Leaving the beach flooded with trash: Where did the government go?

PV had an interview with Social Media Blogger Nguyen Ngoc Long about this issue.

During the holidays, while public opinion was still hot about the dead fish, many people were shocked by the littering at Quat Lam beach (Giao Thuy, Nam Dinh), Con Vanh (Tien Hai, Thai Binh) and Do Son (Hai Phong). What is your opinion on this?

As a frequent traveler, I have been to many beaches across Vietnam, but the images of the bustling littering that flooded the beaches of Quat Lam and Con Vanh during the holidays really surprised me.

Of course, this is an extremely ugly image and has a negative impact on Vietnam's tourism industry. But besides wondering why people can "carelessly" do these things, I also wonder if the local government and environmental protection organizations have any positive actions.

Image of household waste flooding the beach in Quat Lam (Photo: PLVN)

Is it true that Vietnamese people's awareness of environmental protection is too poor?

Without specific statistics, I dare not make any judgments. But in reality, there are very clean beaches in Vietnam, even if they are not located in resorts. For example, the beach in Da Nang, some sections in Nha Trang.

Especially on the beach in Cu Lao Cham, absolutely no one uses plastic bags. Some households doing business on the island even bring out tools to "sift the sand to find... trash" to keep the beach absolutely clean.

So, I think awareness is only a part, the other reason is being influenced by the crowd. We go to a place where no one litters, and suddenly we feel reluctant to make it dirty. And vice versa!

So where do the management agencies and environmental treatment units of these tourist areas go?

I had the same question when looking at the pictures circulating online. And I absolutely could not find a satisfactory answer!

If the local government indifferently lets this happen, what will be the consequences for tourism, sir?

This littering problem not only affects the marine environment, sea water quality and air quality, causing tourists to stay away in fear. It also has a very bad impact on the image of that locality with international friends.

Your locality may have more tourism products than just a beach or a swimming pool, but people look at this awareness and judge everything as a whole. They will be discouraged, disgusted and will not travel to your locality anymore. So, everyone is affected, including a hotel or restaurant deep inland, not just the businesses right on the coast.

Personally, would you go back to a place where there is such a mess of marine debris?

I used to love going to Do Son, but later the beach got so dirty that every time I thought about it, I was afraid to go. In reality, I still go there to eat seafood and sit... looking at the sea, not swimming! But I think, the number of people who are so addicted to eating seafood that they "recklessly" do it like me will not be many.

Moreover, if there are many choices, I will definitely choose a place with delicious seafood and clean beaches to travel. That's for sure!

Do you have any suggestions or advice to make these tourist areas cleaner and more polite?

I really like the way the government, the people, the businesses and the tour guides in Cu Lao Cham join hands to protect the coast, the world biosphere reserve where they live. It all starts with a very, very small thing: say no to plastic bags. They don’t call on you to keep the coast clean, or not to litter. The message is simple and consistent: don’t use plastic bags.

But the "strange" thing is that all tourists understand that they have to and should do more. And as a result, Cu Lao Cham's sea is very clean. I think, there are a million ways to do it. But the important thing is to put it into practice. I don't like mass activities. Inviting everyone to pick up trash, going naked to protect the environment or marching with banners doesn't create any positive effects. It only helps those people feel like they are doing something good, doing good deeds and they are happy with each other.

To protect the sea, we must use the people's strength, that is the long-term, solid and effective stronghold.

Thank you!

According to Infonet