Ha Long Bay-Cat Ba Archipelago recognised as world natural heritage

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) announced the new inscription of the Vietnamese site to the list at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on September 16.

Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago is Vietnam’s first inter-provincial UNESCO-listed world heritage site. Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago was added to the World Heritage List due to the beauty of its natural landscapes, including charming vegetation-covered limestone islands, breath taking limestone islets, and impressive karst formations.

Ha Long Bay - Cat Ba Archipelago was introduced on UNESCO website as: "Ha Long Bay, in the Gulf of Tonkin, includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. The extension of the property comprises a multitude of limestone islands and towering limestone pillars rising from the sea, with eroded notches, arches and caves creating a picturesque and beautiful landscape."

Seven key ecosystem types are found here and the area is home to threatened endemic species such as the Cat Ba Langur (Trachypithecus poliocephalus), the Cat Ba Tiger Gecko (Goniurosaurus Catbaensis), and the Asian Small-clawed Otter (Aonyx cinerea).

Cat Ba Archipelago of Cat Hai District, Hai Phong City, including Cat Ba Biosphere Reserve, Cat Ba National Park, contributes an area of 22,250 hectares to the nominated World Heritage with 358 islands, in which Cat Ba Island (also known as Pearl Island) is the most important area of Cat Hai district The archipelago had earlier been recognized by UNESCO as a world biosphere reserve.

- Ha Long Bay is located in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province, which was recognized by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage in 1994 and 2000. The World Heritage covers an area of 43,400 hectares with 775 islands.

It is the habitat of 4,910 species of plants and animals on land and in the sea, of which 198 species are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species and 51 endemic species.

The Cat Ba langurs, or Golden-headed langurs, are found only on Cat Ba Island in the Gulf of Tonkin, off the coast of northern Vietnam. They are one of the world’s most critically-endangered primates.

In September 2013, Cat Ba Archipelago nomination dossier was submitted under the criteria of biodiversity to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.