A ceremony to receive UNESCOrecognition of Dong Van Stone Plateau as a member of the Global Networkof National Geoparks (GGN) was held in the northern mountainousprovince of Ha Giang on Dec. 1.
The chiefRepresentative of the UNESCO Office in Hanoi , Katherine Muller Marinand Secretary General of UNESCO Vietnam National Committee Pham SanhChau, handed over the UNESCO certificate to Ha Giang province.
Addressing the ceremony, Secretary General of UNESCO Vietnam NationalCommittee Chau said that the success of Dong Van Stone PlateauGeological Park is the result of pure determination to create Vietnam’s first geological park in Ha Giang.
Chau alsohighlighted the selection of a geological park development model by HaGiang People’s Committee to eradicate hunger, reduce poverty and step upsocio-economic development.
The plateau is Vietnam’s first pilot model of a geological park for the future and this willpromote Vietnam ’s image around the world, said Chau.
It will help eliminate hunger and reduce poverty for more than 250,000 local people on the plateau, he added.
Dong Van Stone Plateau was recognised as GGN member on October 3,2010. The plateau has now become Vietnam ’s first geological park andonly the second geological park in Southeast Asia, after the LangkawiGeological Park in Malaysia .
DongVan, which has remained untouched for hundreds of millions of years, hasmammoth rocks spread over the four districts of Quan Ba, Yen Minh, MeoVac, and Dong Van, and is 1,000m above sea level.
Theplateau is 80 percent limestone and has the fossils of thousands ofspecies of prehistoric creatures from 400-600 million years ago.
It is also home to several cultures that have sprung up over thecenturies. The 574 sq.km plateau now houses 250,000 people belonging to17 different ethnic groups./.
