Environmental Capacity Building in Vietnam

Abstract

Vietnam is a Southeast Asian country situated along the eastern margin of the Indochinese peninsula, bordering China to the north, Laos, Cambodia to the west, the Gulf of Tonkin, the South China Sea, and the Gulf of Thailand to the east and south. Vietnam is essentially a tropical country with a humid monsoon climate. The mean annual temperature is 23°C in Hanoi, 25°C in Hue, and 27°C in Ho Chi Minh City. The average annual rainfall is 1,678 mm in the north, 2,890mm in central Vietnam and 1979mm in the south. About 80% of annual precipitation occurs in the rainy season. This large quantity of rainwater is drained to the seas by a myriad of rivers and streams, the most important being the Red River in the north and the Mekong River in the south.