Ha Long Bay is not yet on the list of endangered heritage.

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

According to Mr. Cuong, in recent days, some domestic newspapers have shared, quoting a Reuters article reporting that "UNESCO will deploy a group of experts to assess possible risks to the conservation of Ha Long Bay in Vietnam, due to concerns about development projects that could threaten the conservation of the World Natural Heritage of Ha Long Bay". At the same time, social networks have been buzzing with information that "UNESCO is considering removing Ha Long Bay from the list of World Heritage".

Ha Long Bay World Natural Heritage was listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site according to the criteria of aesthetic landscape in 1994. Photo: Do Giang.

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

Regarding the working program of the Response Monitoring Delegation of the World Heritage Center and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Head of the Ha Long Bay Management Board said: According to the information exchanged by the World Heritage Center, the working trip will be carried out around the beginning of March 2025. The Terms of Reference for the working trip are being drafted by the UNESCO World Heritage Center and will be sent to Quang Ninh province and Hai Phong city to coordinate in preparing the content and documents to work with the Working Delegation. The Ha Long Bay Management Board is closely coordinating with the Secretariat of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO to update information and advise the People's Committee of Quang Ninh province to coordinate with the People's Committee of Hai Phong city to prepare to welcome and work with the Working Delegation.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/vinh-ha-long-chua-vao-danh-sach-di-san-lam-nguy-10297106.html