Ha Long Bay has not yet been added to the list of endangered heritage sites.

This was the statement made by Mr. Vu Kien Cuong, Head of the Ha Long Bay Management Board, at the regular press conference organized by the Propaganda Department of the Quang Ninh Provincial Party Committee on the afternoon of December 24th.

According to Mr. Cuong, in recent days, some domestic news outlets have shared and quoted a Reuters article reporting that "UNESCO will deploy a team of experts to assess potential risks to the conservation of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, due to concerns about development projects that could threaten the conservation of the Ha Long Bay World Natural Heritage site." At the same time, information circulating on social media suggests that "UNESCO is considering removing Ha Long Bay from the World Heritage list."

Ha Long Bay, a World Natural Heritage site, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1994 based on the aesthetic landscape criteria. Photo: Do ​​Giang.

The Head of the Ha Long Bay Management Board affirmed that this information is completely unfounded. “The removal of a heritage site from the World Heritage list (if any) must be done according to the correct procedures. According to the Guidelines for the Implementation of the World Heritage Convention, a heritage site must have previously been included in the World Heritage List by the World Heritage Committee.”

Regarding the work program of the Monitoring Delegation from the World Heritage Centre and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Head of the Ha Long Bay Management Board stated: According to information exchanged with the World Heritage Centre, the visit will take place around the beginning of March 2025. The Terms of Reference for the visit are currently being drafted by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre and will be sent to Quang Ninh province and Hai Phong city to coordinate the preparation of content and documents for working with the Delegation. The Ha Long Bay Management Board is working closely with the Secretariat of the Vietnam National UNESCO Committee to update information and advise the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province to coordinate with the People's Committee of Hai Phong city in preparing to welcome and work with the Delegation.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/vinh-ha-long-chua-vao-danh-list-of-dangerous-heritage-10297106.html