VIETNAM: A Natural History

Vietnam: A Natural History. By Eleanor Jane Sterling, Martha Maud Hurley, and Le Duc Minh. 2007. Yale Univeristy Press, New Haven, CT. 423pp. Price: US $22.00.

(NOTE: To be published 11.27.07)

Vietnam was my first war. I was too young to go, but never before in my formative years had armed conflict entered my consciousness. The fighting, or at least the news we received of it, and the reaction—conflict actually—that it caused here in the streets of the United States, was a part of daily life.

Napalm, Tet, firebase, ecocide, Agent Orange (and the lesser known agents: White, Blue, Green, Pink, and Purple—all calculated to wipe out plants), cluster bombs, and land mines, were new words but quickly became part of the lexicon. A host of place names, all strange and unfamiliar, jumped off maps and into our awareness.

What we never knew and thus could not think about, was that the Socialist Republic of Vietnam—the real Vietnam—is a place of untold natural richness and beauty. Untold because its flora and fauna have been little explored and are still virtually unknown.

Quiet and relatively inaccessible research was the order of business in Vietnam until just recently. In the last 15 or 20 years a growing cadre of scientists and naturalists have been probing the nooks and crannies of the country, and what they are finding is amazing.

With the upcoming publication of Vietnam: A Natural History, a door is opened. In a straightforward, logical and very readable way, the incredible richness of Vietnam’s natural history is at last revealed. A wealth of species, many endemic, a startling number new to science, and others thought extinct and now rediscovered, are being brought to light. Recent news reports have highlighted the surprising number of new orchid species being discovered, and it wasn’t long ago that the Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) a 200 pound large mammal—the largest discovered since 1937--materialized like a modern day unicorn (although locals have known if for hundreds of years).The flora is rich, for a country its size with 10,000 known species of vascular plants and estimates that the total will reach 13,000. Vietnam is particularly rich in orchids (almost 900 species in over 150 genera with estimates that the total will go over 1100 species—with nearly 20% found nowhere else), cycads (24 species, more than any other country in Asia), and conifers. Over 200 new vascular plants have been discovered in recent years, including those orchids and the Golden Vietnamese Cypress (Xanthocyparis vietnamensis)—a find on par with the much heralded Wollemia Pine (Wollemia nobilis) from Australia. Thousands more are expected to be found.

The book is stronger in its treatment of animals which are treated in some detail (and some 60 pages for fauna), than plants, which are often relegated to discussion of habitats (“living environments” 26 pages) and associations. Afterwards both are treated extensively in sections on Northern, Central, and Southern Vietnam, which are interesting to compare. These sections take a geographic approach to looking at plants, animals and habitats—and provide advice on seeing them.

New living treasures, and the relatively high degree of endemism, have raised the prominence of Vietnam for natural historians, scientists, and conservationists, who have now turned increasing attention to the biodiversity of the area and the threats it faces. It is considered one of the top 25 countries in the world in species/unit of area.

Vietnam is shaped like a curved spine on the South China Sea with a dense conglomeration of administrative regions as its brain in the north, and Ca Mau as its coccyx. Roughly ¾’s the size of California; its location, shape, topography, and a mosaic of climates, create a dizzying array of habitats contributing to the diversity of plant and animal species that make it home.

Early on the book has a fascinating discussion of biogeography—the search for patterns in the distribution of species, all affected by the interaction of geology, climate, speciation, dispersal, vicariance, and history (along with a little luck).

Vietnam is also culturally diverse. The book incorporates the human element looking at ethnic groups and the distribution along with the affects human activity has had on the environment, putting Homo sapiens into proper context as part of the natural history of the country.

The book is eye-opening for some of its other surprises as well. Chief among these is the early assertion that, despite the negative implications of the pounding the environment took from the war, it may have helped conserve biodiversity. Demilitarized zones with restricted access and heavy mining that made them unsafe actually protected significant and species-rich habitats. Danger and development are not good bedfellows, and it’s likely that the war also retarded the speed at which natural resources could be exploited.

Ironically, among the best source material for information on the natural history of the country mentioned by the authors were field guides done by the US military during the war. With the publication of this volume that will no longer be the case.

At first I was disappointed by the lack of photos. I was excited by the prospect of learning about a new and fascinating flora and fauna. I wanted to SEE these plants and animals. The fact of the matter is that many of them are rarely seen—and have never been photographed. In the end, the watercolor illustrations were a fitting metaphor for the rarity and mystery…..

While the book was fascinating on its own merits, even a casual reading of it generates questions—and its lack of footnotes and/or notes to guide further research, while perhaps making it more popularly attractive, is problematic for the curious.

Threats to all of this include growing population and expanding economy—both putting strains on natural resources. These threats and others, along with the conservation measures already underway to preserve what is being found, are well elucidated.

No pristine habitats remain. Even before the war the country had a long history of habitation resulting in what the authors call, “…among the oldest continuously modified environments in the world.” Remaining natural areas are described as “fragmented islands in a sea of human habitation.” Many are still dangerous with hidden landmines and unexploded ordnance. The unexpected flush of new species in the last 15 years is expected to continue as this relatively unstudied country attracts new researchers as on of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.

Like the Annamite Striped Rabbit, discovered by scientists in a food market in 1996, the authors have pulled a rabbit out of a hat, magically revealing an entire country that no one’s seen before.

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