Recently, the Phu Quoc Marine Protected Area in Cay Sao Hamlet (Ham Ninh Commune, Phu Quoc City, Kien Giang Province) has been illegally built by a series of resort tourism projects, encroaching on the coastal and sea surface areas.
In 2023, local authorities forcibly demolished about 14 illegally built bungalows in this area.
After carrying out the enforcement, the authorities forced the bungalow owner to restore the original status of the 524.6 square meter land and water surface area in Cay Sao Hamlet. At the same time, they forced the illegally occupied land area to be returned to the state for management.
However, up to now, the forcibly demolished structures still have many stone pillars and bridges leading from the shore to the sea.
Authorities have difficulty in dismantling the structures as they cannot use machinery or excavators to dismantle them like structures built on land. With concrete pillars and bridges on water, units must deploy manually with human power and need the support of ships and boats.
Currently, in the waters of Phu Quoc Marine Protected Area, there are still 9 bungalows standing tall on the sea side, with no signs of dismantling or restoring the status quo as required by the authorities.
According to the leaders of Kien Giang province, the process of handling violations has encountered many difficulties, and violators have deliberately delayed and prolonged the handling time of the authorities. The authorities are continuing to consolidate the records, ensuring full legal procedures to soon enforce the enforcement of the remaining bungalows in the waters of Phu Quoc Marine Protected Area.
The bungalows are wood-paneled, with thatched roofs and a wooden bridge leading from the shore to the sea with sturdy concrete pillars.
A series of illegally built bungalows in Phu Quoc Marine Protected Area, opposite Da Bac Mountain.
"When these bungalows were still in operation, many tourists came here to relax. After the government requested their demolition, the number of visitors gradually decreased. Now there is only a row of bungalows that have not been restored to the sea, and visitors still come here from time to time," a local resident shared.
Phu Quoc Marine Protected Area is located in the sea area of Phu Quoc island district (Kien Giang province), established in 2007, is one of 11 existing Marine Protected Areas in Vietnam.
Phu Quoc Marine Protected Area is a type of species and habitat conservation with an ecosystem of coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove forests and rare species of flora and fauna with a total area of 26,863 hectares.
Of which, the coral reef conservation area is 9,720ha in Hon Thom island cluster; seagrass conservation area is 6,825ha in the area from Bai Thom commune to Ham Ninh commune; the development area is over 10,000ha.
Phu Quoc Marine Protected Area plays an important role in the restoration, regeneration and development of aquatic resources, marine economic development, contributing to improving the livelihoods of coastal and island people; scientific research, community education, entertainment, ecotourism and environmental issues.
The seagrass area is quite large, about 10,000 hectares, creating favorable conditions for marine species to breed and develop such as seahorses, crabs, etc.
Phu Quoc Marine Protected Area is known for the presence of many marine species listed in the Red Book by international organizations such as Dugong (sea cow), sea turtles and dolphins. Due to conservation and good environmental quality, the number of these species has tended to increase in recent years.
With the increasing density of visitors to Phu Quoc tourist area and the overexploitation of aquatic resources, the local government is currently looking for effective solutions to simultaneously carry out two major tasks: preserving nature in Phu Quoc Reserve and serving tourism development.
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