Vietnam has established 9 out of 16 marine protected areas.

The protected areas include: Cat Ba, Bach Long Vy, Con Co, Cu Lao Cham, Nha Trang Bay, Nui Chua, Hon Cau, Con Dao, and Phu Quoc.

On the morning of October 21st, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held a conference to evaluate the planning and establishment of marine protected areas in Vietnam and propose a plan for the 2015-2020 period.

Marine protected areas play a crucial role in the development of the marine economy, improving the livelihoods of local coastal fishing communities. Marine conservation also holds immense significance for scientific research, community education, recreation, and ecotourism; it contributes to the legal basis and provides administrative tools for the struggle to protect national sovereignty and security within our country's exclusive economic zone, and addresses transboundary environmental issues in the East Sea that are of concern to countries in the region.

Deputy Minister Vu Van Tam delivered a speech at the Conference.

According to a report by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the plan for Vietnam's marine protected area system until 2020, approved by the Prime Minister in 2010, outlines the country's target of 16 marine protected areas. To date, nine out of these 16 protected areas have been established and are forming a network: Cat Ba, Bach Long Vy, Con Co, Cu Lao Cham, Nha Trang Bay, Nui Chua, Hon Cau, Con Dao, and Phu Quoc.

According to Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Vu Van Tam, the system of mechanisms and policies for marine conservation has been relatively comprehensively established, including: the Fisheries Law, the Law on Forest Protection and Development, the Biodiversity Law, the Strategy for managing the system of special-use forests, marine protected areas, and inland water protected areas in Vietnam until 2020 with a vision to 2030, the National Biodiversity Conservation Master Plan until 2020, orientation to 2030, and the Plan for the System of Marine Protected Areas in Vietnam…

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has coordinated with the People's Committees of relevant provinces and cities to organize numerous communication events to raise community awareness through diverse forms such as: learning about marine biodiversity, learning about the potential of resources in marine protected areas, etc. The Ministry has also collaborated with the governments of countries such as Denmark, the United States, and international organizations such as WB-GEF, IUCN, NOAA, etc.; and received financial and technical support to implement marine conservation work in Vietnam.

Many experts, both domestic and international, discussed ways to improve the effectiveness of marine conservation in Vietnam.

However, some regulations in documents related to marine conservation still differ, causing confusion in the implementation of marine protected area system planning; there are no specific regulations on the organizational structure and staffing of the marine protected area management board, making it difficult for many localities to propose the formation of this apparatus;

Another difficulty identified is the operating budget of the conservation area management board. According to regulations, there are three sources of funding (state budget, contributions from organizations and individuals, and revenue from environmental services related to fee collection), but in reality, it relies mainly on state budget allocations, and even that budget is insufficient compared to the needs.

Furthermore, marine protected areas are often associated with impoverished communities whose livelihoods depend primarily on natural resources exploited within these protected areas. The lack of policies to support livelihoods for fishermen living in and around these protected areas hinders conservation efforts.

Besides addressing current shortcomings, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development believes that in the future, it is necessary to investigate and research to update data and propose additional marine areas with conservation potential for planning as protected areas, supplementing the system of marine protected areas in Vietnam, in order to increase the area of ​​marine areas with conservation potential and management./.

According to VOV.VN