A bird's eye view of Hạ Long Bay. — VNA/VNS Photo Hoàng Hiếu

HÀ NỘI — Việt Nam’s famous Hạ Long Bay is not among the 56 properties listed in UNESCO’s List of World Heritage in Danger, said the Department of Cultural Heritage on Tuesday, dispelling rumours of the site being stripped of UNESCO recognition.

On December 20, Reuters reported that UNESCO would deploy a team of experts on a field visit to Hạ Long Bay to further strengthen conservation measures for the site.

According to the cultural heritage department (under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism), the visit was part of the discussion between the Vietnamese delegation and the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) at the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in July this year.

At this session, the World Heritage Committee also reviewed conservation reports of 123 World Heritage Sites, including 56 on the endangered list.

Currently none of Việt Nam’s heritage sites have been named in the List of World Heritage in Danger.

Regarding Hạ Long Bay (in Quảng Ninh Province) and the nearby Cát Bà Archipelago (in Hải Phòng City), the World Heritage Committee has issued several recommendations regarding site conservation in its 45th and 46th sessions.

Specifically, UNESCO underscored the need to monitor projects in the heritage protection area according to the 1972 World Heritage Convention. Accordingly, construction projects must assess their impact on the outstanding universal value of the heritage sites.

UNESCO also recognised Quảng Ninh Province’s efforts in taking comprehensive measures to address pollution issues to maintain the air and water quality within permissible limits. Water pollution remains an area of focus, the UN organisation noted.

A detailed zoning map of the World Heritage Site of Hạ Long Bay and Cát Bà Archipelago is also required for submission to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Another recommendation is to invite a UNESCO delegation to conduct an overall assessment of heritage conservation at the site, especially regarding heritage governance and the effectiveness in protection and management.

The Department of Cultural Heritage noted that during the discussion at the World Heritage Committee’s 46th session, Director of World Heritage Lazare Eloundou Assomo viewed Việt Nam as a model of cooperation with UNESCO and its advisory bodies in world heritage conservation.

He praised Việt Nam’s continuous efforts to study the unique cultural values of Hạ Long Bay and Cát Bà Archipelago to adjust the official cultural criteria of these sites.

UNESCO will continue supporting Việt Nam in moving forward its heritage dossiers being submitted.

According to the Department of Cultural Heritage, Việt Nam needs to follow the recommendations from UNESCO’s field research team regarding conservation at Hạ Long Bay, as well as for Việt Nam’s research plans on cultural values to nominate Hạ Long Bay - Cát Bà Archipelago as a World Heritage Site. — VNS