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Half a century after the end of the Vietnam War, the environmental impact of chemical devastation and military tactics persists, revealing the deep scars left by the destruction of nature in times of conflict.
On April 30, 1975, the Vietnam War came to an end, leaving behind more than just human destruction. The conflict also devastated nature. Mangroves, forests and rivers were severely damaged.
The term “ecocide” first emerged in the late 1960s to describe the use of chemical weapons, such as Agent Orange, by the U.S. military. Fifty years later, Vietnam’s soil and water still bear the scars of that destruction.
Vietnam War: The origin of ecocide
Even before the deployment of American troops in 1965, war was already raging in Vietnam. fight an enemy hidden in the jungles and swamps, the US resorted to environmental modification tactics.
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The best known was Operation Ranch Hand, which sprayed more than 75 million liters of herbicides on 2,6 million hectares. Much of this action involved Agent Orange, which was contaminated with dioxin, a toxic compound.
The objective was clear: to eliminate vegetation cover to expose guerrillas and destroy suspicious crops. Civilians and soldiers were equally exposed.
In 1969, evidence emerged that Agent Orange caused birth defects in animals. In response, use of the product was suspended in 1970, and the last mission took place in 1971.
The fire that consumed forests
In addition to herbicides, the US used incendiary weapons on a large scale. Napalm spread more than 400 tons of thickened oil over Vietnamese territory.
The fires killed plants and animals and left the soil infertile, dominated by invasive grasses. Experiments conducted by the U.S. Forest Service also tested the incineration of large areas, further exacerbating the destruction.
Machines called “Roman ploughs” cut down vast areas of forest daily. “Daisy cutter” bombs generated shock waves capable of eliminating all life within a 900-meter radius.
Weather modifications were also employed, with Project Popeye seeding clouds to prolong rains and disrupt enemy routes.
Ignored impacts
Despite warnings from scientists and concerns from Congress, there has been little effort to assess the environmental damage caused by the war.
The destruction was difficult to measure because many areas were inaccessible and lacked constant monitoring. The U.S. military argued that the strategy was effective, trading trees for American lives.
After the war, the US imposed an economic embargo on Vietnam, hampering any environmental recovery efforts. Vietnamese researchers, with few resources, conducted on-site studies.
One survey found that 80% of forests sprayed with herbicides had not recovered by the 1980s. Biodiversity in these areas was drastically reduced.
Recovery attempts
Some restoration efforts began late. In 1978, foresters began manually replanting mangroves in the Cần Giờ forest.
In the interior, tree planting programs only gained momentum in the late 1980s and 1990s, but they prioritized exotic species, such as acacia, which did not restore the original diversity of the forests.
Cleanup of contaminated areas has also been slow to begin. For decades, the U.S. denied responsibility for the damage caused by Agent Orange. It was only in 2006 that an agreement was reached to begin decontamination of Da Nang airport, the former storage site for the chemical.
The cleanup work, completed in 2018, treated 150 cubic meters of contaminated soil at a cost of more than $115 million, mostly funded by USAID. The remediation involved complex techniques, including draining lakes and heating the soil to break down dioxin molecules.
Legal and political difficulties
Despite international laws created after the conflict, such as the revision of the Geneva Conventions in 1977 and the signing of treaties against the use of incendiary weapons, much environmental damage remains unpunished. Recent cases in Ukraine, Gaza and Syria show that these treaties, in practice, have limited effectiveness.
Vietnam was the first country to declare ecocide a crime in its penal code. However, the law has yet to result in any prosecutions. Russia and Ukraine also have similar laws, but they have not prevented environmental damage in their ongoing armed conflicts.
There is an ongoing international campaign to include ecocide as a fifth crime punishable by the International Criminal Court, alongside genocide and war crimes. However, progress is slow and is met with resistance.
Lessons left by the war
Vietnam’s experience shows that ignoring the environmental consequences of wars has long-lasting effects that are difficult to reverse. Despite technological advances, such as the use of satellite imagery, ground-based monitoring is still essential to assess the damage.
The legacy of Agent Orange and its environmental destruction tactics continues to haunt Vietnam half a century later. What is lacking, more than technology or legislation, is the political will to make environmental preservation a priority, even in times of conflict.
The war taught us harshly that nature is also a victim, and without effective protection, the damage continues for generations.
With information from ZME Science.
