in many fields is disrupting the
balance of the ecological environment.

- The risk of deforestation and forest resources.

In fact, deforestation has made resources increasingly depleted, and occurs in many areas at the
same time. Deforestation is considered a national disaster.
Vietnam's nature, besides being affected by the effects of wars in the past, is now also destroyed
by unconscious activities, arbitrary irresponsible attitudes, lack of planning in the exploitation
and use of natural resources.
According to statistics before 1945, forest coverage accounted for 43.8%, now it is just over 28%
(i.e. below the alarming level of 30%). In recent years, the area of natural forests in Vietnam has
been declining rapidly, and the quality of forests has deteriorated heavily. In the period from
2011 to now, the total damaged forest area is estimated at more than 22,800 ha, of which the
forest area burned is about 13,700 ha, the rest is due to illegal cutting. On average, Vietnam loses
about 2,500 hectares of forest each year. The main cause of this situation is shifting cultivation,
illegal logging, development of transport infrastructure, construction of hydroelectricity, etc., not
following the unified planning. The problem of unreasonable land use planning is wasting this
valuable resource of the country.

- Rapid deterioration of soil quality and arable land.

Desertification and land degradation are problems of global scale, having great and serious
impacts on sustainable development, ecological safety, social security and food security.
Vietnam is also one of the areas affected by this disaster.
Today's desertification is widespread not only in dry areas but also in wet and rainy areas, due to
the unreasonable use of land resources.

- Marine resources, especially coastal marine resources, have been significantly

reduced.

According to the State of the National Sea and Island Environment Report for the period 2016-
2020, marine resources are being over-exploited and unsustainable. It is estimated that seagrass
in the whole sea area of our country from Quang Ninh to Ha Tien has lost about 40 - 60%;
Mangrove forests lost up to 70% and about 11% of coral reefs were completely destroyed,
unable to restore themselves.
The primary mangrove forests are almost lost. The severe decline in mangrove areas has led to
the decline of marine biodiversity, especially the loss of breeding grounds and habitats of aquatic
species.
Notably, the seagrass bed ecosystem is one of the important marine ecosystems, but is currently
facing the risk of injury and degradation.
Besides, over the past 20 years, Vietnam has lost 12% of its coral reefs; Another 48% of coral
reefs are in serious deterioration. The area of lost coral reefs is concentrated mainly in inhabited
areas such as Ha Long Bay, the central coastal provinces and some inhabited islands where the
coverage is reduced by over 30%. The loss of area and damage of many coral reefs reduces
biodiversity, ecology and marine environmental quality; damage to tourism, fisheries and
livelihoods of coastal communities.

- Mineral resources, water resources, biological resources, ecosystems, etc.,

inappropriate use.

Due to the lack of synchronous management, outdated mining technology, especially the
unreasonable exploitation and use of many groups of resources, etc., are the causes leading to the
waste of national resources and the loss of resources. degradation, depletion, threatening the
country's sustainable development.
Accordingly, rare and precious species are facing a very high risk of extinction. In Vietnam,
there are about 100 species of plants and nearly 100 species of animals in danger of extinction.
Besides, mineral resources are gradually depleted after over-exploitation and wasteful use. Land
resources are also facing many difficulties such as agricultural land is gradually being converted
to land for industry and services, soil is saline, increasing desertification, etc.
- Environmental pollution: water, soil and air are serious.

The situation of environmental pollution continues to be complicated, with many hot spots, and
the quality of the environment in many places has declined sharply. Worryingly, environmental
incidents continue to increase in severity, many of which have wide-ranging impacts,
complicated developments, and make it difficult for management and remedial work. Many
complex environmental sanitation problems have arisen in urban and rural areas.
On the other hand, currently, the air quality in urban areas, especially big cities such as Hanoi
and Ho Chi Minh City, tends to decrease and become increasingly serious. With the increase in
air pollution sources, the air quality exceeds the allowable threshold, which has greatly affected
people's lives and health. Meanwhile, domestic solid waste has not been classified at source;
Landfill rate accounts for more than 70%, mainly unsanitary; still nearly 36.5% of domestic
waste in rural areas has not been collected, treated, etc.

- The effects of war, especially toxic chemicals.

