Preserving the value Halong Bay and Cat Ba archipelago

The World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago is the first inter-provincial World Heritage Site in Vietnam. The management and protection of Ha Long Bay (Quang Ninh Province) and Cat Ba Archipelago (Hai Phong City) are being effectively coordinated by the two localities to promote and preserve the value of the Heritage.

At the end of October, the high-speed ferry connecting Ha Long - Cat Ba officially started. It only takes about an hour for locals and tourists to travel from Ha Long to the center of Cat Ba town at a price of 250,000 VND/person/trip. According to Mr. Phan Van Tung, Executive Director of Havaco Investment Joint Stock Company, the high-speed ferry route connecting Ha Long - Cat Ba helps locals and tourists have more interesting experiences, reduces traffic and pressure on ferry routes which are very crowded on weekends; at the same time, strengthens the connection between Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago after being recognized as a World Natural Heritage.

To ensure the management and protection of Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Archipelago, Ha Long Bay Management Board and Cat Hai District People's Committee have coordinated well in propaganda, mobilization, and raising awareness of the community, organizations, and individuals operating in Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Archipelago, especially in the border area, in strictly complying with the State's policies and laws, and current regulations. The coordination work to promote the image of Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago has been strengthened through websites and social networking platforms. In particular, in the past year, the image of the World Natural Heritage Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago was broadcast on the famous television channels with billions of viewers worldwide, thereby contributing to spreading the outstanding global value of the Heritage to the world.

The two sides also strengthened implementation through 20 periodic monitoring sessions of the conservation status of the Heritage. However, in 2024, the Heritage was severely affected by storm No. 3 (Yagi), and the Ha Long Bay Management Board quickly invited relevant agencies to assess the current situation and advise on how to overcome it. Mr. Pham Dinh Huynh, Deputy Head of the Ha Long Bay Management Board, said: After storm No. 3, the unit invited the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources to send experts to support the preliminary assessment of the storm's damage to the vegetation on the islands and tourist sites in the Ha Long Bay World Heritage area. At the same time, the Board also invited experts from the Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources to assess the impact of the storm on the outstanding global geological and geomorphological value of Ha Long Bay. The Committee also welcomed and worked with the Inter-sectoral Assessment Team including the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, UNESCO Office in Hanoi, ICOMOS risk assessment and management experts, and representatives of the Department of Cultural Heritage to implement the program to assess and verify the level of impact and damage caused by Typhoon Yagi to the World Heritage site of Ha Long Bay, within the framework of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction of the United Nations General Assembly.

An interdisciplinary assessment team, including ICOMOS risk assessment and management experts, representatives of the Department of Cultural Heritage and UNESCO Hanoi Office, surveyed the level of impact and damage caused by storm Yagi to Ha Long Bay.

Along with joint management of the Heritage, the two localities closely coordinated with relevant units in consulting and proposing to open more tourist itineraries to Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay of Quang Ninh province, including 2 routes connecting to Cat Ba Archipelago of Hai Phong city, including: VHL5 itinerary from Ha Long to Thien Cung cave - Dau Go cave - Cho Da islet - Ba Hang - Dinh Huong islet - Trong Mai islet - Gia Luan wharf, Cat Ba; VHL6 itinerary from Ha Long to Chan Voi - Ba Cua lagoon - Tung Lam island - Cap Bai islet (the end point of the itinerary adjacent to Gia Luan, Lan Ha Bay, Hai Phong).

One of the important tasks that Quang Ninh province and Cat Ba city pay special attention to is the coordination of environmental management and protection. The program "Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago without plastic waste" continues to be effectively promoted and implemented by both sides. On the 20th of every month, the two sides coordinate to organize environmental cleaning campaigns in the border area between the two bays (from Gia Luan area to Van Ta area). During the time when Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago had an environmental incident due to the dismantling and replacement of materials at aquaculture facilities and the impact of storm No. 3, the two sides promptly mobilized forces, calling for the participation of organizations, businesses, and communities to collect waste floating on the sea surface.

With the efforts of the two localities, Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago continues to be a popular tourist destination. As of October 31, 2024, Ha Long Bay welcomed over 2.6 million visitors (over 1.5 million international visitors), and is expected to welcome about 3.1 million visitors by the end of 2024. Cat Ba Archipelago welcomed over 1 million visitors, including 650,000 international visitors.

Ha Long Bay Management Board coordinated with Cat Hai District People's Committee (Hai Phong City) to organize a conference to summarize the work of coordinating management, protection and promotion of the value of Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba archipelago in 2024.

However, due to the large area of the border area, complex hydro-climate, and difficulties due to the lack of coordination and management mechanisms for inter-provincial heritage, some coordination activities have not been organized in a timely and regular manner. In addition, there is still a situation where passenger transport vehicles do not comply with the itinerary licensed by the competent authority; arbitrarily take visitors to visit areas and locations that have not been announced by the competent authority...

To ensure the management and protection of Ha Long Bay and Cat Ba Archipelago, the two local authorities are reviewing and discussing mechanisms and policies, as well as recommending to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Government a legal framework to base on which to build plans, schemes and management regulations for the two sides for inter-provincial heritage. At the same time, they are paying attention to promoting the heritage to potential tourists.

Experts and businesses hope that the two localities will develop a coordination regulation in state management of tourism activities, tour guides, tour times, especially tour guides, entertainment and tourist transportation in Ha Long Bay and Lan Ha Bay. Furthermore, the two localities need to build bilateral and multilateral international cooperation relations; organize and participate in professional international conferences, fairs and seminars on tourism with international organizations and partners. In particular, it is necessary to proactively approach UNESCO to host conferences and seminars on tourism development at World Natural Heritages, World Biosphere Reserves and related areas to enhance the brand of the World Heritage destination Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago.

In 2025, the two sides will continue to coordinate in inspection and supervision; strictly handle violations of regulations on security and order, environmental protection, and heritage protection; at the same time, closely coordinate with relevant units to advise the two local authorities to manage, protect and promote the World Heritage Site of Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago sustainably and effectively... Along with that, the two sides will continue to study the issuance of inter-provincial heritage management policies and mechanisms; complete the recommendations of the World Heritage Committee at the 45th (2023) and 46th (2024) sessions. The Board also proactively consulted to welcome and work with the Feedback Monitoring Delegation of the World Heritage Center and IUCN to assess the overall conservation status of Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago, scheduled to take place in February 2025.

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