Announcing the strategy for protecting marine resources and the environment.

On the morning of April 2nd in Hanoi, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment announced the Strategy for Sustainable Exploitation and Use of Marine Resources and Environmental Protection until 2020, with a vision to 2030.

Innovating thinking on the use and development of marine resources and environmental protection. Photo: VNA.

Speaking at the announcement ceremony, Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Tran Hong Ha warned that due to overexploitation, Vietnam's marine resources are being depleted and degraded rapidly; waste from land is increasing, marine pollution is escalating, and some areas have reached alarming levels of pollution; marine ecosystems are under great pressure from marine economic development, socio-economic development in coastal areas, climate change, and sea level rise. Meanwhile, society's understanding of the sea is incomplete and not comprehensive; the integrated and unified marine management mechanism has not been clearly defined or operated smoothly; and the lack of a comprehensive plan has led to conflicts between exploitation and economic development on the one hand, and protection and conservation on the other.

Marine resources and the environment are of paramount importance and play a crucial role, closely linked to national sovereignty, sovereign rights, exclusive economic zones, and national defense and security at sea. They form a solid foundation for Vietnam to become a strong maritime nation, prospering from the sea. However, these resources have not been effectively utilized.

According to Deputy Minister Tran Hong Ha, the Strategy for Sustainable Exploitation and Use of Marine Resources and Environmental Protection until 2020, with a vision to 2030, will help society better understand the sea, its potential, advantages, and adverse impacts; promote the sustainable exploitation and use of marine natural resources; preserve the quality of the seawater environment; and maintain the ecological functions and biological productivity of marine ecosystems. The 2030 vision contributes to preventing and reversing the increasing trend of environmental pollution, degradation, depletion of resources, and decline in marine biodiversity, in order to ensure a stable marine ecological balance.

To successfully implement the Strategy and make marine resources and the marine environment a true asset that helps Vietnam become a strong maritime nation, prospering from the sea, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has proposed six comprehensive solutions, focusing on training, mobilizing, and utilizing human resources for marine research and investigation, and integrated and unified management of marine and island resources and the environment. In addition, it emphasizes promoting awareness about the sea, the sustainable exploitation and use of resources, and the protection of the marine environment.

According to VOV