Quang Binh (VNA) – Two years sincethe marine pollution incident in the central region in April 2016, the lives ofcoastal residents in Quang Binh province have returned to normal.

Mass fish deaths were first reported on April 6,2016 when a large number of fish were washed ashore in Ha Tinh province. Thephenomenon also occurred in nearby Quang Binh, Quang Tri and Thua Thien-Hueprovinces. 

About 70 tonnes of dead fish were found in thefour provinces. The pollution affected more than 260,000 people who earnedtheir living from the sea.

In late June 2016, Taiwan-invested Hung NghiepFormosa Ha Tinh Steel Co. Ltd admitted responsibility for the environmentalincident and pledged to compensate 500 million USD (11.5 trillion VND) foraffected people.

So far, Quang Binh has disbursed nearly 2.8trillion VND or 99.7 percent of its compensatory payment to affected people. 

It has stepped up social welfare policies and helpedlocals resume their work by helping more than 100,000 people buy healthinsurance, reducing tuition fees for children of affected families, assistinglocal residents to seek jobs and cutting down interest rates or reschedulingloan terms for those affected by the pollution.

With the support of local authorities, fishermenhave built and upgraded vessels to continue fishing activities whileaquaculture has also been expanded.

In 2017, Quang Binh posted nearly 60,000 tonnesof aquatic catch and nearly 11,700 tonnes of aquaculture output, up 18.5percent and 0.7 percent from the previous year. The figures continued toincrease in the first months of 2018 compared to the same period of 2017.

Meanwhile, tourism has bounced back after themarine pollution triggered a recession in this spearhead industry of QuangBinh. The province welcomed more than 3.3 million arrivals last year, surgingby more than 70 percent from 2016.

Since the beginning of 2018, visitor numbers toQuang Binh, home to a 116km-long coastline and the Phong Nha-Ke Bang NationalPark, have risen by 15 – 20 percent from a year earlier.

Le Van Bao, Chairman of the People’s Committeeof Le Thuy district, said Le Thuy was one of seven district-level localities ofQuang Binh impacted by the pollution. Tens of thousands of local householdsfaced hardships because of the incident.

He noted thanks to the assistance of centralagencies and local authorities, they have overcome difficulties and stabilisedtheir lives. Fishermen have boosted fishing activities in offshore waters. Somehave also gained successes when switching their jobs to farming quails on sand,blotched snakehead and poultry and cultivating vegetables.

Quang Binh is accelerating the compensationpayment, settlement of complaints and denunciations relating to the compensation,as well as social welfare and support policies. It is also building andupgrading fisheries infrastructure while working to recover the marineenvironment and fisheries resources, said Vice Chairman of the provincialPeople’s Committee Le Minh Ngan.

All of these activities are meant to helpresidents stabilise their lives and develop the local economy, he added.-VNA