Phong Nha-Ke Bang once again recognised as world heritage

The Quang Binh provincial People’s Committee held a grand ceremony on August 14 in Dong Hoi city to receive UNESCO’s certificate recognising Phong Nha-Ke Bang national park as a world natural heritage for the second time and to kick off the 2015 Cave Festival.

 

 

The event was attended by Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, along with representatives of ministries and localities and UNESCO chief representative in Vietnam Katherine Muller Marin.

 

Situated in the largest intact limestone zone in Southeast Asia which was formed approximately 400 million years ago, Phong Nha-Ke Bang is the oldest complex karst area in Asia.

 

The national park contains nearly 300 caves with magnificient, unique and magical beauty, including Phong Nha cave which has the longest underground river, Thien Duong (Paradise) cave with beautiful and spectacular stalactites and stalagmites, and Son Doong, regarded as the largest cave in the world.

 

The second recognition of UNESCO is based on the two criteria that the park meets: ‘Representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of terrestrial ecosystems’ and ‘containing natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity’.

 

The park was first honoured by UNESCO in July 2003 for its geological and geomorphologic values.

 

Addressing the ceremony, Deputy PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the authorities of Quang Binh province to further enhance the work of preservation as well as adhere to the recommendations of UNESCO in the process of exploitation and promotion of the heritage’s values, significantly contributing to developing the province’s tourism.

 

He also requested that the local people join hands to protect the world heritage site that is the pride as the ‘motherland of caves’.

 

The Quang Binh Cave Festival will run until August 20 with a wide variety of activities and important events including the Week of exploring the spectacular cave systems in Quang Binh, the launching of the tour to Va and Nuoc Nut caves and the tours exploring 6 kilometres of the Toi (Dark) cave and conquering 4,500 metres of Phong Nha cave.

 

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)