If Ha Long Bay could talk…

 What is more important: Ha Long Bay becoming one of the seven new natural wonders of the world in the selection held by the New7Wonders or it being preserved well and protected from being damaged by man? How might the bay answer?

 

UNESCO’s recognition not enough?

 

Objectively, any positive selection related to Ha Long Bay is a chance for Vietnam to engage in cultural diplomacy. The selection is a way for Ha Long Bay in particular and Vietnam in general to capture the world’s notice even if it doesn’t end up as one of the top seven natural wonders of the world. However, there are concerns.

 

The New7Wonders selection doesn’t have any criterion apart from number of votes. This means that countries with larger populations have a natural advantage. Moreover, the New7Wonders website doesn’t make public the numbers of votes for nominated landscapes.

 

The New7Wonders project started ten years ago. It was launched by a Swiss-Canadian, Bernard Weber, a filmmaker, a pilot and an adventurer, who is not very well known in the world.

 

The titles being offered by the New7Wonders – the New World Wonder (2007) and the New World Natural Wonder (2001) – cannot or should not be compared to the World Heritage title created by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). The assessment and recognition of world heritage sites by UNESCO is conducted very carefully, systematically by prestigious experts, based on clear-cut and scientific criteria.

 

According to UNESCO’s website, 878 places in the world are recognised as world heritages, including 679 cultural heritages, 174 natural heritages and 25 combined heritage sites.

 

Ha Long Bay has been recognised as a World Heritage twice, in 1994 and 2000, by UNESCO. Without the New7Wonders’ selection, Ha Long Bay is already a world heritage and famous globally.

 

Preserving heritage more important than titles

 

Not much time has been wasted in trying to get Ha Long Bay another title. If the bay surpasses 261 nominees to become one of the seven new world natural wonders of New7Wonders, it gets a title bestowed by an obscure, private organisation.

 

Many people are asking why Ha Long Bay needs a title granted by such an organisation. Ngo Van Hung, head of the Ha Long Bay Management Board, said: “The two selections are different. UNESCO annually recognises new world heritage sites so the number of world heritage sites is increasing. The New7Wonders only chooses seven world natural wonders.”

 

The vote for the seven new world natural wonders by the New7Wonders is entering the second phase. The final 77 of 261 candidates will be announced on July 7, 2009. Therefore, many campaigns calling for votes for Ha Long Bay have been launched recently. However, it seems that calling for people to vote for the bay is more important than calling for them to preserve the site.

 

Many famous heritage sites in the world have been put on the list of Endangered World Heritages by UNESCO; these sites are at risk of being ousted from the World Heritage list. In 2007, the Arabian Oryx temple in Oman was no longer recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage after 13 years of recognition.

 

Long-term preservation of heritage sites is key. Ha Long Bay may be rejected from UNESCO’s World Heritage list if it is not preserved properly. The most important thing is that Ha Long Bay is the only one of its kind in the world. 

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