Responding to a Reuters report on a planned UNESCO field survey at Ha Long Bay, the department clarified that the survey stems from discussions during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee involving Vietnam, UNESCO, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the International Council on Monuments and Sites.
At the session, the conservation status of 123 sites, including 56 deemed "in danger," was reviewed. None of Vietnam’s heritage sites were added to the list.
UNESCO issued eight recommendations for the Ha Long Bay–Cat Ba Archipelago, including enhanced pollution control, impact assessments for projects in the protection zone, and submission of detailed zoning maps. It also proposed forming a monitoring team to assess conservation efforts.
UNESCO praised Vietnam as a model of cooperation and reaffirmed its support for preserving Ha Long Bay and advancing new World Heritage nominations./.
