30 years - A journey of a World Natural Heritage Site Ha Long Bay
For nearly 30 years since it was first recognized as a World Natural Heritage, Quang Ninh has always identified Ha Long Bay as a treasure bestowed by nature, an important driving force for tourism development and transformation of the growth model in the economic structure. Therefore, the process of exploiting and promoting the value of heritage, conservation and preservation work has always been of interest to Quang Ninh province.
Ha Long Bay is not only famous for the magnificent beauty of the sea and islands, but also a giant geological museum, where important traces of the formation, movement and development of the terrain of the earth's crust in this area are condensed. Over the years, Quang Ninh has implemented many effective measures to protect and ensure the integrity of Ha Long Bay according to the World Heritage Convention, UNESCO's sustainable development policies and Vietnamese laws. Nearly 30 years ago, on December 17th, 1994, Vietnam was first recognized as a World Natural Heritage with Ha Long Bay. The unique and exceptional values of the landscape, which was blessed by nature and created millions of years ago, have brought pride but also great responsibility to Vietnam in general and Quang Ninh province in particular.
Ha Long Bay
Likened by Nguyen Trai as “a wonder of the earth built in the sky”, Ha Long Bay was twice listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site for its outstanding global aesthetic value in 1994, and expanded in terms of geological and geomorphological value in 2000. In September 2023, Ha Long Bay was once again recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site by adjusting the boundary to Cat Ba archipelago (Cat Hai district, Hai Phong city), and became the first inter-provincial and inter-city World Heritage Site in Vietnam.
It is the beautiful natural landscape, along with the special cultural, historical and biodiversity values that have helped Ha Long Bay be recognized and honored. Of course, the journey to each honor is a long process with many difficulties, but it is also a glorious and proud journey of Quang Ninh in particular and Vietnam in general.
Going back 30 years ago, realizing the global value of Ha Long Bay, and wishing to be recognized and honored by the world, on December 21, 1991, the Vietnamese Government allowed the build Ha Long Bay dossier to submit to the World Heritage Council for approval. This was an important first step to affirm the stature and value of Ha Long Bay internationally.
To build the dossier, the Ha Long Bay Management Department coordinated with domestic and foreign agencies, units, and experts to carry out a series of tasks such as: investigating, researching, collecting, synthesizing, and compiling scientific information about Ha Long Bay; planning for the conservation and sustainable development of Ha Long Bay; designing and printing the dossier according to UNESCO's requirements. This amount of work was carried out continuously for 2 years (1991-1993). In 1993, Vietnam officially submitted the dossier to UNESCO.
After receiving the Ha Long Bay dossier, UNESCO sent many expert delegations to Quang Ninh to survey, guide, research, and appraise the dossier on the spot. The experts also made many recommendations to help Vietnam further complete the dossier. And they all had positive comments, affirming the global value of Ha Long Bay. Based on the scientific dossier on Ha Long Bay compiled by the Ministry of Culture and Information, the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province and the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO since 1992 and the evaluation opinions of international professional organizations, on December 14, 1994, at 5:17 p.m., at the famous Le Meridien Hotel in the coastal city of Phuket (Thailand), during the 18th Session, the World Heritage Council recognized Ha Long Bay as a World Natural Heritage with outstanding global aesthetic value of the International Convention on the Protection of the World's Natural and Cultural Heritage, with 100% of the Council members voting in favor.
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Accordingly, to be recognized as a World Natural Heritage for aesthetic value, Ha Long Bay has met the criterion (vii) of UNESCO, which is: Representing natural phenomena or areas that are unique or outstanding in terms of aesthetics or performance; Including natural or supernatural areas that are unique or outstanding in terms of aesthetics or performance; Including areas that are unique or outstanding in terms of aesthetics or performance due to related geological or biological processes. As a world heritage for aesthetic value recognized by UNESCO, Ha Long Bay is famous for its unique and mysterious landscape of thousands of limestone islands forming overlapping and vivid scenes. There are also majestic caves, containing diverse and beautiful stalactites. Not only does it have a rich and diverse ecosystem, with many rare and endemic species of flora and fauna, Ha Long Bay is also a place that records the legends, history and culture of the Vietnamese people, creating a natural heritage of high cultural value.
The event of Ha Long Bay being recognized as a World Heritage Site at the 18th Session of the World Heritage Council on December 14, 1994 raised the value of this heritage, placing it in global relations. This is not only an event of great cultural significance but also has long-term political and economic significance for the development of the country.
