Technological solutions and management of waste water caused from tourism activities were the issues highlighted at a workshop themed “Technology and management solutions for waste water from tourist boats and tourism activities in Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Archipelago”.
The workshop was organised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) and funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID). Attending the workshop were representatives from the UNESCO Vietnam’s National Committee, enterprises, experts from universities, institutes, as well as relevant departments of Quang Ninh Province and Hai Phong City.
The research from IUCN showed that the Ha Long Bay Heritage Site and Cat Ba Island Biosphere Reserve are the two Vietnam’s most-wanted destinations. However, these fragile areas are being badly affected by a wide range of activities related to tourism, maritime, aquaculture, and coastal urban development, etc.
The report also stated that in 2018 there were about 500 tourist boats in Ha Long Bay and 121 ones in Cat Ba Archipelago. Water pollution is always one of the problems that needs to be dealt with despite great efforts of the local authorities to control it.
Currently, Ha Long Bay’s geological values have not been threatened yet. However, the increasing number of tourists visiting the Bay and the uneffective management of tourism and waste are the factors causing bad impacts to the heritages’ outstanding universal values. These are also problems with which Cat Ba Archipelago has to cope due to the marine ecosystem it shares with Ha Long Bay.
At the workshop, experts also informed that waste water treatment technologies will be applied on tourist boats, waste water from tourist boats in Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Archipelago will be also collected and properly treated.
The workshop was one of the practical activities that greatly contribute to the conservation and environmental protection in Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Archipelago.
By Hue Linh
