A recent report found that Vietnam’s mangrove forests, which protect the country from flooding and costal erosion, have been lost since 1943.
The report was presented on October 16 at a seminar on the exchange of international experience on the implementation of policies on climate change adaptation and the situation in Vietnam, held in Nha Trang City by the National Assembly’s Committee for Science, Technology and Environment and Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Southeast Asia, according to DTI News.
Data showed that Vietnam's mangrove forests are in sharp decline, falling from 408,500 hectares in 1943 to 189,200 hectares in 2000, and just 168,688 hectares in 2013.
Hoang Van Thang, deputy minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, attributed the loss of forests to human activity, climate change, hydropower dams and “deforestation stemming from shrimp farms and resorts.”
Experts agree that the remedy to the issue is better public awareness, implementation of advanced technologies to regrow them and enforcement of existing deforestation and forest protection policies.
Ho Chi Minh City is seems to be a rare exception to this problem, having successfully replanted the mangrove forest in the Can Gio as a Biosphere Reserve, which is now recognized by UNESCO.