This is an event of great significance to the whole country, because after the Ancient Capital of Hue (recognized as a World Cultural Heritage at the 17th Session of the World Heritage Council held exactly 1 year before, in December 1993), this time, Ha Long Bay is the second place in our country to be listed as a World Heritage and is the first World Natural Heritage of Vietnam.
The Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO in its Submission to the Prime Minister dated December 27, 1994 stated: The event of Ha Long Bay being recognized as a World Heritage Site at the 18th Session of the World Heritage Council on December 14, 1994 “has raised the value of this heritage, placing it in global relations. This is not only an event of great cultural significance but also has long-term political and economic significance for the country's development...”.
After being recognized as a World Natural Heritage for its aesthetic value, the Ha Long Bay Management Department has continuously researched and explored other values of Ha Long Bay.
According to Mr. Nguyen Van Tuan, former Director of Ha Long Bay Management Department, in a meeting, Dr. Hans Friederich, Chief Representative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in Vietnam in 1999, shared: "There is no karst limestone area in the world as large and majestic as this one. It is completely worthy of being recognized as a world heritage site in terms of geology and geomorphology".
Recognizing the outstanding global geological and geomorphological value of Ha Long Bay, the Ha Long Bay Management Department wishes to be recognized by UNESCO for this additional criterion. Faced with such an important task, the Ha Long Bay Management Department needs to focus on clarifying the fundamental values of Ha Long Bay in terms of aesthetic landscape, geology and geomorphology, cultural history and biodiversity, especially in terms of geology and geomorphology. Previously, there were many research projects but they were small.
And a series of tasks such as investigating, researching, collecting, synthesizing, and compiling scientific information about Ha Long Bay from a new perspective; supplementing and editing the dossier according to UNESCO's requirements were carried out meticulously and carefully based on the experience of making the dossier the first time. The work was promoted since 1998. To strengthen the dossier, the Ha Long Bay Management Department proposed that UNESCO support a small project to invite international and domestic experts to Ha Long to survey, research and make scientific assessments.
To be recognized as a World Natural Heritage for its geological and geomorphological values, Ha Long Bay must meet UNESCO's criteria, which are: Representing important stages in the history of the Earth, including traces of life; Representing current or present geological processes; Representing exceptional or unique geological and geomorphological forms; Representing outstanding examples of geological processes occurring in ecosystems and biological communities.
After conducting a survey of Ha Long Bay as requested, Professor Tony Waltham (Royal Trent University Nottingham, UK) sent a report assessing the geology and geomorphology of Ha Long Bay to the People's Committee of Quang Ninh Province, the Ha Long Bay Management Department, the UNESCO and IUCN Offices in Hanoi and to the World Heritage Center in Paris, in which he wrote: "There is nothing more to say, we can affirm that Ha Long Bay is a globally significant Karst landscape with a fundamental foundation in geological science... Along with the landscape value, the geological value of Ha Long needs to be preserved for the benefit of mankind".
There is nothing more to say, we can affirm that Ha Long Bay is a Karst landscape of global significance with the basic foundation of geological science... Along with the landscape value, the geological value of Ha Long needs to be preserved for the benefit of mankind.
Receiving the report of Professor Tony Waltham, on February 25, 1999, the World Heritage Center in Paris sent a letter to the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province, the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO and the Ha Long Bay Management Department requesting to promote the preparation of a dossier to submit to UNESCO for recognition of the exceptional global value of the geology of the Karst region of Ha Long Bay. And the dossier was sent to UNESCO in 1999.
Ha Long Bay has been recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site for its geological and geomorphological value due to the development of karst limestone formations over billions of years. These limestone formations are the result of tectonics, deformation, uplift, erosion, decomposition and sea surface changes of the Earth. Ha Long Bay is also one of the areas with sea surface changes throughout the evolution of the Earth, from the Cretaceous period to the present. Therefore, Ha Long Bay is a living proof of global climate change. Ha Long Bay also has the intersection of geological and biological processes, creating a rich and diverse ecosystem. At the 23rd Conference of the World Heritage Committee held in Marakesh, Morocco in early December 1999, the World Heritage Committee officially confirmed the Dossier of Ha Long Bay, included it in the dossier appraisal program and recognized the geological value of Ha Long Bay in 2000.
As planned, in March 2000, Professor Elery Hamilton Smith, an Australian expert, a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was sent to Ha Long to appraise the authenticity of the dossier, the geological value as well as assess the management status and make recommendations.
