QUẢNG NINH — Hạ Long Bay, the world famous natural site and tourism hub in Việt Nam's northern coastal province of Quảng Ninh, has been struggling to overcome multi-dimensional pressures with efforts from local authorities and area residents.

The bay contains nearly 2,000 rocky islands and spans an area of ​​1,553 square kilometres. It is a unique marine natural wonder recognised three times by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

Its coast is adjacent to several developed urban areas with many complex socio-economic activities taking place, such as tourism, seaport traffic and aquaculture production and exploitation.

These activities have created a variety of different pressures on the management, environmental protection and preservation of the bay.

Experts say that a major problem directly affecting the bay is garbage and wastewater.

Statistics show that, on average, Hạ Long Bay sees more than 200 tonnes of waste thrown into it annually. This amount of trash is mainly caused by indiscriminate littering from tourist cruises and fishing boats, as well as garbage from nearby coastal areas drifting into the sea. Many tourists, especially international tourists, have also complained about floating waste in the bay.

With a rapid increase in urbanisation in the nearby provincial capital of Hạ Long City, the growth of construction projects also impacts the natural site.

The bay's coast also includes Bái Tử Long Bay, which has a high population density in its residential areas. However, the wastewater treatment systems of these localities do not meet requirements for sanitation. Most of the wastewater in the these residential areas is being dumped directly into Hạ Long Bay without treatment.

In 2016, UNESCO blew the whistle when a number of industrial parks were built near Hạ Long Bay, including a cement factory.

Nguyễn Công Thái, former deputy director of the the bay's Management Board, told Quảng Ninh newspaper that the board had to immediately report on and explain the situation.

UNESCO experts at the time warned about the construction of infrastructure along the bay's coast and the operations of the cement factory in the long term. 

Other Vietnamese and international experts have also expressed concerns about industry in the area around the bay, particularly activities such as coal mining, petroleum trading, seaports, shipbuilding, construction and food processing and thermal power plants.

A boom of uncontrolled industrial operations -- and especially their waste discharge -- along with local fishing activities and tourism services, including tourist cruises and accommodation, have impacted the landscape and reputation of Hạ Long Bay as a heritage site.

Dr Nguyễn Anh Tuấn, director of the Institute of Tourism Development Research at the Việt Nam National Tourism Administration, said that keeping the environment clean is truly the biggest challenge in tourist areas, especially for a crowded destination like Hạ Long Bay.

"Even though it possesses many outstanding features ​​that cannot be found anywhere else, with heritage that can truly be a touch point for beautiful emotions and for the return visits of tourists, Quảng Ninh Province and Hạ Long City have a lot of work to do to overcome the challenges. This includes policy mechanisms, resource investment, specific instructions and responsibilities for each management unit and locality," he said to Quảng Ninh newspaper.

Recognising these pressures, Quảng Ninh determined that it was necessary to establish a comprehensive management system and promote more fundamental solutions, not allowing any obstacles -- particularly environmental pollution -- to impact the heritage site and avoiding trade-offs between conservation and tourism development.

Along with policies and regulations issued, including strict bans to prevent any violations of Hạ Long Bay's preservation, experts and authorities consider the human factor as one of the major factors to help protect the site.

The province has started several promotion and education programmes to raise public awareness about the importance of heritage protection. Businesses, social organisations and individuals have been mobilised to participate in a study on different ways to protect the bay and how to preserve it at the same time as, and along with, socio-economic development. Thanks to continuous efforts by local authorities and residents, several achievements have been made in protecting and preserving Hạ Long Bay.

At its 45th session in September 2023, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee recognised and honoured the diverse waste management measures undertaken on the bay, including regulating and treating wastewater on tourist boats, closing the largest open-pit coal mine, promoting the green economic transition and ensuring water quality within national standards.

Over the past 30 years, from 1994 to the end of November 2024, Hạ Long Bay has preserved its title as a World Heritage Site while at the same time making great contributions to national socio-economic development.

With over 56 million visitors, including about 26 million domestic visitors, and over 30 million foreign tourists, the site helps to bring in entrance fee revenues of more than VNĐ8,500 billion (roughly US$335 million).

This shows that the work of promoting environmental values ​​and protecting the environment are increasingly effective. VNS