*** Logging is banned in Vietnam. But there are signs that even the officials who claim to have banned commercial logging are, themselves, engaging in it. by Philip Gorton ***

A LUOI, Vietnam — The debris of a forgotten war is still visible In the empty bomb canisters. combat helmets and strips of metal ripped off from landing pads.

"Since there is no one trying to kill us now. the government has told us to forget the past.' says Vo Bua. an old tribesman living in the barren highlands here in Hue province.

Camouflaged guerillas once traversed the network of muddy paths collectively known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Bomb craters the size of houses are overgrown with what villagers call "the American grass* — tall weeds that suffocate other vegetation.

Yet the environmental legacy of the Vietnam War — albeit more disguised than the metal scrap — is not easily forgotten.

The chemical Agent Orange sprayed to destroy forest cover has long since sunk into the ground and dissipated. But provincial medical researchers say that In a sample of 78.611 expectant mothers taken over the last decade, miscarriages were at a level well over 10 per cent of all births.

Washington's war records show that millions of litres of chemical were sprayed on Vietnam's grounds during the war. Local forestry officials say that in some areas it may take up to 100 years to get trees to

Stricken by war and poverty for most of Its independence. Vietnam has little hope of regaining its lost environment anytime soon, experts say.

The highlands that rise up to a mile high drop rapidly to sea level along the long rugged coastline. Nearly 80 per cent of the countryside consists of hills or mountains. A loss of forest cover has brought sudden cloud bursts and floods that killed thousands.

"Our forests were devastated by the war and now overpopulation and fresh cutting have brought more pressure," says Nguyen Huu Le, director of Hue province's forestry department

The environmental decline in Vietnam's highlands that began with US carpet bombing and defoliation two decades ago has only been aggravated by fresh tree cutting.

In 1943. Vietnam's forests totalled 13 million hectares covering 42 per cent of the country. By 1982. it was Just 23 per cent. Today, it is probably under 20 per cent.

Annual forest losses today are estimated at 240.000 hectares a year. About half of that comes from slash-and-burn farming. Just 160.000 hectares get replanted with tfees.

Logging is banned in Vietnam. But there are signs that even the officials who claim to have banned commercial logging are. themselves.

engaging in it. Huge logging trucks wind down dirt roads almost dally.

Elsewhere, mudslides and heavy rains have washed top-soil Into rivers. Sedimentation Is cutting Into the river banks where homes sit precariously on edge. Shifting riverbeds and coastal sands weeps over once fertile rice fields.

Natural beauty — the treasure of a nation — is hard to come by. With the toss of moist tropical Jungle has come a dry air that coats everything in dust and robs the colourful hues from the land.

During the war. tigers, elephants and wild buffalo fled into Lads. Most of these that have not died of starvation since are being bunted with reckless abandon.

Still, officials are desperate to put their richest resources, people, to work to save the environment. "About the only thing we are rich In is human resources." says Mr Le. the forestry official.

"We still consider our forests to be our most important natural asset." he says. "And we attach great importance to regreenlng them."

The best Vietnam can hope for is to maintain some of its fragile watersheds and keep them from deteriorating further. Finding any money to restore the environment has been a much tedious enterprise than putting together the cash and the men to destroy it

Officials say international support for Vietnam s reforestation programme has been limited by the US government's economic embargo.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is providing money to the government as it attempts to formulate a master plan to preserve natural resources.

They have done a lot of good work already, but they simply lack the equipment to monitor their environment,* says Taniz Zaman, a UNDP en--vlronmental official based in Hanoi.

In addition, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) gives villagers up to 2.5 kilograms of rice for a day of replanting trees. Since 1984, WFP assistance has totalled 320 million tons in food aid.

Priority Is given to family units as past experience has proven cooperatives, for example. to be lazy and unresponsive to the aid. Payments are made directly to'families to supply Incentive at the lowest levels.

Mountains are being once again covered In green, though the widely spaced pine and eucalyptus plantations are a far ciy from the dense Jungle that once characterised the steep

WEP. the UN specialised agency, uses food commodities and services as development aid. — Depthnews Asia^