Vietnam

Brief Description of Problem

  • heavily contaminated by explosive remnants of war (ERW), mainly unexploded ordnance (UXO), including (cluster) submunitions.
  • Vietnam also has a lesser problem of mines, mostly left by conflicts in the 1970s with neighboring Cambodia and China.
  • Almost all Vietnam’s provinces and cities are affected to some extent. The most affected provinces are Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, and Quang Tri in central Vietnam on either side of the former Demilitarized Zone that divided the north and south during the war.
  • Many items of UXO are also found along the border with the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. UXO poses a greater threat to the civilian population than do mines, particularly BLU-26 and BLU-36 submunitions and M79 rifle grenades, which have together been responsible for most of the casualties since 1975

Geography and Climate

  • Vietnam has a tropical monsoon climate, with humidity averaging 84 % throughout the year.
  • temperatures range from 5 °C in December and January to more than 37 °C in April
  • flat coastal lowlands where rice is cultivated intensively
  • Central Highlands of rugged mountain peaks, extensive forests, and rich soil
  • Central mountains, which have several high plateaus, are irregular in elevation and form. The northern section is narrow and very rugged.
  • level land covers no more than 20 percent of the country
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