Coral reef snorkeling off Hon Mun which is an island southeast of Nha Trang, Vietnam. Nha Trang is a popular coastal resort with the locals and tourists alike.

While I was there, I managed to hop on a snockeling boat tour and witnessed some amazing colourful coaral reefs with thousands of different species and exotic fish for the first time. However, the amount of dead coral was striking. Our tour guides agreed they had noticed less and less good diving spots for coral reefs over the years.

The world up until covid 19 lockdown looked very much in overdrive particularly in the far east. Vietnam’s GDP per capita has increased more than ten fold since 1985. This has gone in hand with a 41% increase in its ecological footprint (a measure of human demand on nature) according to the IMF.

How bad of a situation covid 19 is, one positive is that NASA satillite data has shown less pollution over lockdown. If we can come out of this crisis with at least one key take away (apart from improving our healthcare system), it would be to rethink how we manage our economic activities in a more environmental friendly way. The good news is that it can be done!

Aerial shot by Conrad Schaefer taken on 24/08/2019.

Written by Conrad Schaefer.