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The evaluation report by Professor Elery Hamilton Smith states: “This is the nomination of Ha Long Bay for inscription in the World Heritage list under criterion (i), which is a site with ongoing exceptional geological processes and remarkable geomorphological features, and under criterion (iii), it is a site with an outstanding natural landscape and exceptional aesthetic value.”
In July 2000, the mid-year session of the World Heritage Centre’s office in Paris officially recommended the World Heritage Committee recognize Ha Long Bay as a World Natural Heritage Site for its outstanding geological and geomorphological values.
On December 2nd, 2000, at the 24th session of the World Heritage Committee in Cairns, Australia, after hearing presentations from the World Heritage Centre and the evaluation by IUCN, the World Heritage Committee officially decided to recognize Ha Long Bay as a World Natural Heritage Site for the second time under criterion (i) of the International Convention on World Heritage.
Ha Long Bay is one of the most famous natural heritage sites in the world. As early as 1993, when evaluating the nomination file for Ha Long Bay, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) recommended: “… The area should be extended to include the adjacent islands around Cat Ba Island, which are part of the National Park but are located in the area bordering Hai Phong.”
The expansion of Ha Long Bay as a World Natural Heritage site to include the Cat Ba Archipelago would further enhance the inherent value of the heritage, as demonstrated by the harmony in landscape, geology, geomorphology, ecosystems, and biodiversity. The outstanding global values of the area include its physical and biological formations, geological and geographical features, and its role as a habitat for threatened species, from an aesthetic, scientific, and conservation perspective.
Following this recommendation, in 2013, the nomination file for the Cat Ba Archipelago as a World Natural Heritage site based on biodiversity and ecosystem criteria (criteria ix and x) was submitted to the World Heritage Centre. After the evaluation process, IUCN drafted Decision No. WHC-14/38.COM/INF.8B for approval by the World Heritage Committee at the 38th session in Qatar in 2014, which recommended: "The State Party considers the possibility of a proposed extension to Ha Long Bay under criteria (vii) and (viii), and potentially (x), to include the Cat Ba Archipelago."
Since then, activities to conserve, research, and prepare the nomination file for Ha Long Bay-Cat Ba Archipelago as a World Heritage site have continued to be promoted.
In September 2016, based on proposals from localities and recommendations from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, the Prime Minister approved Haiphong City to take the lead and collaborate with Quang Ninh Province in preparing the expansion file for Ha Long Bay to include the Cat Ba Archipelago for submission to the Prime Minister for approval to send to UNESCO. The Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism was also tasked with guiding Haiphong City in preparing the World Natural Heritage nomination for Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago in accordance with cultural heritage laws and relevant regulations.
The process of preparing the file has faced many challenges, including recommendations and feedback from UNESCO and IUCN. However, with the responsibility of the relevant agencies of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and the determination of Haiphong City, Quang Ninh Province, and the Vietnam National UNESCO Committee, in early 2021, the Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago nomination file was revised, completed according to the recommendations, and prepared for submission to UNESCO.
During the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from September 10, 2023, the delegation from the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, along with the Ambassador and Head of the Permanent Mission of Vietnam to UNESCO in France, and the representatives of Hai Phong and Quang Ninh provinces, worked with UNESCO’s specialized agencies, including the Director of the World Heritage Centre, the Secretary-General of ICOMOS, the Director of the IUCN World Heritage Programme, the Head of the World Heritage Centre’s nomination section, and 21 member countries of the World Heritage Committee. They provided information, explained, clarified, and expressed Vietnam’s views and commitments regarding the management, protection, and enhancement of the heritage after its inclusion in the World Heritage List.
As a result, international experts, scientists, and the member countries of the World Heritage Committee all highly appreciated the value of the heritage and supported the recognition of Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago as a World Natural Heritage site.
On September 16, 2023, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee approved the nomination dossier and recognized the Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago as a World Natural Heritage Site. With this recognition by UNESCO, Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago became the first trans-provincial and city World Heritage site in Vietnam.
During the 20th-anniversary celebration of Ha Long Bay being designated a World Natural Heritage site for the second time, Ms. Katherine Muller-Marin, the Head of the UNESCO Representative Office in Vietnam, expressed: “The beauty of Ha Long Bay not only symbolizes the successful efforts to preserve and promote this natural heritage across the country and the world but also stands as a perfect example of a unique ecosystem preserved here.”
She also affirmed: "Ha Long Bay, with its countless limestone formations, caves and grottoes, small islands rising from the crystal-clear waters, along with its breathtaking natural environment, captivates all those who visit Vietnam, providing unforgettable experiences and memories."
