Dong Van geo-park heads towards sustainable development

A number of concrete measures to attract tourists and develop Dong Van Stone Plateau in a sustainable manner were presented at a workshop in Quan Ba district of northern mountainous Ha Giang province on June 14.
According to Nguyen Manh Thang, Deputy Secretary General of the Vietnam National Commission for UNESCO, the conservation of Dong Van Stone Plateau should be attached to local residents, particularly in Dong Van, Meo Vac, Yen Minh and Quan Ba districts where the plateau encroaches.
The province should improve people’s awareness of their own responsibility in preserving the heritage, he said.
A trademark for the park needs to be developed based on local specialities such as tea, honey and medicinal plants. The province’s traditional cultural festivals like Khau Vai love market, rain praying ceremony and festivals of Tay, Dao, Pa Then and Mong people also need to be promoted, he added.
Sharing the same view, Secretary of the provincial Party Committee Trieu Tai Vinh said that a concrete strategy is necessary for tourism and sustainable development.
He pledged that in the coming time, the province will create all favourable conditions for investment in the locality.
According to the province’s master plan, Ha Giang will build four tourism centres in each of the above-mentioned districts to bring into play their cultural values. However, opinions from domestic and foreign experts are required to organise diverse and qualified tourism programmes.
Dong Van Stone Plateau, a member of the Global Network of National Geo-parks since 2010, is 80 percent limestone and contains the fossils of thousands of species of prehistoric creatures from 400-600 million years ago. It is home to 250,000 people from 17 different ethnic groups.