Seminar talks marine planning, coastal ecosystems in Mekong Delta
A seminar was held in Hanoi on November 22 to look into marine spatial planning and a project on improving the human habitat and coastal ecosystems in the Mekong Delta.
Seas and islands are becoming increasingly important to each nation and territory, said MoNRE Deputy Minister Tran Quy Kien (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – A seminar was held in Hanoi onNovember 22 to look into marine spatial planning and a project on improving thehuman habitat and coastal ecosystems in the Mekong Delta.
The event was held by the Ministry of NaturalResources and Environment (MoNRE), the German Agency for InternationalCooperation (GIZ) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme(UN-Habitat).
MoNRE Deputy Minister Tran Quy Kien said in the21st century – the century of oceans, seas and islands are becomingincreasingly important to each nation and territory. Coastal countries havebeen stretching their reach to the seas to tap into marine resources.
Vietnam’s seas triple its mainland area andaccount for 29 percent of the East Sea’s area. The country has a coastline of over3,200km long and about 2,700 inshore islands which are the basis for developingthe sea-based economy and safeguarding marine defence and security.
The Mekong Delta, comprised of 13provincial-level localities, covers around 40,000 square kilometres of land andhas a population of 18 million, equivalent to 12 percent and 22 percent ofVietnam’s respective figures. Its almost-600km-long coastline borders the EastSea and the West Sea, or the Gulf of Thailand.
Kien admitted that marine economic activitieshaven’t been harmoniously associated with social development and environmentalprotection. Sea-related advantages and potential have yet to be fully optimised.Notably, the connectivity between coastal and inland areas, and betweensea-related sectors and other sectors remain lax and ineffective.
He pointed out the serious marine pollution,including plastic pollution, in many places, the degradation of marine ecosystems,the overexploitation of some marine resources, and certain shortcomings in thecurrent climate change response.
The 8th meeting of the 12th Party CentralCommittee last October issued a resolution on the strategy for sustainablydeveloping Vietnam’s marine economy until 2030. One of the main solutions torealise it is perfecting regulations, policies, strategies and plans on thesustainable development of the marine economy.
Kien said the MoNRE is actively working on themarine spatial planning and a master plan on the sustainable exploitation anduse of coastal resources. -VNA
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Seas and islands are becoming increasingly important to each nation and territory, said MoNRE Deputy Minister Tran Quy Kien (Photo: VNA) 
