Since localities in Quang Ninh such as Ha Long City, Cam Pha City, Quang Yen District, and Van Don District organized the relocation and clearance of illegal aquaculture activities, waste from aquaculture rafts has flooded the sea surface over a large area from Van Don to Cam Pha, Ha Long (Quang Ninh Province) to Cat Ba ( Hai Phong City).
Unprecedented environmental pollution incident
It is worth mentioning that in some places, many rafts and foam buoys drift and cling to the foot of rocky mountains, affecting the environmental landscape, obstructing waterway traffic and sea tourism , causing public outrage.
According to the announcement from Quang Ninh province, the cause is due to the management and collection of materials during the dismantling of illegal aquaculture rafts in Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay. This is the consequence of fishermen dismantling illegal aquaculture rafts in the bay without the supervision of local authorities, causing waste to be spread, causing an unprecedented environmental pollution incident in the bay in recent days.
The leader of this board said that as soon as the above situation appeared, from March 24, the Ha Long Bay Management Board mobilized 25 ships, boats, and nearly 100 people to collect trash at all waterways and sightseeing routes in Ha Long Bay. After collection, the amount of waste was brought ashore for processing according to regulations. As of April 24, Ha Long City had collected about 5,000 m3 of foam buoys, equivalent to more than 250,000 buoys.
However, according to the reporter's records, at Bai Chay beach (Ha Long city) on April 24, there was still a lot of trash, including rafts and foam buoys, washed ashore, making locals and tourists apprehensive about the place considered the tourist center of Quang Ninh.
In Van Don district, on April 22 and 23, local authorities mobilized about 500 people with dozens of ships and boats to go to sea to collect foam buoys. It is estimated that about 20,000 foam buoys are collected each day. Similarly, within just 2 weeks of launching, Cam Pha city has collected more than 250,000 foam buoys, more than 1,000 bamboo panels floating on the sea, and brought them to the collection point for processing.
However, until now, on the sea surface everywhere, from Bai Tu Long to Ha Long Bay, foam buoys are still everywhere.
Styrofoam trash is collected in piles in Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay areas.
Two treatment options
Mr. Tran Nhu Long, Director of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of Quang Ninh province, said that the department has proposed to the provincial People's Committee two options for handling the styrofoam buoys collected from Ha Long and Bai Tu Long bays: recycling the recyclable types and burning them at the incinerators of cement factories: Lam Thach (Uong Bi city) or Thang Long (Ha Long city).
According to Mr. Long, these two factories have been licensed to use styrofoam instead of some of the traditional fuels such as coal and oil. Currently, cement factories still buy styrofoam, rags, etc. to burn in the furnace and according to calculations, they will save 5%-10% of the traditional fuel inputs such as coal and oil.
In addition to the above two factories, Cam Pha Cement Factory (Cam Pha City) is also currently testing the burning of styrofoam to apply for a license.
Mr. Tran Nhu Long added that the treatment costs will be decided by localities and factory representatives. The Department of Natural Resources and Environment will only advise and introduce some safe models for treating styrofoam buoys, ensuring environmental hygiene according to regulations.
Mr. Truong Manh Hung, Secretary of Van Don District Party Committee, said the cost to bring a styrofoam buoy to shore is about 12,000 VND, not including processing costs. All of these costs are covered by the district.
Localities do not fulfill their responsibilities
Recently, during a direct field inspection, Mr. Cao Tuong Huy, acting Chairman of the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province, emphasized that the main reason for the amount of waste and foam floating on Ha Long Bay and Bai Tu Long Bay is that localities have only been concerned with completing the dismantling and relocation of illegal aquaculture facilities. When people carried out the dismantling and relocation, localities did not join in from the beginning, did not organize guidance, inspection, urging, and supervision, but let it be done spontaneously, leading to people not having a sense of responsibility for collecting garbage on the spot.
Mr. Cao Tuong Huy also requested that all localities (Ha Long, Cam Pha, Van Don, Quang Yen) must be responsible for collecting garbage in the area. At the same time, it is necessary to strictly control the activities of handling cages, rafts, and replacing foam buoys by people to prevent the discharge of waste from the dismantling of cages and rafts into the Ha Long and Bai Tu Long bays; have a plan to monitor, recover materials and organize collection right from the source when garbage arises. "For Ha Long city alone, before April 28, all foam buoys floating in Ha Long bay must be collected to ensure the environmental landscape, serving the upcoming Ha Long Carnival festival" - Mr. Huy emphasized.
Mr. Huy also requested that localities must resolutely collect all illegal aquaculture cages to bring them to planned farming areas; resolutely enforce and dismantle illegal cages by April 2023. During the collection and enforcement process, there must be local supervision to prevent this situation from recurring...
Department of Cultural Heritage voices concerns
Since April 5, the Department of Cultural Heritage has sent official dispatches to Hai Phong, Quang Ninh and related units regarding the phenomenon of tons of garbage spreading on Ha Long and Lan Ha bays; requesting the Ha Long Bay Management Board and the Cat Ba Archipelago Natural Heritage Management Board to provide information related to the management and aquaculture, and the use of foam buoys in Ha Long and Lan Ha bays.
The Department also requested localities and units to strengthen management measures to protect the natural landscape and ecological environment of the heritage area as well as avoid unfavorable impacts on the submission of dossiers to UNESCO for consideration of recognizing Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba archipelago as a world natural heritage.
The dossier is expected to be reviewed by UNESCO at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in September 2023.
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