According to reports the waters of Ha Long Bay in Northern Vietnam have extremely high levels of oil pollution, which is destroying the locals fishing livelihood.
This is according to results of a test conducted by the bay’s management board, which is obviously concerned because Ha Long Bay is also a newly designated Unesco world heritage site.
Villagers who live on the floating fishing village of Cua Van in the bay have survived by aquaculture for generations but the ever increasing pollutuion is killing their livelihood.
The Ha Long Bay Management Board told VietNamNet that tourist boats and cargo ships account for much of the pollution. Only 20% of tourist boats are equipped with standard water waste treatment systems, it says. Cargo ships are also responsible for the problem because they illegally discharge water mixed with oil.
To help solve the problem, the board aims to ask tourist vessels to install waste filters and proposes to implement regular checks on boats to tease out vessels that are old and unfit for purpose. Cargo ships are being asked to move to Cam Pha Port in order to unload goods instead of anchoring in the bay.
Meanwhile, Vietnamese authorities are reportedly devising a resttlement plan for thee villagers. But many argue that more needs to be done to help make the villagers’ livelihoods more sustainable, because they are as much part of the heritage of the bay as the landscape.
