Further Conservation and Protection of Halong Bay

Halong Bay has been acknowledged twice by UNESCO for its aesthetic value. To respond to the Vote for World Natural Heritage launched by the New Open World, functional organisations in Quang Ninh province are pushing advertisements and providing training courses on environmental preservation to help Halong Bay be named one of seven world natural heritages. VIB Forum interviewed Mr Ngo Van Hung, Director of Halong Bay Management Unit (HMU).

 

The duty of preserving this beauty spot as a valuable heritage recognised by UNESCO is extremely important. It takes time, potential and knowledge to fulfil this duty. First of all, we will do our best to educate people to conserve Halong Bay in many aspects, in which environment is the most vital. Second, technical solutions will be adopted to deal with such issues as garbage, waste water and ships. In the short run, we will focus on upgrading waste collection facilities.

 

This activity has been done for many years in Quang Ninh. The provincial government instructed the Halong Bay Management Unit to work with the Service of Education and Training in generalising heritage education programmes. In the first phase, the project will be launched in Halong City, and then extended to all neighbouring towns in the next phase. We will continue to bring heritage education to students and pupils in all localities. We are also preparing reports to authorities to develop the programme nationwide. In addition to embedding heritage education into schools, we are concentrating the scheme on those who are living and working on Halong Bay, especially fishermen. Quang Ninh is currently cooperating with Fauna and Flora International (FFI), a natural conservation organisation of international standard, to implement environmental education in the community.

 

This is a difficult issue. We have already consulted the provincial government to set up regulations regarding ship operation on the Bay, in which there are more concerns about the impact on the environment, equipment and humans. However, technical aspects are a puzzle as our capability is limited. At present, we are trying an environmental treatment device on the Bay. If the results prove to be good, we will require ship owners to use this device to filter waste water before discarding it into the bay. 

 

This issue is still out of control. Traffic safety and business culture are also not guaranteed. To solve this, we will have to take many measures, the first step is education. Another solution would be rearranging and finding jobs to ensure people’s living standards.