As a rapidly growing nation, Vietnam faces a plethora of environmental and human rights issues. High population growth rate, rapid urbanization and industrialization, weak enforcement of the laws on environmental protection, and a lack of education have all contributed to this problem. This is a commonly seen occurence at the onset of industrialization, as the nation needs time to adjust its policies in reaction to the shift from a rural agrarian society to one focused on industrialized exports. Major problems include water and air pollution, as well as solid waste. Currently, only about 70% of Vietnam citizens have access to clean drinking water, and proper drainage/sewage infrastructure is also a pressing concern. To combat these issues, the Prime Minister issued decisions on the “Orientation for Development of Water Supply in Vietnam’s Urban Centers and Industrial Parks Leading to 2025, and Vision for 2050” and the “Orientation for Development of Water Sewage and Drainage Systems in Vietnam’s Urban Centers and Industrial Parks Leading to 2025, and Vision for 2050”. Similar decisions have been passed on the issues of solid waste treatment and air pollution. In addition, Vietnam’s Law on Environmental Protection, which was originally established in 1994, has been repeatedly strengthened with the intent to improve environmental sustainability. https://www.export.gov/article?id=Vietnam-Environmental-and-Pollution-Control-Equipment-and-Services
Water pollution has also begun affecting one of the biggest Vietnamese industries–fishing. In April of 2016, a toxic chemical spill caused by the Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corporation resulted in over 70 tons of dead fish washing ashore. This devastated the fishing industry in Vietnam, and negatively impacted over a quarter of a million Vietnamese citizens. In response to massive citizen protests regarding the incident, the corporation took responsibility for the spill, and pledged over 500 million in reparations. This did not assuade public anger over the government’s mishandling of the ecological disaster, but did succeed in resolving the protest. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/aug/14/vietnamese-fishermen-jobless-fish-poisoning-battle-justice
Climate change is inherently tied to the issue of human rights, especially in regards to developing nations and island dwellers. The most pressing concern for indigenous island dwellers is the rising sea levels; their available living space is continuing to shrink every year, and eventually they will be forced to flee their ancestral homes. For many people, this would mean more than simply moving–they would their livlihood, their way of life, and everything they have ever known. The same is true for the people displaced due to the effects of deforestation. Soil erosion can cause silting of water bodies, as well as deadly mudslides. Additionally, many developing nations have become repositories for the industrialized world’s waste, resulting in beaches piled with trash and scrap. All of these are part of the price for irresponsible environmental practices, and will have a real and direct effect on the lives of millions of people.
Endangered cultures are those that are in danger of dying out. Whether it is because all of the members have died, or because the culture has been absorbed by a more powerful entity, it is a sad truth that many unique cultures and languages in this world are now extinct. Unfortunate as it may be, I think that this may be an inevitability of globalization, especially in a world that has long been dominated by a capitalist eurocentric mindset. Because those that are less technologically advanced have often been seen as lesser, or “savages”, many cultures have been ravaged by the wave of globalization. In order to move beyond this eurocentric ideology, we need to cease operating under the assumption that different is equivalent to inferior. Other beliefs and mindsets have value in that they provide a perspective unique to that individual. Wade Davis discusses the difference between the “biosphere” and the “ethnosphere”. I believe this also can also apply to the concept of biodiversity. Without a diverse array of cultural perspectives from which to draw, humanity is locked into a rigid structure. We cannot move forward as a global society until we accept other cultures and perspectives into our lives as equally valid options.
Globalization: Asia 