It was as an activity of JICA’s Technical Cooperation Project for “Green Growth Promotion in Ha Long Bay area, Quang Ninh province.”
The project has been implemented for 3 years from November 2016 by JICA and Quang Ninh's Department of Planning and Investment aiming at supporting the province to transit from brown to green economy through promotion of ecotourism and implementation of environmentally-sustainable policies in some key sectors such as industry, agriculture.
It was designed based on lessons learnt and experiences of “Lake Biwa Model” from Shiga Prefecture in Japan. Lake Biwa is the largest freshwater lake in Japan and in the early 1970s to address environmental challenges including deterioration of water quality, a comprehensive program was established to both preserve the water environment and develop the regional economy through the collaboration of industry, government, academia and citizens.
At the final seminar, Quang Ninh's Department of Planning and Investment presented its achievements of projects and shared their experiences and lessons learnt from implementing various pilot activities to promote green growth in Quang Ninh.
With support from Japanese experts and Shiga prefecture, the department has successfully improved the financial mechanism of the provincial environment protection fund, introduced incentives for energy efficiency, promoted community-based ecotourism programs on Quan Lan Island, developed Blue Sail Certificate criteria to encourage investment in clean technologies by tourist boat owners. Besides, the Project also piloted application of environment-friendly technologies such as bio-toilet and rapid composting to reduce pollution load to the Ha Long Bay area.
Mr. Tetsuji Goto, senior advisor of JICA Headquarters, stressed that Quang Ninh province should sustain the outcomes of the project and reflect the experiences and lessons learnt from the implementation of the project activities in their future green growth policies.
Considering recent development of quite a number of highways leading to the improvement of the connectivity of Quang Ninh to Hanoi and Hai Phong and a significant increase in the number of tourists to the province, it is very important that the Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee will continue their strong leadership to ensure that Quang Ninh can seek an economic development in harmony with the need of conserving natural resources of the World Heritage Ha Long Bay, said Mr. Goto.
In his closing remark, Mr. Dang Huy Hau, standing Vice Chairman of the Quang Ninh provincial People’s Committee and head of the Steering Committee of the project, expressed gratitude of Quang Ninh to JICA and Shiga prefecture for support during the project.
He also affirmed that the provincial government strongly commits to reshape the provincial growth pathway into a green one even after the completion of the project and hope that Quang Ninh will become a model of green growth promotion for other provinces.
Reported by Song Anh