Vietnam will work to improve the resistance of its marine ecosystems toclimate change impacts while maintaining their productivity, policymakers said on April 2.
The "Strategy for SustainableExploitation and Utilisation of Marine Natural Resources and EnvironmentProtection until 2020, vision towards 2030," was officially released bythe Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
It targets,by 2020, to increase the area of mangrove forests in coastal areas andaround islands by 30 percent higher than 2010, according to Nguyen VanTai, director of the ministry's Institute of Strategy and Policy.
Thearea of mangroves has reduced drastically to over 15,000ha in the CuuLong (Mekong) Delta. From 1943-1955, the area was 154,000ha.
Thestrategy also targets that the area, size and quality of coral reefs inthe country in 2010 are maintained by 2020. It is estimated thatjust16,000ha, accounting for 14.5 percent of total coral reef area, arein good condition now.
Another target is not to have the number of aquatic species threatened with extinction to increase compared with 2010, levels.
Theministry has listed 37 species of marine fish, five species of shrimp,27 species of mollusks and three species of Cephalopoda as precious andrare, endangered and facing the threat of extinction.
Sardines(Clupanodon thrissa) and abalone (Haliotis diversicolor) are among theendangered species inhabiting coral reefs off the islands of Bach LongVi, Cat Ba, and Co To.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources andthe Environment Tran Hong Ha said that the strategy also aimed tocompile a more comprehensive database of the nation's seas and marinediversity, and reduce the rate of resource degradation and pollution ofthe marine environment.
He said the new targets followed up onthe discovery and realisation that the nation faces several marineresources management issues including unsustainable exploitation thathas severely depleted and degraded them.
Marine biodiversity hadbeen badly affected, as also ecological functions and biologicalproductivity of marine ecosystems, he said, adding that a downward trendhad been seen in water quality.
Tai said six measures had beenidentified to effectively implement the new national strategy,including: raising public awareness of sustainable use of marineresources; consistent management of marine resources and environment byrelevant institutions; and training human resources to better manage thenation's marine resources and marine environment.
Vietnam liesto the west of the East Sea and touches the sea in three directions,with a long coastline of over 3,200km and territorial sea of more than 1million square kilometres, which is triple the area of its mainland.-VNA
The "Strategy for SustainableExploitation and Utilisation of Marine Natural Resources and EnvironmentProtection until 2020, vision towards 2030," was officially released bythe Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment.
It targets,by 2020, to increase the area of mangrove forests in coastal areas andaround islands by 30 percent higher than 2010, according to Nguyen VanTai, director of the ministry's Institute of Strategy and Policy.
Thearea of mangroves has reduced drastically to over 15,000ha in the CuuLong (Mekong) Delta. From 1943-1955, the area was 154,000ha.
Thestrategy also targets that the area, size and quality of coral reefs inthe country in 2010 are maintained by 2020. It is estimated thatjust16,000ha, accounting for 14.5 percent of total coral reef area, arein good condition now.
Another target is not to have the number of aquatic species threatened with extinction to increase compared with 2010, levels.
Theministry has listed 37 species of marine fish, five species of shrimp,27 species of mollusks and three species of Cephalopoda as precious andrare, endangered and facing the threat of extinction.
Sardines(Clupanodon thrissa) and abalone (Haliotis diversicolor) are among theendangered species inhabiting coral reefs off the islands of Bach LongVi, Cat Ba, and Co To.
Deputy Minister of Natural Resources andthe Environment Tran Hong Ha said that the strategy also aimed tocompile a more comprehensive database of the nation's seas and marinediversity, and reduce the rate of resource degradation and pollution ofthe marine environment.
He said the new targets followed up onthe discovery and realisation that the nation faces several marineresources management issues including unsustainable exploitation thathas severely depleted and degraded them.
Marine biodiversity hadbeen badly affected, as also ecological functions and biologicalproductivity of marine ecosystems, he said, adding that a downward trendhad been seen in water quality.
Tai said six measures had beenidentified to effectively implement the new national strategy,including: raising public awareness of sustainable use of marineresources; consistent management of marine resources and environment byrelevant institutions; and training human resources to better manage thenation's marine resources and marine environment.
Vietnam liesto the west of the East Sea and touches the sea in three directions,with a long coastline of over 3,200km and territorial sea of more than 1million square kilometres, which is triple the area of its mainland.-VNA
