Vietnam battles plastic blight in idyllic Halong Bay and its famed limestone karsts

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Note how tourism creates an adverse impact on the envmt, as well as how it incentivizes the authorities to do something about it to keep tourists coming.....

Since the beginning of March, 10,000 cubic m of rubbish – enough to fill four Olympic swimming pools – have been collected from the water,

But the site’s popularity, and the subsequent rapid growth of Halong City – which is now home to a cable car, amusement park, luxury hotels and thousands of new homes – have severely damaged its ecosystem.  Conservationists estimate there were originally around 234 types of coral in the bay. Now, the number is around half.

received a lot of complaints from visitors. “They read in the media that Halong Bay is beautiful, but when they saw a lot of floating trash, they didn’t want to swim or go canoeing, and they hesitated to tell their friends and family to visit

Rapid economic growth, urbanisation and changing lifestyles in communist Vietnam have led to a “plastic pollution crisis”

Qns: 

1. Should poorer countries develop their tourist industry when the basic needs of their own people are not being met? (Cam. 2007)

2.  Given its environmental impact, is global tourism still desirable today? (RI J2 Mid-yr 2023)

3. Should plastic be banned? (RI J2 Mid-yr 2023)