The developers of an ecotourism project in northern Ninh Binh Province have been accused of damaging 32 million-year-old limestone caves.
The Trang An Ecotourism Complex, which partially opened to tourists last year, is planned to become a major tourist drawcard in Vietnam’s north.
The 2,168 hectare complex, being developed by Xuan Truong Co., includes a series of limestone caves and grottos, Vietnam’s largest pagoda and the site of Hoa Lu, the capital of the nation of Dai Co Viet from 968 to 1010.
The area is known as an “outdoor geological museum.”
Tourist facilities, including an information center, are also being built and the developer plans to offer a range of tours, including ecotours, kayaking tours and cultural tours.
But 11 of the caves in the grotto system appear to have been altered to allow tourist boats to pass through.
The grotto area covers about 1,566 hectare with some 100 grottoes, 48 of which are connected by a waterway through the limestone mountain range.
“Trang An is a `Ha Long Bay on the mainland’ because of its geographical resemblances to Ha Long and the similar landscapes,” said Dr. Tran Nghi, former director of the Hanoi University of Natural Sciences, who has researched the area extensively.
Nghi said the caves could have been in existence for 32 million years.
Local authorities are planning to seek World Heritage listing for the Trang An complex, where construction work has been underway for eight years.
But the chance of Trang An receiving World’s Heritage status gets slimmer if the natural scenery is destroyed.
Xuan Truong Co. has denied widening the caves.
“We didn’t make any adjustments to the 11 caves, the only work we have done since 2000 was to clean out the mud in the river,” company director Nguyen Van Truong said.
Truong said any damage to the natural features of the caves was done in the past when feudal kings used the caves as naval training facilities.
A deputy director of the province’s Department of Culture, Spots and Tourism, who did not wish to be named, said some alterations had been made to the caves to ease the traffic flow at the complex.
After inspecting the 11 caves already open to tourists, Nghi demanded local authorities step in and prevent any further damage.
“Tourism investment activities on the site shouldn’t be conducted on large scale or it will distort the natural features of the area,” he said. “Only after receiving UNESCO recognition can we determine which sites can be changed and which sites must be preserved in their original state.”
Historian Le Van Lan also voiced concerns about the site. He said the grotto system was a natural barrier that protected the southern side of the ancient capital of Hoa Lu.
Lan said construction work, such as widening caves, tunneling through mountains and flooding some areas, was posing a grave threat to the historically significant site.
“They need to protect the unexcavated areas as soon as possible to preserve the area for historical research,” Lan said.
Scientists are worried about what may happen to the other river and lake caves at Trang An and have called on local authorities to act fast to stop any further destruction. (tuoitre)
