Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam aims to develop thesea-based economy to help the country benefit from the sea and secure nationalsovereignty and sovereign rights over sea and islands, contributing to thecountry’s industrialisation and modernisation.

To defend and sustainably exploit sea and islands, priorityshould be given to coastal areas which cover 28 provinces and cities,accounting for 17 percent of the country’s total area and home to nearly 20million people.

These coastal areas have achieved significant results,especially tourism, fisheries, water transport and the processing industry.Together with them are the formation and development of coastal cities.However, the areas are facing many challenges regarding the environment,natural resources and other issues related to social safety and security andclimate change.

Eco-value is the first thing to mention when talking aboutthe value of coastal areas. Coastal wetlands play an important role in thecountry’s socio-economic development. The ecosystems of the coastal wetlandsare arranged along the coast. They are located at estuaries, lagoons, sandybeaches and wetlands used for farming and aquaculture covering more than 7million hectares.

In coastal areas there are also island and forestecosystems. The majority of the 3,000 islands in the sea are located in thenorthern province of Quang Ninh, forming the World Natural Heritage site of HaLong Bay recognised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and CulturalOrganisation (UNESCO). Some coastal forests are hot and humid tropicalrainforests, or coniferous forests with many species making up valuablebiodiversity. Some forests have been included in the list of national parks in needof special biodiversity protection.

By 2015, Vietnam will have 16 marine protected areas,including Tran Island, Co To (Quang Ninh province); Bach Long Vi and Cat Ba(Hai Phong city); Hai Van-Son Tra (Thua Thien Hue province -Da Nang city); ConDao (Ba Ria-Vung Tau province) and Phu Quoc (Kien Giang province).

Sea and coastal areas offer the country abundant aquaticresources, with annual production output of about 1.8-2 million tonnes.Rainfall in the coastal zone ranges between 1,000-3,000mm a year, creatingabundant water resources. In addition, there are promising oil and gas fields,namely Song Hong, Phu Khanh, Cuu Long and Nam Con Son.

The coastal areas of Vietnam are rich in coal andminerals. This includes 500 mineral mines and quarries, with 64 mineralsdiscovered in the coastal areas, such as fuels, metals, non-metals, preciousstones and mineral water. There are good quality glass sand deposits which havean explored reserve of over 300 million tonnes (the forecast reserve is about700 million tonnes). The elements of Titan, Iimenit, Monaxit, Zircon have alsobeen found along the coast.

Besides, many well-known cultural-historical sites are foundin coastal areas, such as Hoi An ancient town and My Son Sanctuary in thecentral coastal province of Quang Nam, the imperial city of Hue in the centralcoastal province of Thua Thien – Hue and over 100 beaches which attract manydomestic and foreign tourists.

Thanks to being located near the international maritimeroute, Vietnam has favourable conditions for the development of ports andmaritime transport. Currently goods transported via sea routes account for 70percent of the total amount of transported goods, of which import and exportactivities make up 72 percent.

After 30 years of renovation, Vietnam's economy in generaland sea-based economy in particular has flourished. The marine economycontributes between 47 percent and 48 percent to the country’s gross domesticproduct. Sea-related industries including oil and gas contribute 64 percent,seafood, 14 percent, shipping and port services, 11 percent and marine tourism,9 percent.-VNA