Quang Ngai (VNS/VNA) - The centralprovince of Quang Ngai has allocated funds of 42 billion VND (1.83 million USD) to supportecosystem recovery and biodiversity supervision as well as strengthening theprotection of the Ly Son Marine Protected Area (MPA) for the 2018-22 period.

The province said the funds will be used torebuild coral reefs and sea weed and aquatic species, raise awareness amongcommunity members of the need for marine protection and supporting fishermenliving in the core zone of strict protected area in the MPA in changing theirlivelihoods.

The fund will also aim to conserveover-exploited unique seafood products including abalone, holothurian, giantclam and pearl that are threatened with extinction.                  

The Ly Son MPA, in the waters off Ly SonIsland, 30km off the coast of Quang Ngai province, is the remains of eruptionsfrom a dormant volcano. The terrain of the island was structured from volcanoesmillions of years ago, leaving landscapes with rocks, caves, cliffs, rockarches and a lake.

However, the rapid development of resorts,hotels and entertainment projects in the Island threaten to seriously damagethe ancient geography and ecology of the area.

The islands and a vast coastal area indistricts of Binh Son, Tra Bong, Ba To, Sa Huynh, Nghia Hanh and Quang Ngaicity on a total of 2,000sq.km are being considered for designation as a GlobalGeo-Park by UNESCO.

According to head of the Ly Son MPAmanagement board Phung Dinh Toan, the Ly Son MPA was one of 16 nationwide MPAsapproved by the Prime Minister in a Master Plan to 2020.

He said the MPA, which covers more than7,900ha including 7,113ha of sea water, was home to 700 marine fauna species(coral reefs, fish, seaweed and crustaceans), of which 25 were endangered or indanger of extinction.

Toan said more than 400ha of land on theisland had been seriously eroded by rising sea levels in the past 40 years.

The Island, where 18 hotel projects and 56home-stay services were developed in the past few decades, hosts around 200,000tourists each year.

Ly Son Island, known as the kingdom of garlicin Vietnam, has around 21,000 inhabitants, of whom 73 percent make their livingfrom farming garlic and spring onions, alongside fishing.-VNS/VNA