A pilot project kicked off on Tuesday aiming at supporting local government to turn Hoi An ancient town in Quang Nam Province into an ecological city.
This pilot model of green industry development got financial support from the United Nations One Plan Fund and technical support from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
Patrick J. Gilabert, representative of UNIDO in Vietnam, said the project was designed tp support the Vietnamese Government in making sustainable industry development policy through creative implementation of green industry and at the same time minimizing the effect of global warming.
With this pilot model, “we hope to turn Hoi An into Vietnam’s first ecological city,” he continued.
This project will help the city resolve environmental problems and climate change crisis in major industries, and at the same time maintain the balance between doing business and developing the community.
Particularly, Hoi An City’s government will encourage green industrial activities at small and medium-sized enterprises, especially those operating in tourism, handicraft and relevant fields, while stepping up the provision of environmental services based on the international “eco-city” model.
An eco-city can be defined as a city preserving and restoring the ecological balance without exhausting natural resources or damaging the environment and negatively affecting public health, said Nguyen Van Hien, head of Hoi An City’s Division of Natural Resources and Environment.
Hoi An was recognized as the World Heritage in 1999 and 10 years later, Cham islet in the city gained recognition as the World Biosphere Reserve. “With such impressive accomplishment, we strive for better performance,” he said.
Besides, the city is now reserving more than 1,360 architectural and artistic monuments, he added.
“Architecture and environment are given top priorities in our locality. That is why the government highly appreciates this project and awaits efficient cooperation with UNIDO,” said Le Van Giang, chairman of the city government.
However, the city also faces limitations or even conflicts between urbanization and ecological development. “We hope to become the first national ecological city based on the international model by 2030 and this project will prepare the ground for future success,” he continued.
