A Trump-backed golf resort project in Vietnam has raised concerns after entire farming communities were reportedly displaced.
Local farmers allege they’ve had little say in the matter and could lose the land they’ve relied on for years, Reuters reported.
“The whole village is worried about this project because it will take our land and leave us jobless,” explained Nguyen Thi Huong, a resident who was asked to vacate her farm, per the outlet.
Another farmer, Do Dinh Huong, said the land compensation was very low, coming in at around just $12 per square meter. He would have accepted it if the project was going to use it for roads or other public infrastructure.
Reuters stated that compensation reportedly ranges from $12 to $30 per square meter. Some farmers even received offers for rice provisions and additional payments for uprooted plants.
Kinhbac City Development and its partners are developing the $1.5 billion project, which some believe will boost the local economy and create jobs. The Trump Organization, which sold the brand licensing rights for $5 million, will run the club once it is completed.
This project is reportedly displacing thousands of villagers. The project also involves converting agricultural land into golf courses, which are known to negatively impact natural surroundings. They’re notoriously resource-intensive, often requiring heavy water use, fertilizer, and pesticides.
The golf courses in Utah’s Salt Lake County use up around 9 million gallons of water daily just to stay green, CNN reported. With that amount of water, you could fill up more than 13 Olympic-sized pools.
Land degradation tied to human development also disrupts water cycles, impacts biodiversity, and multiplies environmental risks, the World Economic Forum noted.
That’s a troubling prospect for a country where rising global temperatures are already threatening agriculture through saltwater intrusion because of rising sea levels, according to the Climate Adaptation Platform.
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“Lol that’s nothing new. You don’t buy land in Vietnam, you buy the right to use it and hope that the government doesn’t come knocking,” wrote one commenter on a Reddit post sharing the Reuters article.
“While I do not think investment is the worst thing for a country like Vietnam, even if it is a golf course, there is no reason that better compensation is not included. Certainly people should not be forced to sell for a golf course,” another remarked.
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