Selective exploitation of sea heritage value

The artefects of Sa Huynh culture in Ly Son island, Quang Ngai province

NDO – During the process of national construction and development, the sea plays an important role in the socio-economic life of Vietnamese people. The sea not only provides a source of food, but also impacts the history of Vietnam and the cultural life of Vietnamese people. For this reason, the cultural heritages in Vietnam’s sea and coastal regions are considered an important part of Vietnam’s cultural heritage.

According to statistics, Vietnam now has 1,013 relics and tourism attractions in 28 coastal provinces and cities among a total of 3,250 historical and cultural relics and tourism attractions in Vietnam, which were recognised as part of national heritage.

With many beautiful clean beaches, Vietnam ranks 27 of 156 coastal countries in the world with 125 beautiful seaside resorts. With Ha Long Bay and Nha Trang Bay, the country is among the top 12 countries with the most beautiful bays in the world.

Vietnam’s seas and islands feature cultural heritages, intangible cultural heritages and natural heritages. The question now is what basic solution for preserving and promoting cultural heritage values at sea and in island regions should Vietnam take.

Aiming to implement Vietnam’s culture development strategy for 2020, with a view to 2030, cultural agencies should strengthen their co-ordination to create unified building development plans and continue to research conformable solutions to preserve and effectively exploit the cultural and natural heritage treasures and tourism resources in Vietnam, especially in sea and island regions.

Meanwhile, the People’s Committees of provinces and cities in costal and island regions also should direct the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism to inspect, appraise, classify and rank cultural and natural heritages, laying the foundation for building and deploying investment and upgrade projects. The direction helps to affirm the important role of historic, cultural and tourism attractions.

Vietnam now has 70% of its tourism destinations located in coastal regions, which attract 80% of visitors to Vietnam. Vietnam’s beaches have a high value in the developing tourism industry.

Along with other tourism resources, the beaches have become well-known destinations. For this reason, managers should be interested in preserving and exploiting sea tourism.

Vietnam’s sea has an important role in socio-economic development, especially in industries such as coal, oil, gas, maritime transport, tourism, fishing and seafood processing. However, industrial exploitation necessarily affects the environment in these regions.

Environmental protection in coastal regions requires relevant State management agencies to build a general plan on developing sea tourism in the Red River Delta region, central and southern provinces, based on geographic, economic, historic and social conditions, as well as cultural characteristics of local people.

Additionally, museum networks and plans for preserving heritage in Vietnam also need to be adjusted to cope with climate change. Management agencies should encourage research projects on incorporating natural events into tourism, such as a tourism programme during the flood season in An Giang and tourism activities during rainy season in Hue.

Meanwhile, international co-operation is very important. By co-operating with international organisations, such as UNESCO, SPAFA and the Mekong River Commission (MRC), Vietnam can exchange experiences, and co-operate in research for coping with climate change and preserving Vietnam’s heritage in coastal areas.

Ass.Pro. Truong Quoc Binh

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