Bhaya backs cleanup of VN’s Halong Bay
Cruise operator Bhaya Group says it is asserting its position as the primary tourism-sector player in northeastern Vietnam’s Halong Bay by launching a series of initiatives to protect the Unesco World Heritage-listed bay’s iconic limestone-pillar-studded
During Halong Bay’s first International Union for Conservation of Nature “Big Cleanup” event recently, the Bhaya Cruises team, in cooperation with IUCN, collected an estimated 745 kilograms of garbage from around the bay, with polystyrene making up the bulk of the rubbish. This is the first in a series of events Bhaya Cruises will hold in partnership with IUCN.
Bhaya Group shared the results of the cleanup event with representatives from the local government and other stakeholders at a leadership meeting of the Ha Long-Cat Ba Alliance, which resulted in a ban on the use of polystyrene in the bay being imposed by the People’s Committee.
Bhaya Group will co-organise and sponsor a second Big Cleanup Event, scheduled for October 24. The confirmed attendance of Ted Osius, the US ambassador to Vietnam, will raise the profile of the cleanup effort, which is expected to attract wider stakeholder participation.
“More than 3,000kg of waste material have been collected by the staff aboard Bhaya Group’s fleet of boats since February this year,” said Bhaya Group managing director Ly Thuy Huynh Nhu.
“As a leader in the local business community and an organiser of the Big Cleanup Event, I am proud of our contribution to the polystyrene ban. It’s a big victory, but part of an even bigger battle to keep Halong Bay clean and pristine.
