Environmental issues in Vietnam include climate change, habitat loss and degradation, water pollution, and air pollution. Heavy pesticide use and military activities during the Vietnam War have contributed to lingering environmental damage. Vietnam's rapid industrialization following economic reforms in 1986, known as Đổi Mới, has also contributed to habitat degradation and pollution. Government action has been partially successful in addressing certain issues such as deforestation. Though environmental activism has increased since the Đổi Mới reforms, it has had more limited success.
History
Between 1962 and 1971 during the Vietnam War, U.S. military forces dispersed more than 19 million gallons of herbicidal agents over Vietnam, including more than 11 million gallons of the dioxin-contaminant commonly known as Agent Orange. 17.8% or 3.1 million hectares (31,000 km2; 12,000 sq mi) of Vietnam's total forested area was sprayed, and many of these contaminants remained in the environment for years after the war. The spraying of herbicides directly affected an estimated 2.1 million to 4.8 million people present in the region. In addition to the impact of herbicide use, the effects of the war on Vietnam's physical landscape continue to influence land-use politics today.
Industrial and economic activity in Vietnam has contributed to environmental degradation and pollution as early as the 1950s. Starting in 1986, the Đổi Mới reforms to business and agriculture significantly accelerated economic growth in Vietnam but simultaneously increased pressure on natural resources and contributed to increased pollution. A 2003 publication jointly produced by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MONRE) and the Ministry of Fisheries found that increased demands for land development and planning frequently conflicted with area conservation plans. Additionally, the sharp increase in urban populations after Đổi Mới decreased the effectiveness of urban drainage systems, leading to heavily polluted water. Concentrations of major air pollutants like PM2.5 and NO2 have also increased across Vietnam since 2001, particularly in major cities like Hanoi and Hai Phong.
Climate change
Vietnam has been consistently ranked as one of the countries most affected by climate change.Waibel, Michael. 2008. "Implications and Challenges of Climate Change for Vietnam," Pacific News, 29, pp. 26-27, Its long coastline, low-lying river delta areas, and position near the South China Sea make it especially vulnerable to consequences of climate change like rising sea levels and extreme weather events such as typhoons. Rising sea levels and more extreme weather may contribute to increased river and coastal flooding in heavily populated areas. In 2025, Vietnam experienced extensive flooding and heavy rainfall that experts attributed in part to climate change. A 2020 estimate by the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank suggested an additional 3 to 10 million people in Vietnam could be affected by intensified river flooding due to climate change between 2035 and 2040. The estimate also suggested 6 to 12 million people could be affected annually by coastal flooding between 2070 and 2100 due to continued greenhouse gas emissions.
An additional consequence of climate change is increased temperatures. Since 1960, Vietnam's average annual temperature has increased by an estimated 0.5 to 0.7 °C, a rate faster than the global rate of increase. The average annual temperature is projected to increase such that by 2080, it will be 1 to 3.4 °C above the baseline temperature from 1985 to 2005. Given Vietnam's already high baseline temperatures, further increases could lead to chronic heat stress especially in urban areas like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Studies suggest that rising temperatures in Vietnam are linked to increased hospitalizations and all-cause mortality. Warmer temperatures are also correlated with increased incidence of diseases like dengue or malaria.
Habitat loss All three of Vietnam's major ecosystems—forest, wetlands, and marine ecosystems—have degraded in size and/or quality in the past few decades. Ecosystem decline has frequently been linked to anthropogenic pressures such as urbanization, pollution, population growth, expansion of agriculture and aquaculture, and overexploitation of natural resources.
Deforestation occurred rapidly in the latter part of the 20th century due to widespread use of Agent Orange, a defoliating agent, on Vietnam's southern forests during the Vietnam War, in addition to domestic forest degradation as the country rebuilt after the war. Forest cover decreased from about 43% in the early 1940s to 17% by the end of the 1970s, with some foreign analysts estimating forest cover was as low as 10% by 1999. However, in the 21st century, Vietnam has shifted towards net reforestation, achieving 42% forest cover by 2020. Despite the increase in forest cover, however, the quality of forests remains low. A 2018 survey of global forest landscape integrity ranked Vietnam 104th out of 172 countries, with a mean forest landscape integrity index of 5.35/10. Additionally, the increase in forest cover is mainly driven by plantation forests rather than natural forests, which is not as beneficial for preserving biodiversity and protecting watersheds. Deforestation and forest degradation are still continuing despite reforestation efforts, as well; between 2001 and 2024, Vietnam lost 3.7 million hectares of forest cover according to estimates from the Global Forest Watch.
Key wetland ecosystems, mangrove forests, decreased in area by 80% from 408,500 hectares to 83,288 hectares between 1943 and 2003, though the downward trend has since been reversed due to successful restoration policies. By 2017, mangrove forest cover had increased to a little over 160,000 hectares.
