A conference on this topic was held in the central coastal city of Nha Trang on November 30 with the participation of 25 delegates from 15 nature reserves. It was organized by the Department of Capture Fisheries and Resources Protection and a Danish-funded project that focuses on creating sustainable livelihood inside and around marine reserves.

The participants discussed and shared their experiences in establishing and managing Vietnam’s four current sea reserves.

Pham Trong Yen, from the Department of Capture Fisheries and Resources Protection, put forward the master plan for Vietnam’s sea reserves over the 2010-2020 period. Accordingly, by 2015, 30 percent of each reserve will be strictly safeguarded. From 2016-2020, the department will work out new additional legislation and improve the capacity of its staff that specialize in sea reserves as well as providing local people with basic knowledge of the work. The department will also set up five more sea reserves in the future.

A delegate from the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh, Ngo Van Dinh, said that it’s necessary to launch public awareness campaigns to get people to become more involved in protecting marine resources.