Participants at a seminar on Nha Trang Bay have agreed that one of the measures to preserve the bay is to increase the community’s role in management and exploration of coral resources.

They also proposed that educational activities should be organised to raise people’s awareness, in order to protect the environment and preserve biodiversity in Nha Trang Bay , which is the site of a Marine Protected Area.

At the seminar, held on June 8 in Nha Trang city, in the central coastal Khanh Hoa province, scientists discussed changes in biodiversity and threats to Nha Trang Bay ecosystems, such as the loss of coral area due to land reclamation, the reduction of marine resources, and fishing with explosives.

According to Khanh Hoa provincial Natural Resources and Environment department, the bay’s marine environment was facing uncontrolled impacts, including those caused by humans. As a result, people should join efforts to protect Nha Trang bay’s environment and resources.

The seminar was held on the occasion of the 10 th anniversary of Nha Trang Bay Marine Protected Area (MPA).

Nha Trang Bay was home to 350 species of coral, 120 species of molluscs and 248 species of seaweed.

Over the past decade, Nha Trang Bay MPA has implemented a project that combines the protection and development of biodiversity and improvement of local people livelihood and their environmental awareness.

The same day, the Nha Trang Oceanography Institute launched a showroom of Hoang Sa-Truong Sa islands’ marine resources, including hundreds of samples of typical living creatures from the sea area of the two archipelagos./.