VietNamNet Bridge – The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has organised a programme to introduce the zero-waste concept to companies in the tourism and hospitality sectors.

Volunteers, including tourists and students, collect waste on a beach in Ha Long Bay.

The event, called Action for a Green Ha Long: Towards Zero Waste, was held in collaboration with Bhaya Cruise, GreenHub, and Live & Learn and took place on June 14 in the tourism hub of Ha Long City, the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh.

It attracted more than 100 participants from cruise companies and travel agencies, as well as tour guides, tourism and hospitality students, and their university lecturers.

The participants also included environmental experts and campaigners from domestic and international organisations, the Ha Long Bay Management Board, the US Agency for International Development (USAID), NGO specialists, and the media.

Additional contributions to the programme came from fashion company BOO and La Regina Cruise.

As part of the Ha Long-Cat Ba Alliance, an initiative funded by USAID, the programme was held to support the World Environmental Day 2018 theme, Beat plastic pollution – If you cannot reuse it, refuse it.

USAID Viet Nam’s Mission Director, Michael Greene, said this was the fourth Action for a Green Ha Long programme since 2016.

Previous events included training on solid waste collection and classification, student competitions, and beach clean-ups while focusing on business engagement, Greene said.

“Over the past three events, volunteers have collected a total of four tons of trash, mostly expanded polystyrenes and plastic bottles,” he said.

The deputy head of the Ha Long Bay Management Board, Nguyen Huyen Anh said Quang Ninh Province and the board were mobilising all resources to implement measures to boost the management, preservation, and development of Ha Long Bay.

“One of the key tasks is to boost investment in environmental protection,” Huyen Anh said.

Huyen Anh said various action plans have been deployed to serve such goals, including an environmental plan for Ha Long Bay for 2020 to 2030, a deployment plan for the national green growth strategy, and a project on improving Quang Ninh’s general environment, including Ha Long Bay.

With over 500 boats and four million tourists visiting every year, the bay is one of Vietnam’s top tourist attractions.

However, water pollution and poor solid waste management is damaging its reputation, as reflected by the number of negative comments on travel websites such as TripAdvisor, the IUCN said in a report.

Immediate investments in wastewater treatment and solid waste management are needed to maintain Ha Long Bay’s environmental values and the jobs and revenue it generates, the report said.

With over 500 boats and 4 million tourists visiting Ha Long Bay every year, water pollution and poor solid waste management is damaging the environment and beauty of the bay, a report from the IUCN says. — Photo VNA/VNS Photo Quang Quyet

The fourth Action for a Green Ha Long encourages businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors to take targeted action towards zero waste.

Zero waste is not only a good form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) but will also benefit businesses through improved branding and marketing opportunities and by contributing to a cleaner, more attractive bay.

With USAID support, the Ha Long-Cat Ba Alliance was established in 2014 as a partnership among government, business, and community leaders to catalyse action to preserve and protect Ha Long Bay and the Cat Ba Archipelago.

In 2015, the Alliance formed a business-led Leadership Committee, which works to address environmental challenges caused by cruise boats and provides technical advice to UNESCO on the management of Ha Long Bay as well as the proposed addition of the Cat Ba Archipelago to the Ha Long Bay World Heritage Site.

In 2017, USAID continued its funding to IUCN, to enhance business alliances that invest in actions to preserve and protect the bay and to advocate for the issuance of government regulations to enable these actions, as well as to reinforce the value of the World Heritage Site designation in providing a level of international scrutiny and influence over site management. 

Source: VNS