The recognition of Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago as a World Natural Heritage site not only created the first unique trans-regional World Heritage site in Vietnam but also enhanced the value of this vast, magnificent, and stunning heritage area. It can be said that being recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage site three times is the clearest proof of Ha Long Bay's extraordinary global values.
Ha Long Bay is a perfect example of a unique ecosystem, with countless limestone formations, caves and grottoes, small islands rising from the crystal-clear waters, and its breathtaking natural environment that captivates all those who visit Vietnam, providing unforgettable experiences and memories.
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Ms. Katherine Muller-Marin, Head of the UNESCO Representative Office in Vietnam
For nearly 30 years since Ha Long Bay was first recognized as a World Natural Heritage site, Quang Ninh has always considered Ha Long Bay as a precious gift from nature, an important driving force for the development of tourism and the transformation of its economic growth model. Therefore, the process of exploiting and enhancing the value of the heritage, along with conservation and preservation efforts, has always been a priority for Quang Ninh province.
Ha Long Bay is not only famous for its majestic beauty of the sea and islands, but also as a vast geological museum, preserving significant traces of the formation, movement, and development of the Earth's crust in this region. In recent years, Quang Ninh has implemented many effective measures to both protect and ensure the integrity of Ha Long Bay in accordance with the World Heritage Convention, UNESCO’s sustainable development policies, and Vietnamese laws.
Quang Ninh Provincial People’s Committee is committed to doing its utmost to fully preserve, protect, and sustainably enhance the value of Ha Long Bay for future generations.
At the 20th anniversary celebration of Ha Long Bay's recognition, Mrs. Vu Thi Thu Thuy, Vice Chairwoman of the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee, affirmed: "Pride and honor are closely tied to responsibility toward the people of Vietnam and the international community;... Quang Ninh province is committed to doing its utmost to fully preserve, protect, and sustainably enhance the value of Ha Long Bay, the World Natural Heritage wonder, for future generations."
In parallel with regularly conducting investigations, research, and clarifications, which form the basis for management and protection solutions to prevent risks of harm to the heritage, Quang Ninh province has established a conservation area to protect biodiversity. The province has demarcated areas of limestone forest and mangrove forest for recognition as special-use forests to protect landscapes and conserve rare genetic resources. In 2014, 354 households, totaling nearly 2,000 people from 7 fishing villages, were relocated to resettlement areas with the goal of stabilizing the lives of fishermen and reducing environmental pressures on the bay. Standards were set for wastewater and waste management for tourist boats, tourist sites, and coastal communities.
Especially since 2019, the "Ha Long Bay Free of Plastic Waste" campaign, initiated by the Ha Long Bay Management Board, has been effectively implemented and received enthusiastic participation from businesses and the local community. The environmental landscape and ecological environment of the bay are managed with a focus on controlling waste sources. Economic and social activities are being strictly managed and increasingly standardized.
With these efforts in management, conservation, and heritage enhancement, Ha Long Bay has become a highlight on Vietnam’s tourism map and in the region. In recent years, Ha Long Bay has appeared in rankings of attractive tourist destinations selected by many international organizations, media companies, and reputable websites, such as Vietnam's Leading Tourism Site, Vietnam's Top Destination, one of the 10 most impressive UNESCO World Heritage sites in Asia, one of the 10 most ideal tourist attractions in Southeast Asia, and one of the 24 must-visit destinations in 2024.
Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago was recognized as a World Heritage site by UNESCO for its natural beauty, which includes limestone islands covered with vegetation, sharp limestone peaks rising from the sea, and related karst features such as domes and caves. The spectacular scenery is untouched by the islands with vegetation, saltwater lagoons, and sharp limestone peaks with steep cliffs rising above the sea.
With 1,133 limestone islands in various shapes, including 775 limestone islands in Ha Long Bay and 358 limestone islands in Cat Ba Archipelago, all covered by rich vegetation and surrounded by the sparkling emerald waters, Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago appears like a chessboard of precious stones, a serene landscape with gentle waves, pristine white sand beaches, and a peaceful environment.
Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago is considered a geological museum, holding globally significant heritage, witnessing characteristic changes in the Earth’s development history, evidenced by the presence of primary forests, bays, and islands.
An intact natural reserve, with its magnificent karst limestone mountains, a rich system of caves, and unique ecosystems, combined with the soothing sound of waves that have shaped the land for millions of years, all harmonizing with the local community’s maritime culture, creates a vibrant and unique image of nature and humanity, establishing the identity of Ha Long Bay as a World Natural Heritage site, recognized for the past 30 years.
Translated by Thuy Ha