VII.41 Ha Long Bay (Vietnam)
The Bureau at its twentieth extraordinary session recalled that the Committee, at its nineteenth session, noted the potential threats to the integrity of this site, due to the proposed development of a new port, and the proposal to issue a license for the establishment of a large floating hotel at the site. Furthermore, the Committee at its nineteenth session learnt that Japanese aid agencies were considering supporting the project up to an amount of US$ 100 million and noted that Japan was still studying the pro] ect. The Committee recalled Article 6.3 of the Convention which commits States Parties to the Convention "not to undertake any deliberate measures which might damage directly or indirectly the cultural and natural heritage ... situated on the territory of other States Parties to the Convention."
The Bureau took note that the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is planning to draft an environmental management programme for Ha Long Bay. In addition, the Delegation of Japan informed the Bureau that JICA has completed its "project formulation study", which was conducted in order to clarify the contents and background of the request by the Vietnamese Government to gather some other relevant information.
The Bureau requested the Centre to contact both the Japanese and the Vietnamese authorities to obtain further information on environmental impacts on the site.