Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - A master plan onthe use of Vietnam’s sea is being built by the Ministry of NaturalResources and Environment, a move described by experts as necessary.

The plan will map out sea-based socio-economicactivities until 2035 in line with integrated management of sea and islandresources and environment.

It focuses on marine environment and resources,the value of marine ecosystems and appropriate exploitation of the sea. 

The plan is being built in accordance with theVietnam Law on Sea and the Law on Vietnam’s Sea and Island Natural Resourcesand Environment. 

It will cover all sea areas of Vietnam,including internal waters, the territorial sea, contiguous zone, the exclusiveeconomic zone and the continental shelf of Vietnam, including Hoang Sa(Paracel) and Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagos, as defined in the Vietnam Lawon Sea and in line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of theSea.

The plan sets out three main groups of criteriafor zoning off sea areas. 

The first group targets the conservation ofcoastal ecosystems, including mangrove forests, coral reefs, wetlands,estuaries and bays, along with marine protected areas, bio reserves andnational parks. 

The second focuses on economic development,evaluating advantages in terms of natural conditions, resources and positionfor developing sea-based economies including port services, waterways, tourism,fishing, aquaculture, energy development, and seashore industries. 

The third group looks at national defence andsecurity in strategic locations and the needs to protect sovereignty andsecurity at sea.

Under the plan, Vietnam’s sea comprises sixzones, namely a zone for special use, a coastal zone focused on conservationand an integrated economy, a coastal zone for the integrated economy in tandemwith preservation, an oil and gas exploitation zone, a fishing zone and a zonefor other purposes.

Each zone will be defined and categorised withactivities allowed, disallowed or restricted to reduce contradictions in usingmarine resources, contributing to protecting the environment and creating legalgrounds for departments, branches and sectors of coastal localities to basetheir plans on.

According to Deputy Head of the Vietnam Administrationof Seas and Islands, Pham Ngoc Son, Vietnam can develop sea-based economy, withits more than 3,260km coast, an exclusive economic zone of about one millionsq.km and diversified maritime resources.

Building the master plan is urgent to protect Vietnam’ssea areas and islands on the basis of harmonising economic benefits,environmental protection, ensuring security and national defence, and reducingconflicts between sectors using the seas.

Many plans relating to the management and use ofseas have been built but there is no master plan to regulate all sectors andareas that use maritime resources in tandem with overall Party and Stateplanning.

Son said the intense exploitation of maritimeresources from various sectors was not in line with the ecological function ofsea areas, leading to a clash between economic development and seapreservation. This could reduce maritime resources and biologicaldiversification, and cause environmental pollution, he added.

Natural disasters and climate change alsothreatened the sustainable and effective use of the sea.

Head of the Department of Sea and IslandExploitation Management Nguyen Duc Toan said integrated marine use planning wasa new tool for sea management. The master plan on sea use would be built byanalysing natural conditions, marine environment and ecosystems, and seaexploitation, use and management.

It would be based on a regional and internationalcontext as well as international experience in sea use planning.

To make the plan, Toan suggested some tasks,including reviewing development plans of sea-based economies and socio-economicdevelopment plans of coastal provinces and cities.

Focus should also be put on completingco-ordination mechanisms between ministries and agencies in granting licences,supervising and punishing violations in using and protecting maritimeresources, setting up a national system to manage sea environment incidents andreviewing related policies and regulations.

It would also be essential to build mechanismsand policies to encourage investment in developing infrastructure andexploiting the seas, he said.-VNA