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The floating village of Cua Van, in the heart of Vietnam’s famed Ha Long Bay, was almost wiped off the map in 2000 when a decision to resettle residents on land was nearly implemented.
For centuries, the fishing community had eked out a subsistence lifestyle on rafts and boats in the Bay and there was a real danger that their unique culture would be lost after resettlement.
Ironically, the threat to their culture was a direct result of the 1994 decision to inscribe Ha Long Bay on the World Heritage List for its aesthetic and landscape values (the Bay was also inscribed in 2000 for its geological and scientific values). It was believed the Cua Van community posed a threat to the biodiversity of the Bay.
The issue appeared intractable until one of the world’s foremost experts on heritage preservation, ANU Professor Amareswar Galla, became involved, negotiating a new future both for the Bay and the people of Cua Van through the establishment of the world’s first floating museum, the Ha Long Ecomuseum.
Staff and students from the ANU Sustainable Heritage Development Program, led by Professor Galla, have been involved in critical interventions and a working partnership with the Vietnamese National Department of Cultural Heritage. This partnership aims to address the contradictions in the conservation measures that almost destroyed the living intangible heritage of the World Heritage Area.
Students from the program have worked with Professor Galla to establish the museum, which will help preserve the culture of Cua Van residents, providing visitors to the area with a unique insight into community life. The Cua Van fishing communities have also been declared the primary custodians of Ha Long Bay World Heritage Area, protection of Pleistocene and Holocene archaeological sites in grottos and caves in the area is well under way and the community’s unique floating school has been preserved.
Professor Galla, who was elected to the prestigious post of Vice President of the International Council of Museums in October, said it was vital to protect the heritage of the bay.
“The floating school is very important, as the children of the community who have never been on land are able to go to school without having to become land based,” he said.
“Ha Long Bay is sometimes referred to as a microcosm of Vietnam. This is certainly so inasmuch as it clearly shows the conflict between conserving a rich, but fragile, heritage whilst simultaneously promoting the industrial, economic and tourism development that is essential to alleviate the severe poverty of large sections of the community.
“Traditionally, this has been treated as an ‘either/or’ issue and therefore frequently resulted in an impasse. The greatest challenge has been to bring the Ha Long Bay World Heritage Area management and stakeholder groups into a framework where all can participate.
“The Ecomuseum offers a way forward — providing the prospect of alleviating poverty in some communities and preserving a unique heritage.
“ANU is helping to facilitate better outcomes and we are proud to be playing a part in protecting the heritage of one of the most beautiful bays in the world.”
The Ha Long Ecomuseum will open on Monday 25 April 2005.
For more information go to:
http://rspas.anu.edu.au/heritage
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