Vietnam's environmental policies at a crossroads - Salinated Rice Fields, Hunted-Out National Parks, and Eroding Beaches – and What We Can Do About It

Vietnam achieved a rapid socio-economic development within the last decades, lifting millions of people out of poverty. However, the future development of the country is threatened by severe challenges arising from climate change, pollution caused by the country’s rapid industrialization process, and home-made environmental problems. Political decision makers increasingly recognize the urgency of the situation, and try to address it by a number of laws and strategies. However, those strategies often remain paper tigers, failing to bring about profound changes on the ground. The study at hand analyses Vietnam’s challenges in the field of climate change, energy, and the environment, as well as the political actions taken to tackle them. Addressed towards practitioners working in the fields of climate change, energy, and environment, the paper offers an optimistic outlook, and policy-recommendations on what should be done to improve the situation in Vietnam.