Mapping Marine Functional Zoning for the Northern Tonkin Coastal Zone, Vietnam45251

Mapping Marine Functional Zoning for the Northern Tonkin Coastal Zone, Vietnam Bui Thi Thanh Huong 1* , Nguyen Van Hong 2 , Nguyen An Thinh 3 , Nguyen Hieu 4 1 VNU University of Educati

Mapping Marine Functional Zoning for the Northern Tonkin Coastal Zone, Vietnam

Bui Thi Thanh Huong (1)(*) , Nguyen Van Hong (2) , Nguyen An Thinh (3) , Nguyen Hieu (4)

(1) VNU University of Education, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam

(2) Institute of Geography, Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam

(3) VNU University of Economics and Business, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam

(4) VNU University of Science, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Vietnam

* Correspondence: buithanhhuong.vn@vnu.edu.vn

Abstract: The coastal zone of Northern Tonkin is placed in the Northwest of the Gulf of Tonkin,

located on the international maritime road, with rich natural resources, great advantage for developing many marine economic sectors, many seaports and maritime services Base on geographic approach in coastal space zoning and some law regulations and the legal provisions in Article 33 of the Law on Natural Resources and Environment of the Sea and Islands, Circular No 74/2017 / TT-BTNMT promulgated December 29, 2017, regulating some techniques on integrated coastal management (ICM) for exploiting and sustainable use of natural resources, statistical data, field data, remote sensing data combined with marine functional zoning methods, maps of marine functional zoning for Northern Tonkin Coastal Zone (Vietnam) was built as follows: (1) protected and conservational area, (2) saving usage natural resources area, (3) active usage natural resources area, (4) security and safety area

Keywords: Marine functional zoning (MFZ); Tonkin coastal zone; Integrated Coastal Management

(ICM); Vietnam

1 Introduction

The Northern Tonkin coastal zone (NTCZ), located in the western coastal strip of the Gulf of Tonkin, an important Gulf of Vietnam in the marine socio-economic development strategy, ensuring national security and defense, national marine sovereignty and international integration in the globalization The NTCZ covers 5 provinces and cities: Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh and Ninh Binh, has a length of about 460

km The NTCZ is not only a key economic region and has the most vibrant economy in Vietnam but it is also filled with urban areas, industrial parks and nature reserves of international value According to the sustainable development strategy of the marine economy to 2030 and vision to 2045, developing basic marine survey, including functional zoning, is one of the prioritized tasks of Vietnam

Functional zoning for integrated coastal management is basically Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) It is the most widely used process to conserve marine environment and sustainably use marine natural resources to meet human needs The concept of marine functional zoning (MFZ) originates from the concept of marine spatial planning (Teng and Zhao et al., 2019), a basic task of the government which divides the seas and islands into different functional zones and provide technical facilities for marine development, conservation and management (Teng and Zhao et al., 2019)

MFZ can be considered as a science-based decision-making process to prevent unplanned human activities in the managerial process through basic functions and

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environmental protection requirements for designated marine areas Prior to the establishment of the MFZ system, the high intensity of coastal economic development led

to undesirable outcomes, from reduced coastal resources to increased coastal erosion, from increased coastal reclamation area for urban construction to the disconnection between land and sea development, from sea pollution and catastrophe to degradation of coastal wetland ecosystems (Teng and Zhao et al., 2019)

The result of functional zoning for the NTCZ with 4 basic functional areas is a new research result contributing to the planning and developmental orientation for the coastal areas of the Tonkin Gulf, serving the general management of the NTCZ

2 Literature review

In China, ecological functional zoning was outlined in the 12th five-year plan, marking a change in spatial planning approach from economic orientation to functional orientation This approach assumes that each region should have a distinct function to focus

on promoting its strength according to individual environmental-social requirements With

a function-oriented approach of the region, the Government can monitor regional and local development Therefore, ecological functional zoning is considered as a tool to guide spatial planning to long-term sustainable development The zoning is divided into 2 levels of implementation: national and provincial levels The zoning of ecological functions at national scale is based on 9 quantitative indicators and 1 qualitative indicator At the provincial scale, the provincial government will participate in the establishment and zoning Quantitative indicators include: cultivated land area; water source; environmental load capacity; vulnerability of the ecosystem; the importance of ecosystems; Possible impacts of natural disasters; the level of population concentration; economic development based on GDP; Favorability degree in transportation, with a qualitative indicator as (x) strategic choice Thus, the results of zoning include 4 types of zone: optimal development zones; development priority zone; restricted development zone, including ecological functional areas and agricultural production area; prohibited development zone With this policy, China ensures the goal of both economic development and conservation (Teng et al., 2019)

