At a recent conference, Le Lam Tuan, chief of the board's environment management division, said tests at 48 locations across the bay showed that its waters generally were not polluted, but near-shore waters had increased opaqueness and oil, Kien Thuc (knowledge) news website reported Sunday.

The tests were conducted in cooperation with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Tuan said at the conference reviewing a JICA-supported project that is building a circulation system at Ha Long Bay.

According to Tuan, the near-shore pollution has been caused by the activities of people living near the bay, and waste dumping during festivals.

Other reason, he said, was the tourist boats operating in the bay. At the moment, over 520 boats are operating in Ha Long, but just 20 percent of them are equipped with standard waste treatment systems, the report said.

Meanwhile, cargo ships illegally dump waste into the bay, it added.

Launched in October 2010 and set to end this month, the JICA project aims to help enhance local people’s awareness of environmental protection through activities like reducing waste by changing them into organic fertilizer and environmental protection-related training sessions, according to a report on the website of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment. 

T.N

(MONRE)