Collecting rubbish in Ha Long Bay
From the start of 2016, over 500 tour boats have been moved from Bai Chay Port to Tuan Chau Marina that have better infrastructure to deal with waste water. Tuan Chau Marina receives around 10,000 visitors each day and 30,000 visitors during peak season.
24/24 Tuan Chau Green Environment Company's chairwoman Pham Thi Dung said they collected eight tonnes of rubbish a day including 700 kilos that were dredged up from the water. "We've been keeping the bay clean to protect the bay and so that visitors will love Tuan Chau. We're proud to be born here," she said.
The provincial authorities also ban companies from transporting construction materials or doing construction activities by the bay such as mixing cement. Other measures have been implemented such as relocating fishing villages and fish farms, tightening management on tour boats and organising campaigns to collect rubbish at the bay.
The authorities promise to deal with shortcomings of the current the waste water treatment system as soon as possible. Pham Dinh Huynh, vice head of the management board of Ha Long Bay, said they would use ODA given by Japanese government to carry out the drainage and waste water treatment plan of Ha Long City.
"The drainage system will be completed within this year to better manage the waste water from the hill and residential areas. We'll upgrade the waste water treatment plants for higher capacity and increase inspections on rubbish that produced from the mainland as well as from the boats and islands," Huynh said.
In addition, waste water treatment plants for coal mines and factories have also been built.
Vu Hong Thang, deputy director of Ha Lam Coal JSC, said waste treatment plants were always considered in every planning. All waste water from the mine can be dealt with before being discharged into the environment.
"We are building two waste treatment plants, one has the capacity to deal with 400 cubic metres of household waste a day for the employees. The other for the coal pits has capacity to deal with 4,000 cubic metres per hour," he said. "They will be completed in the first quarter."
Ha Long City authorities have built a plan to protect the environment of Ha Long Bay to 2020 with vision toward 2030. Current waste collecting system will further be perfected, the environment protection will be a part of eco-tourism scheme and public awareness about the issue will be raised.