Jörg and John (1999) developed trans-disciplinary approaches for integrated spatial planning of coastal areas (ISPCA) The ecological footprint is calculated for coastal areas as

a basis for making spatial planning decisions Research results show that economic development makes the coastal system exceed resilience threshold (Jörg and John, 1999) Susan and Stewart (2004) studied ISPCA in Central Queensland, Australia Conflicts between coastal resource users and management-related socio-political issues were considered during the planning implementation Conflicts that occur between stakeholders

in the coastal area are considered in terms of value, trade-offs between conservation and development, access and rights to use of resources; Understanding conflict between stakeholders is essential in the decision-making process to ensure cooperation between social groups (Susan and Stewart, 2004) Counsell et al (2006) argued that spatial planning

is an appropriate solution to integrate policies among different economic sectors in terms of space; 45 interviews were conducted with government officials, stakeholder groups and

scholars to examine the integration degree of spatial planning The results of the study pointed out the main concerns of stakeholders about the integration level of traditional planning with housing policy, economic development and transportation The study also showed that in the process of interdisciplinary integration, several barriers needed to be improved, including traditional planning (Counsell et al., 2006) Davoudi and Strange (2008) conducted research on the role of space and place in strategic planning (Strategic Spatial Planning) in a number of different areas of the United Kingdom Six case studies on spatial strategy were undertaken Although there has been broad support for re-orienting the urban planning and location, there is little general understanding of what constitutes the plan New perspectives, scientific and practical debates on space and place in spatial planning are presented in this study Vigar (2008) suggested that planning should be implemented in the direction that integrates with basic contents including: alignment strategies and policies; developing a policy framework; linking policies and actions; negotiate cooperation among stakeholders to resolve conflicts in coastal management Two types of linkages are considered in policy integration: vertical (national / local planning) and cross-linking (sectoral planning) The interaction between policies and actions at different spatial levels forms the basis for proposing corrective measures and actions Morphet (2009) examined the role of spatial planning in infrastructure planning and development The research conclusions are made with consideration of the potential effectiveness of the spatial planning as an integration and future prospect Macintosh (2013) applied the ISPCA in urban planning adapting to climate change in Victoria, Australia From the results of the case study, the issues of interest drawn include: risks of damage caused by natural disasters and climate change in coastal areas; opportunity costs and planning equity; encouraging approaches that allow for continued use and development of land but on the basis of protecting the interests of government and the community The new model is based on a vision that is shared widely with stakeholders and allows identifying priority issues step by step over time

Integrated spatial planning is a highlight in the work of Portman et al (2012) by using existing results from 8 coastal countries worldwide and quantitative analysis through surveys to propose the five main mechanisms that support the implementation of the ISP methods include environmental impact assessment, planning decentralization, and coastline delineation Then, the ISP is applied to solve conflicts / contradiction in coastal Kenya (Tuda et al., 2014) Successful applied zoning method for integrated coastal management in a PEMSEA’s project (Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia), the coastal region of Xiamen (China) was divided into 9 functional zones These include: Port zone, Tourism zone, Aquaculture zone, Coastal Technology Zone, Maritime Mechanical zone, Mining zone, Nature Reserve zone, Special Functional zone, and resilience zone Coastal economic activities are prioritized based on the characteristics: development restrictions, limited development, development priorities based on socio-economic benefits and environmental impacts that the socio-economic activity bring or affect the coast (Mao and Kong, 2018) Thus, environmental zoning is used as an effective tool for the

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rational use of natural resources in a territorial space The basis for environmental zoning is the synthesis of natural and socio-economic factors in each zone

