Foreign tourists in Hoi An are given  with bags friendly with environment.

Nhan Dan- Environmental protection is now an issue of great concern of Hoi An administration in Quang Nam province. On September 9, they organised the first ever Day without Nylon Bags – Nature Day as an effort for sustainable development of tourism in city of world cultural heritage.

Hoi An has set up four main projects on environmental protection, of which they attach great importance to reducing the use of nylon bags. A boat has been used to collect all nylon bags and wastes from Cu Lao Cham islands for inland treatment. This becomes more meaningful when recently UNESCO has recognised Cu Lao Cham as the world biosphere reserve.

Local people in Cu Lao Cham islands district have been provided with plastic basket for their market everyday.  A lady named Nguyen Thi Bay said “I find it’s right to get rid of nylon bags. The waste of nylon bags can affect the reduction of tourists to the area. And this is also the way we protect our living area.”

Cu Lao Cham islands include eight small islands on an area of 15 sq m, around 19 km away from Hoi An ancient town. With tens of virgin beaches, this area is considered a ‘paradise’, attracting a lot of tourists. But before this environmental protection campaign, nylons bags were seen everywhere on the islands.

Local people are provided with plastic basket instead of using nylon bags for their market everyday.

Since May this year, the campaign ‘Say no to nylon bag’ has been launched and many people responded to this and committed not to providing nylon bags to customers. Tourists to the islands are provided with self-decomposed bags. Asako, a Japanese volunteer and an ‘messenger’ on environment in Hoi An for the past year said “I am very surprised with the rapid change for the better in Cu Lao Cham. Its sea environment is clearly improved.”

According to Hoi An People’s Committee Vice Chairman Truong Van Bay, Cu Lao Cham got the UNESCO’s recognition as the world biosphere reserve because not only the area has a variety of living beings and historical and cultural relic sites, but also the people’s high awareness on environmental protection.

The improvement in environment in Cu Lao Cham helps develop ecological and cultural tourism while highlighting the message to international tourists on a green, clean and beautiful islands. According to travel agents in Hoi An, the number of visitors to Hoi An ancient town and Cu Lao Cham increased three time higher with around 2,000 tourists per day since UNESCO’s recognition.

Hoi An is also the second town in Vietnam to carry out the 3R project which is reduction, recycle and reuse by classifying wastes after an experimental project in four wards in Hanoi. After Cu Lao Cham island district, Minh An, a main ward of Hoi An will go on with 3R campaign. ‘Say no to nylon bags’ and ‘3R’ is the way out for environmental projection and also make a forward step for sustainable development for tourism.