The war has passed, but its consequences are extremely serious for the natural environment and
Vietnamese people.
About 86% of the poison was sprayed over densely forested areas; The remaining 14% is used to
destroy fields and crops, mainly rice fields and shifting cultivation in mountainous areas. The
area of mangroves affected by toxic chemicals is 150,000 ha, typically the mangrove forest in Ca
Mau.
With a huge amount of toxic chemicals sprayed repeatedly over a long period of time, the
environment is heavily polluted, ecosystems are turned upside down, many species of plants and
animals are destroyed. Due to the severe destruction of forests, the environmental protection
function of the watershed protection forests of 28 river basins was also broken, causing great
damage to the economy.

- Population growth is too fast.

The unequal and unequal distribution of the labor force between regions and resource extraction
sectors are the most complex problems in population and environmental relations.
The concentration of dust in urban areas exceeds many times the allowable norm. The
concentration of CO2 emissions, especially in big cities and industrial zones, exceeds the
allowable standards by 1.5 to 2.5 times. In addition, noise pollution is also a problem for
residential areas.

- Limited physical and technical facilities.

While the demand for rational use of resources is constantly increasing, the requirements for
environmental improvement and anti-pollution are increasingly large and complex, the system of
physical - technical facilities, officials and laws. There are many limitations and inadequacies in
the solution to environmental problems.

2. What is Vietnam doing to solve environmental problems?

 a. Government

In 2004, in Vietnam, the Prime Minister signed the Decision No. 153/2004/QD TTg dated
August 17, 2004, "Promulgating strategic orientations for sustainable development in Vietnam in
order to develop the country sustainably. on the basis of a close, reasonable and harmonious
combination between economic development, social development and environmental
protection”.
In 2005, the Law on Environmental Protection Amended and supplemented, passed by the 11th
National Assembly, 8th session on November 29, 2005, introduced the concept of the
environment: “The environment includes natural elements. and man-made matter surrounding
humans, affecting the life, production, existence and development of humans and creatures". In
2020, the draft amended and supplemented Law on Environmental Protection will continue to be
completed, supplemented and submitted to the National Assembly.
In 2017, the Prime Minister signed and approved the National Action Plan for the
implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with 17 general goals and 115
specific goals corresponding to the sustainable development goals.

b. Vietnamese people

Currently, Vietnamese people have come together to protect the environment in many different
ways, the most visible is that Vietnamese people have responded and participated
enthusiastically in environmental protection campaigns.

 - Participate in tree conservation campaigns

Activities such as planting trees to cause forests, tending and protecting forest trees, etc., are
regularly implemented in schools, propaganda programs, and raising awareness about
environmental protection.

 - Using natural materials

Products such as natural cosmetics, oriental medicine, microbiological fertilizers, etc., have been
developed in Vietnam, minimizing the use of harmful chemicals, affecting the health of people
and users.
Products such as paper straws, bamboo straws, cups and bowls made from bamboo, etc., are
chosen and used by a large number of Vietnamese people.

 - Minimize the use of plastic bags

Supermarkets in Vietnam have used reusable bags or biodegradable bags to protect the
environment. Vietnamese youth have also responded to the movement of using cloth bags, paper
bags, leaves, etc., instead of using plastic bags.

 - Participate in earth hour every year

The Earth Hour campaign in Vietnam is launched by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The Earth Hour 2022 campaign in Vietnam is co-organized by the World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the Ministry of Industry and
Trade. This year, the Earth Hour 2022 campaign with the theme "Shape our Future" - "Creating
the future" has the aim of raising the awareness of individuals and organizations to respond to
climate change and shortage of energy sources due to human exploitation and use as resources
on Earth are increasingly depleted, etc. According to information from the National Load
Dispatch Center (EVN), after 1 hour of turning off the logo lights in response to the Earth Hour
2022 campaign (from 8:30 to 21:30 on March 26, 2022), the whole country has saved power
output is 309,000 kWh (equivalent to about 576.1 million VND).

In summary, the above are urgent environmental issues in Vietnam. The issue of environmental
protection is not of an individual or a country, but an essential global issue. To do this, we need
to implement green living campaigns right now, limit energy use, limit waste discharge into the
environment, etc.