Country Comments

Vietnam is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. It is also a very densely populated country that currently has over twice as many people than can be sustained with its current renewable resources. Additionally the CIA reports the developing country has been transitioning since 1986 from the rigidities of a centrally planned, highly agrarian economy to a more industrial and market based economy, and it has raised incomes substantially. Logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; air pollution; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading the environment. (1)

The total fertility rate has been just below replacement rate for two decades now. Even with this good fertility rate and steady net migration every year as citizens move to countries for greater economic security, the country has been adding over 900,000 new citizens a year. With a growing middle class which will consume more goods and services and a prime minister encouraging greater fertility the country’s population and consumption will continue to grow and will further damage its biodiversity, deplete its resources and drive the country deeper into an unsustainable state.

(1)https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/vietnam/#environment