Colliding Continents

Monday, December 17, 2007

Biosphere Town

According to the Saigon Times, plans are underway to create a 600-hectare ecotourism town in the Can Gio Biosphere reserve 50km southwest on Ho Chi Minh City,

Vietnam

. 200-hectares of which are going to be used to create an artificial, white sand bay.

The Can Gio Tourist City Corporation (CTC) has already started work on the artificial bay taking white sand from other beaches and covering the muddy banks of the reserve. This is phase one of the project, the addition of the white sand will be the final touch once the ground leveling and sea expansion is completed.

Phase two of the project includes the building of luxury housing and tourism services facilities. The total amount of time and cost; 5 years, $526 million. Once completed, the town is will be able to accommodate 33,000 people, 22,000 of which are expected to be tourists.

Can Gio Biosphere Reserve is a wetland bio-system boasting impressive mangroves and many rare species of flora and fauna. It was named a biosphere reserve by UNESCO. This project is intended to create a model for ecotourism and sustainable travel. Along with creating accommodations, access to the biosphere reserve will be facilitated by creating a bride instead of relying on the traditional ferry system, making the reserve more accessible.

With a significant amount of leveling and transporting of white sand (which is foreign to the area), the idea of creating a town in a biosphere reserve seems contradictory to what ‘sustainable tourism’ means. Can Gio is considered Ho Chi Minh’s ‘green lungs’ but with 33,000 people moving in, hopefully these green lungs stay green.