Locals harvest sargassum in Nha Trang Bay. (Photo: vast.ac.vn)
Khanh Hoa (VNA) – The Global Environment Facility agreed to fund a project on effectively managing and sustainably exploiting sargassum in Nha Trang City of central Khanh Hoa province in an effort to improve female locals’ livelihood.
The project will be implemented by the Women’s Union in Vinh Nguyen commune in the city from January onwards at an estimated cost of 1.3 billion VND (58,000 USD).
It is intended to adopt community-led responses to climate change and enhance the biodiversity conservation in the buffer zones of the marine protected area of Nha Trang Bay.
Some 14.5 hectares of sargassum growing areas will be developed in Bai Ran – Hon Tre alongside other 9 hectares in southern coast of Hon Tre island.
The Nha Trang Institute of Technology Research and Application successfully tested the technology of growing sargassum in Nha Trang Bay for commercial purposes in 2014. The technology has been transferred to the local community.
It is estimated that Khanh Hoa is home to approximately 1,170 hectares of natural sargassum, mainly distributed in Nha Phu Lagoon and the bays of Van Phong, Nha Trang and Cam Ranh.
The province is capable of producing more than 7,300 tonnes of dried sargassum per year.
Sargassum, a genus of brown seaweed, is a material for food and pharmaceutical industries.-VNA
