Volunteers collect garbage in Ha Long Bay (Source: VNA) Quang Ninh (VNA) – As many as 100 volunteers took part in a clean-up campaign themed “Allianceaction for a Green Ha Long” launched in the northern province of Quang Ninh on January10.
They came fromdifferent backgrounds, including students, businesses, and officials workingfor non-governmental organisations and State agencies.
US Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius also joined in the activity, the secondversion of its kind, which forms part of the activities of the Ha Long-Cat BaAlliance funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
It aims to raise thepublic awareness on the need to improve the protection of the sea environment inVietnam in general and in the Ha Long Bay World Heritage Site in particular.Its first version was held in June 2016.
US Ambassador toVietnam Ted Osius said one of the alliance’s efforts is to develop a managementplan, with the involvement of individuals, units, enterprises and localauthorities, non-governmental organisations in protecting the sea environmentto avoid negative impacts on the world heritage sites.
The programme alsotargets to maintain the quality of tourist destinations, thus creating jobs,generating State revenue and promoting green practices among businesses. Theresults from the campaign will be posted on the International Coastal Cleanup(ICC) website.
With USAID support,the Ha Long - Cat Ba Alliance, initiated in 2014, aims to build a partnershipbetween government, business, and community leaders in jointly preserving andprotecting Ha Long Bay and the Cat Ba Archipelago.
In 2015, theAlliance formed a Leadership Committee with participation of businesses andprovided technical advice to UNESCO on the management of Ha Long Bay, and madeproposal to include the Cat Ba Archipelago in the Ha Long Bay World HeritageSite.-VNA
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