In Vietnam, the functional zoning for integrated coastal management is still quite new and very difficult for managers in Vietnam First of all, due to the complexity of the sea (sea space), which is reflected in four main aspects: (1) the circulating nature of seawater and the volatility of biological resources types, (2) the interplay of ecological, environmental and marine resources in three dimensions, (3) the nature of sharing, multi-sectoral and often competitive use of marine resource systems always creates demand (sometimes create conflict) for space which is necessary for human activities, and (4) the interaction between the continent and sea in coastal areas, and between the above sensitive marine resource systems and human intervention Such issues greatly influence long-term marine zoning plans, current coastal land use planning, as well as the Current policies and institutions governing coastal and marine areas

According to Decision No 54/2007/QD-UBND of Da Nang City, management zoning and conservation of coral reefs and marine-related ecosystems from Chao island to Nam Hai Van and Son Tra peninsula include 3 functional area: the strictly protected zone (core zone), is the zone that includes 36.2 hectares of coral reefs; the zone of ecological restoration; reasonable exploitation zone, enclosing strictly protected areas and ecological restoration areas For each of the aforementioned functional zone, the decision also specifies prohibited activities as well as encouraged activities in these zones Functional zoning for integrated coastal management was first implemented in Vietnam through technical assistance from PEMSEA (2004) in the Action Plan of Da Nang City for Integrated Coastal Management Action Plan Accordingly, the coastal area of Da Nang City is divided into 11 zones, including: Conservation zone; restoration zone (corals); Water supply zone (blue lake); restoration zone (sea-grass); Low-intensity use zone; Tourism development zone; zone of industrial activities and seaports; Industrial zone; Fishing zone (inshore); Fishing zone (offshore); Multi-use zone

The functional zoning of resources and ecosystems of Ha Long Bay area was conducted by Japan International Cooperation Agency, JICA, in 1998 As a result, the coastal area of Ha Long Bay was divided into 4 main environmental zones: Special conservation zone, including the world heritage site and its buffer zones; Protected zone, including important environmental areas but not enlisted as officially protected; Active management zone, including tidal flats along the shoreline and Bai Chay Bay; and Development Zone, including existing and planned development areas in the Socio-Economic Development Plan of the city and provinces (Hoang, 2019)

Adopting JICA’s viewpoint, the Vietnam-US-IUCN’s project of Integrated Coastal Management for Ha Long Bay has built a functional zoning map using the coastal area of

Ha Long Bay at a scale of 1/25,000 which is feasible and consistent with the multidisciplinary development practices of the coastal areas The map shows the spatial distribution of 10 different functional sub-zones, belonging to 03 main zones: (I) Environmental protection zone, including Strict protection zone and Environmental protection and management zone:

(II) Marine economic development zone, including the limited marine economic development region and the free sea economic development zone, (III) Coastal economic and social development zone, including: Industrial development zone; Tourism economic development zone; Forestry economic development zone; Socio-economic development and urban zone; Agricultural economic development zone; and fisheries economic development zone

From the above-mentioned studies, some specific types of environmental functional zoning in Vietnam can be listed as follows:

- Functional zoning of integrated environment

- Zoning land use by the degree of adaptation to development activities

- Zoning by environmental quality

- Zoning the environment which receives waste (waste water, emissions )

- Zoning by environmental sensitivity level

- Zoning integrated management of river basins

- Zoning integrated management of coastal areas

Marine spatial zoning serving the orientation of marine spatial planning focuses primarily on Marine Natural Resources and Environment, and on the value of marine ecosystems and the rationality of marine exploitation of sectors and localities In this approach, Vietnam's sea usage zoning is built following the Article 44 of the Vietnam Law

of the Sea, the Law of Natural Resources and Environment, Sea and Islands, based on three main groups of criteria for delineating the waters These are groups of criteria for protecting and preserving marine ecosystems, groups of criteria for economic development that have advantages in natural conditions, natural resources and positional advantage to develop marine industries such as such as port services, waterway tourism, aquaculture, energy development, coastal industries , the group of criteria for national security and defense

Thus, it can be said that environmental zoning has been applied in many planning activities of scheduling, planning and management of environmental resources in Vietnam

in recent years However, in the above-mentioned programs and projects, the authors have not really focused on researching a complete methodology for functional environmental zoning

Table 1: Overview of criteria for develop purpose

Ecological zoning

serving sustainable

development

Land cover; slope; land use Land unit of species under threat; biodiversity

Mangrove forest distribution Aquaculture distribution Land unit for tourism development

