Sustainable development of marine and island economy associated with protection of marine environment and ecosystem

Passed by the 13th National Assembly in 2015 and officially effective from July 1, 2016, the Law on Natural Resources, Environment and Islands has been effectively implemented by Party committees, authorities, functional agencies and people in many aspects, contributing to improving the management, exploitation, sustainable use of resources, and protection of the marine and island environment in the province.

Hon Me Island has an ideal location and terrain to become an important port in the economic development and national defense strategy.

Immediately after the Law was promulgated, the Provincial People's Committee issued Official Dispatch No. 12125/UBND-NN assigning the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to preside over and coordinate with agencies of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment to organize training conferences and disseminate the Law. At the same time, promote the dissemination and education of laws on marine and island environmental resources management to all levels, sectors and people.

From 2016 to the end of 2023, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has organized 16 training courses to improve professional skills in State management of Natural Resources and Environment for officials working in Natural Resources and Environment at district and commune levels in the province with a total of 7,230 participants, thereby integrating propaganda and dissemination of laws, detailed regulations, and instructions on law enforcement for civil servants working in State management of seas and islands in the province. In particular, responding to the "Vietnam Sea and Islands Week" and "World Oceans Day on June 8" every year, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment organizes the printing of propaganda banners with the theme of management, exploitation, and protection of marine and island resources; sovereignty over seas and islands to distribute to 6 coastal districts, towns, and cities in the province. At the same time, organize a series of events during the Month of Action for Environmental Protection; environmental sanitation campaigns, sea cleaning campaigns, mangrove planting campaigns, etc. contribute to raising awareness and responsibility of people, cadres, and party members for the sustainable development of marine and island economies associated with environmental protection and marine ecosystems.

In addition to propaganda work, in recent years, the Provincial People's Committee has implemented many projects and tasks to effectively implement the strategy of exploiting and sustainably using resources, protecting the marine, island and coastal environment. For example: The program of comprehensive monitoring of the marine environment and control of marine environmental pollution in Thanh Hoa province; The project "Building a model of saline intrusion in the downstream areas of Ma River and Yen River in Thanh Hoa province"; establishing a coastal protection corridor in Thanh Hoa province; building a database of marine and island environmental resources; establishing and managing records of island resources... In particular, implementing the program of comprehensive monitoring of the marine environment, each year hundreds of samples of bottom sediments, coastal seawater and marine organisms... in areas such as seaports, fishing ports, boat anchorages, and coastal tourist areas in the province are taken by the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in coordination with functional units for analysis and evaluation. From the monitoring results, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has notified departments, branches, sectors, and People's Committees of coastal districts, towns, and cities to grasp the current status and trends of marine environmental quality, promptly detect and warn of environmental pollution incidents as well as provide timely solutions.

Regarding the establishment and management of island resource records, the locality has Hon Me island cluster and Hon Ne island with an important position and role in both political security and economic development. Therefore, since 2019, the Provincial People's Committee has assigned the Department of Natural Resources and Environment to coordinate with functional units to establish and manage island resource records according to regulations. Up to now, 24 island resource records (Hon Me island cluster with 23 large and small islands; Hon Ne island) have been approved. According to Mr. Trinh Ngoc Dung, Head of the Department of Sea, Islands, Hydrometeorology and Climate Change, Department of Natural Resources and Environment, the establishment of island resource records aims to closely assess the current status of the province's island resources, thereby proposing solutions and strategies to exploit these resources, contributing to improving the management and effective exploitation of the province's marine potential.

Along with the above tasks, international cooperation on marine and island resources and environment is also of special interest to the province and relevant agencies. Evidence shows that, in order to proactively respond to climate change and rising sea levels in coastal areas of the province, from 2012 to present, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment has proactively connected with the World Vision Organization in Vietnam (through the Project on strengthening capacity for disaster prevention and mitigation for coastal areas of Thanh Hoa province - CATREN Project) to organize 10 training courses to raise awareness and capacity on climate change response, disaster risk prevention and mitigation in coastal areas for civil servants of provincial departments, branches, provincial political organizations, district People's Committees, commune-level officials and representatives of coastal communities of the province; at the same time, organizing 2 activities to investigate and assess the impact of climate change on Hoang Hoa district and Quang Xuong district...

With the synchronous and active participation of the Party Committee, the government, and functional agencies, along with the spirit, responsibility, and consensus of the people, after nearly 10 years of implementing the Law on Natural Resources, Environment, and Islands, the management, exploitation, use of natural resources, and protection of the marine and island environment in the province have achieved many positive results. In particular, the awareness and responsibility of each cadre, party member, and citizen for the sustainable development of the marine and island economy associated with the protection of the marine environment and ecosystems have been significantly enhanced. This is also the goal and requirement when implementing the Law on Natural Resources, Environment, and Islands.

Article and photos: Phong Sac

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/phat-trien-ben-vung-kinh-te-bien-dao-nbsp-gan-voi-bao-ve-moi-truong-he-sinh-thai-bien-223002.htm