The number of lakes around Hanoi has decreased significantly since the beginning of the 19th century. Inland wetlands like lakes, reservoirs, rivers, and estuarine areas have also experienced decreases in biodiversity due to rapid urbanization and industrialization—including the construction of dams, canals, or dykes—as well as pollution from untreated domestic and industrial wastewater.
In the past two decades, Vietnam's overall coastal seagrass area has decreased by 45.4%, with certain seagrass beds decreasing by 60% in size since 1999. Vietnam's coral reefs, which are closely intertwined with seagrass habitats, are also at risk. In 2008, fewer than 1% of Vietnam's coral reefs had a live coral coverage of over 75%, while 31% of reefs had less 25% live coral coverage. More recent assessments also suggest that the majority of Vietnam's coral reefs are in a degraded condition. Even though the government has established 27 marine protected areas to preserve reefs, substantial coral loss has been observed. Between 2002 and 2024, 191 hectares of coral reefs were lost in the Nha Trang Bay marine protected area. Key causes of reef and seagrass degradation include climate change; pollution from aquaculture or other urban, industrial, or agricultural sources; coastal development; destructive fishing; and for coral reefs specifically, outbreaks of disease or predators such as starfish.
Water pollution Vietnam is ranked as the fourth in the world for waste mismanagement and generates approximately 280,000 to 730,000 metric tons of plastic leakage annually. Mangrove ecosystems, dunes, and subsoil have become sinks for coastal plastic litter. Seagrass meadows and deep oceans have become basins of marine plastic debris.
In addition to plastic, waste water also pollutes waters. Every year, Vietnam generates approximately 13 million tons of waste. The country's primary form of urban waste management is through landfill. Yet, only a small portion of the country has landfills with hygienic construction. Even so, the hygienic construction still doesn't meet standards to prevent water pollution. In addition, waste water is released into drainage systems and rivers without being treated, furthering pollution. This is due to urban sewage systems lacking centralized wastewater treatment facilities.
Lingering effects of the Vietnam War have also affected water quality. Agent Orange was sprayed in large amounts during the Vietnam War to kill jungle flora that acted as coverage for Vietnamese military forces. But, the chemical has had long term health effects as it contains a toxin called dioxin, which causes cancer and birth defects. Over the years, dioxin-contaminated soil has blown and spread dioxin. Additionally, dioxin has found its way into waterways due to heavy and lingering rains. This has led to contamination of animals and fish.
2016 Vietnam marine environment disaster
In April 2016, the 2016 Vietnam marine environmental disaster surfaced due to the illegal discharging of toxic industrial waste into the ocean near the coast of Central Vietnam by a steel plant (Formosa Ha Tinh Steel) owned by a Taiwanese corporation (Formosa Plastics), which affected Hà Tĩnh, Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên–Huế provinces. Fish carcasses were reported to have washed up on the beaches of Hà Tĩnh province from at least 6 April 2016. Later, a large number of dead fish were found on the coast of Hà Tĩnh and three other provinces (Quảng Bình, Quảng Trị and Thừa Thiên–Huế) until 18 April 2016.
Although Formosa denied being responsible, protests in April and May 2016 by ordinary Vietnamese citizens, not all of whom were necessarily directly or personally affected by the disaster, were successful in pressuring authorities to levy penalties after the company was found to be responsible on June 30, 2016, and compensations were disbursed to affected parties accordingly.
Accessibility to clean water Vietnamese citizens generally have high levels of freshwater accessibility,World Bank, World Development Indicators 2011 although there is some variabilityWorld Bank - Project Appraisal Document on a Proposed Credit to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam for the Urban Water Supply and Wastewater Project - Report No: 59385 - VN (28.04.2011) between larger and smaller cities, and between cities and rural areas. Tap water is a readily available water supply in large cities such as Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. However, in rural areas, hand-dug wells remain the most important source of water as 39%-44% still rely on it. Only 10% of the rural population is supplied with piped water.Netherlands Development Organization - Study of Rural Water Supply Service Delivery Models in (2011) Like air pollution, water pollution levels are also increasing due to increased industrial activity, especially in the Mekong Delta. In a region where most people depend on the surface water of the river, this environmental issue has had human health consequences, such as high rates of diarrhea. Overall in Vietnam, the number of reported diarrhea diseases was 296000 in total in 2009.WHO, department of measurement and health information, 2009 February Other examples of waterborne diseases in Vietnam include cholera, typhoid fever, dysentery, and hepatitis A. Reported cases of cholera is still significantly high. Caused by drinking water contaminated by bacterium, the number of reported cholera is well above 500, reaching 1900 in 2007, and 600 in 2010. However, the fatality rate of cholera has been close to 0% since 1999.
Air pollution