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Marine economy and socioeconomic development in Mekong Delta (29/6)
29/06/2012 - 11 Lượt xem
Most of the coastal localities in the Mekong Delta have strategies to exploit and develop a marine economy. The exploitation has taken place through various forms, such as tiger prawn hatching, developing industry and maritime transport and exploiting natural resources and sea-island travel.
The Mekong Delta is exploiting 582,000 hectares of tiger prawns and 12,000 hectares of white shrimp. In 2011, shrimp export recorded the highest seafood export output throughout the country with 190,000 tonnes and reached US$1.8 billion of turnovers. Shrimp hatching has attracted and created jobs, improved incomes for more than 300,000 households in seven coastal provinces. The sustainable exploitation of rice and shrimp in coastal areas has also grown in many localities. For example, Soc Trang is the leading province in the Mekong Delta of coastal shrimp hatching. In Tien Giang, Ben Tre, Tra Vinh, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau Provinces, many clams and oysters appeared with high density and large reserves has been exploited for export. Fish hatching in coastal cages has been effectively exploited. Kien Giang Province has more than 3,000 cages and is planning further five hatching areas in islands.
The offshore fishing has strongly developed in this area. Kien Giang has a lot of offshore fishing vessels with a capacity of 100 to 1,100CV and equipped with modern marine machines. Bac Lieu has more than 1,200 fishing vessels and nearly 7,000 fishers. According to statistics, the Mekong Delta currently has more than 10,500 offshore fishing vessels out of 25,000 fishing vessels. Fishery infrastructure has developed gradually with over 20 fishing ports and hundreds of boat building and repairing facilities.
The Mekong Delta has relative advantages of oil and gas and related fields than other areas. When PM3-Ca Mau gas pipeline, Ca Mau Power Plant I and II are put in operation synchronously, they will create a value of industrial output of VND34 trillion per year and solve nearly 1,200 jobs. Therefore, Tra Vinh, Soc Trang, Kien Giang and Ca Mau are actively promoting the construction of coastal power plants, creating motivation for socio-economic development in the future. In maritime transport, the Mekong Delta has great potential due to favorable sea area for maritime shipping. Every year, there have about 70 percent of oil from the Middle East and Southeast Asia, 45 percent of Japanese exports and 60 percent of Chinese imports across the sea.
Marine economy helped the Mekong Delta to develop many socio-economic aspects. The marine economic sector provided 52 percent of fishery production and 67 percent of aquaculture production, accounting for 65 percent of fishery export turnover in Vietnam. Moreover, the maritime economic sector and related sectors contributed 47-48 percent of GDP, of which oil and gas, seafood, maritime transport and port services contributed 22 percent of GDP.
In Vietnamese Sea and Islands Week held in June in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, economic experts said that marine economic exploitation in the Mekong Delta region are based on natural resources on land, aquaculture and offshore fishing and maritime transport. Therefore, marine economy has many limitations. The exploitation from islands and natural resources at sea floor has not matched with potential.
In the transport exploitation, the region has utilized a small portion of cargo transport through ports. Most ports operate under a designed capacity due to the sedimentation of streams and have no place for large vessels. Logistics at ports have not yet synchronously invested in. The exploitation of coastal fishery economy has not put into the planning.
According to Ba Ria-Vung Tau People's Committee deputy chairman Tran Ngoc Thoi, marine economic sectors have not yet to go into development. The exploitation is still small and unsustainable. Vietnam Intergovernmental Committee for Oceanographic Program PhD Nguyen Tac An also said that the saltwater resources, oil and gas, renewable energy, biological resources, eco-system and the island economic sector of Vietnam have very large economic value but very low extraction efficiency. The shortage of connection among localities in the marine economic development leads to the inefficient investment.
To efficiently exploit marine economy in the Mekong Delta, the Ministry of Planning and Investment announced the project focusing on the criteria review and selection for marine economic zones to invest and develop and selected five marine economic zones, including Phu Quoc Island, Dinh An-Tra Vinh and Nam Can-Ca Mau Economic Zones. The project aims to implement marine economic development goals by 2020, contributing 53-55 percent of GDP and 55-60 percent of the total national export turnover. According to many experts, to develop marine economy, it should have an overall development strategy drive towards green and sustainable development for marine economic zones and should include marine economic development strategies in local economic development. In addition to bringing economic benefits and social security for the majority of farmers and fishermen, Vietnam needs to affirm the sovereignty and jurisdiction on sea areas and islands under the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea in 1982./.
Source: EVN
Source: EVN
