U.S. Helps Protect World Natural Heritage in Vietnam

The U.S. Embassy in Vietnam has started a project receiving funding from the U.S. government to conserve the world heritage Ha Long Bay and the Cat Ba archipelago. The First Leadership Committee meeting of the Ha Long – Cat Ba Alliance is a public-private initiative aimed at protecting the marine ecosystem in Vietnam’s northern province of Quang Ninh and the northern city of Haiphong where the aforementioned sites are located in. U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Ted Osius attended the meeting which also receives support by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD), a local Vietnamese NGO. Costing $970,000, the project will focus on protecting and restoring the environment in Ha Long Bay. Foreign-invested companies granting the support to the alliance include Bhaya, Coca Cola, GE, Grant Thornton, and Indochina Junk. Ha Long Bay has been named among the 15 most amazing landscapes and rock formations worldwide, one of the twenty geological wonders of the world by Rough Guides, among the world’s top ten destinations for sailing cruises by the U.S.’ National Geographic book Journeys of a Lifetime, and among the world’s top ten best and romantic destinations by the U.K.’s Lonely Planet magazine. In 2014, Quang Ninh welcomed roughly 7.5 million visitors. (vietnam.usembassy.gov May 5)