Environment
Ministry ignores environmental opposition to controversial tourist plan
  • | nld, dtinews.vn | May 25, 2017 11:07 AM
 >>  Meeting fails to reach agreement on Son Tra master plan
The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism still seem to want to pursue the Son Tra master plan in the central city of Danang, despite the major warnings that it will badly affect the peninsula's ecosystem.

Nguyen Van Tuan, Director General of Vietnam National Administration of Tourism, said on May 23 that the master plan was agreed back in 2003 in accordance with the Politburo's Resolution 33 about Danang's development. The Vietnam Tourism Development Plan to 2020 approved by the prime minister also stated that Son Tra Peninsula is one of Vietnam's 47 potential locations that can be developed into a national tourism site.

The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism has worked closely with Danang City authorities to draft the master plan back in the early 2000s. They also sent the plan and gained approval from most major agencies including the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development over a decade ago.

Tuan went on to say that the master plan only determines the goals, characteristics and the scale of the development and it is the basis a detailed plan. He also denied that the master plan violated the Law on Investment.

  

The brown-legged langurs on Son Tra Peninsula

According to the ministry, only 21 out of 1,056 hectares are forest land and they promise to follow the laws in using the forest for tourism. "Son Tra has 35.5km-long coastal area," Tuan said. "Wild animals and fish can still safely access the beach," Tuan claimed, failing to cite any sources.

In 2013, Son Tra has 4,439 hectares of natural area, yet Danang authorities gave approval to 18 projects with 5,049 rooms. The ministry said they would cut some projects to reduce the number of rooms to 1,600. Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam said if it was necessary, the scale of the plan would be reduced to protect the environment.

However, Huynh Tan Vinh, chairman of Danang Tourism Association said the public didn't oppose the plan for no reason. "You must understand the land that will be used. If they haven’t done any field surveys how are we supposed to believe they’ve got a credible plan for Son Tra?” he said.

Vinh went on to say that the number of rooms didn't matter, what was more important was the biodiversity that would be affected by mass construction and the needed measures to protect the environment.

In April, more than 10,361 residents in Danang City signed a petition to the government to reconsider the master plan. Danang Tourism Association said no more hotel and resort projects should be licensed on the peninsula as the city already had 600 hotels and some 20,000 guest rooms, which are enough to serve 15 million visitors a year.

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