Planning of Natural Resources and Environment Protection in the Ba Vi Mountainous Area (Hanoi)
Sustainable development planning is the best solution of natural resources and environment protection in the Ba Vi mountainous area. This is the voice of the scientists, managers, and representatives of enterprises participating in the workshop on "Current situation assessment and proposal of environmental protection solutions for the Ba Vi National Park" held by VACNE (Vietnam Association for Conservation of Nature and Environment) on December 20, 2011, in Hanoi.
It can be said that the workshop was a useful dialogue between managers, researchers, and communities with institutions responsible for natural resources and environment management of the Ba Vi mountainous area. Issues that the public opinion concerns the most like land encroachment by mineral mining; destroying scenery and serious threat to biodiversity of the buffer as well as the core areas of the Ba Vi National Park by building hydropower facilities, roads, a golf field, a telpher line, and by tourism; harmful activity of pyrite, gold, and amiang mining, etc. were presented in the report of the VACNE Review Committee, ebulliently discussed by participants, and seriously explained by responsible institutions. Thus, a number of concerned issues was cleared away.
However, at the workshop, some urgent environmental and development issues of the Ba Vi National Park and its buffer zones were raised by the participants. Typical issues are: encroaching of some tourism sites upon ecological rehabilitation sub-area, changing irrigation ponds to water storage for tourists, planning tourism resorts in forests, renting forests out to tourism, neglecting a plan to ensure a long-term livelihood for residents in buffer zones, and neglecting a strict prevention of some harmful alien plant species that are encroaching upon the national park. Nevertheless, participants were also introduced by some companies and centers to some positive activities like building sound tourism models, developing some endemic species for using as medicines and food in Ba Vi District.
In his conclusion speech, the VACNE president Dr. Nguyen Ngoc Sinh said that he highly appreciated objective research results presented at the workshop, frank contributions of participants, and great sense of responsibility of management institutions as well as NGOs for the Ba Vi mountainous area. The workshop acknowledged some remarkable achievements in planning, management, and development in the Ba Vi National Park but also pointed out to some issues that should be paid attention to. Especially, there should be a close association between natural resources protection and sustainable development where the core issue is to ensure livelihood and cultural character of the local people.