Director of the World Heritage Centre visited Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago Heritage Site

As part of his visit and working trip to Quang Ninh, on May 23, Mr. Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the World Heritage Centre of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), conducted an on-site survey at the Ha Long Bay – Cat Ba Archipelago World Natural Heritage Site. He was accompanied by Madam. Nguyen Thi Hanh, Vice Chairwoman of the Quang Ninh Provincial People's Committee.

With its outstanding global values in aesthetics and geo-morphology, Ha Long Bay was recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage Site in 1994 and 2000. In 2023, the World Heritage Committee approved the expansion of Ha Long Bay’s heritage boundaries to include the Cat Ba Archipelago of Hai Phong city, thereby creating the Ha Long Bay -Cat Ba Archipelago World Natural Heritage Site-the first inter-provincial world heritage site in Vietnam. The inclusion of Ha Long Bay in UNESCO’s World Heritage list affirms the natural beauty, richness in landscapes, culture, and ecology of Quang Ninh province specifically and Vietnam in general, while also opening new opportunities for development in Quang Ninh, especially in tourism.

Demonstrating strong responsibility and commitment to implementing the 1972 Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, Quang Ninh province has strived and decisively deployed many pioneering and breakthrough solutions, reflecting its determination to prioritize the management, conservation, and sustainable development of Ha Long Bay. These include environmental and ecological management, strict biodiversity conservation, selective and sustainable heritage-based economic development, promoting tourism linked with assessing Ha Long Bay’s carrying capacity, and raising awareness among local residents and tourists about their responsibility to protect the heritage.

Mr. Lazare Eloundou Assomo, Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, highly appreciated Quang Ninh’s efforts in addressing environmental challenges and managing and conserving Ha Long Bay, especially following the heritage boundary expansion to include the Cat Ba Archipelago in 2023. Notably, Quang Ninh’s solutions and approaches serve as exemplary models that other localities and countries can reference and learn from. In the spirit of cooperation with countries and localities possessing heritage sites, including Quang Ninh province, the UNESCO World Heritage Centre continues to support and stands ready to provide expert advice on the conservation and promotion of world heritage sites.

In his capacity as Director of the World Heritage Centre, Mr. Assomo pledged to make concerted efforts alongside Quang Ninh to manage, conserve, and enhance the values of the world heritage sites of Quang Ninh and Vietnam.

Translated by Thuy Ha