Ecological zoning as a

policy tool for sustainable development at the local level (Cabrido)

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Environmental

Zoning

The homogeneity of natural conditions (geology, geomorphology, climate, hydrology,

soil, vegetation cover) specific characteristics of economic development, natural resources exploitation and use (land use, development of industry,

agro-forestry, aquaculture);

urgent environmental issues and natural

hazards

Environmental protection planning in the direction

of sustainable development at province and district levels

Agro-Ecological

Zoning

Geomorphology Water resource dynamics (salinization map, flooding map, irrigation-regulated regions map of the present and future) Pedagogy; land use type

Agro-ecological zoning in the Mekong Delta under climate change

Criteria for

agro-ecological zoning

- Territorial integrity (not repeat);

homogeneity of a geological architecture forming topographical feature characterized

by minor differentiation in climate, soil,

vegetation

- There is one or two ecosystems typical for the distribution by latitude and altitude;

Relatively homogeneous in forestry development planning

Final report of Vietnam Forest Ecological Zoning (UN-REDD)

Aquaculture

ecological zoning

Topography Climate - hydrology Pedology Floral-fauna system Water quality Flooding regime

Study aquaculture ecological zoning in Dong Thap province serving the sustainable exploitation and use of resources

Criteria for zoning

by function

Natural function: existence and transformation of landscape elements such as:

climate, hydrology, soil, topography,

geology…

Function of natural and artificial environment belonging to landscape structure components

- Function of biological productivity, material transformation and function in the ecosystem

- Socio-economic function, aesthetic…

Law on Natural Resources and Environment of Sea and

Islands

Criteria for coastal

zoning

(i) Having homogeneity and typical characteristics of natural conditions;

(ii) Having important ecosystems with high level of biodiversity, home to many endemic,

Circular No 74/TT-BTNMT dated April 22,

2011, providing technical guidance for planning exploitation and

precious and rare species which are under

prioritized protection;

(iii) Having cultural and historical heritages that need to be protected and preserved;

(iv) d) Having position, potential and advantages for exploitation and development

of economic sectors;

(v) Having Position, potential and advantages for national defense and security

sustainable use of coastal resources

Criteria for

functional zoning

of integrated

coastal

management

(1) Optimal development zone; (2) development priority zone; (3) restricted development zone, including ecological functional areas and agricultural production areas; (4) prohibited development areas

Zoning based on quantitative indicators includes: arable land area; water source;

environmental load capacity; vulnerability of the ecosystem; the importance of ecosystems;

Possible impacts of natural disasters; the level

of population concentration; economic development based on GDP; Favorability level

in transportation, with a qualitative indicator

as (x) strategic choice

Implementing marine functional zoning in China (Teng et al., 2019)

3 Methodology

The environmental function zone is a part of the territorial hierarchy, has some defining environmental and ecological attributes that can distinguish it from other zones (Dang, 2009) Functional zoning (FZ) of coastal areas is the first and important task in the integrated coastal management, conducted on the basis of a comprehensive study of coastal features, based on which the coastal zone is divided into different zone of different roles, depending on its geographical location, natural resources, environmental conditions, etc FZ of coastal areas is mainly based on the exploitation degree of natural resources, and pollution impacts of major economic activities in coastal areas The zoning of resources on coastal land can be done in multiple ways, depending on the zoning objectives, the complexity degree of conflicts in resource usage and the conflict status (whether the conflict is being resolved or not), the development level of regions and the scope / boundary of the ongoing zoning plan In the guideline "Marine spatial planning: A step-by-step approach towards ecosystem-based management, FZ was implemented to divide ownership and usage of land, water resources and resources associated with their use functions (UNESCO, 2009) The basic contents of

FZ approach in coastal space planning are: (i) Position and design functional areas based on overlaying topographic, oceanographic and biological factors, development factors in managed coastal areas; (ii) Define a licensing system, legal regulations, and rule of use in each defined functional area; (iii) Establish a mechanism to ensure compliance with the zoning plan and the

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mentioned legal regulations in the process of exploitation and use; and (iv) Create monitoring, evaluation and adaptation programs for the zoning system (Ehler and Douvere, 2009)

In order to implement functional zoning for integrated coastal management in the northern coastal region, the research team used the methods in Figure 1 below

Figure 1: Flowchart of Functional Zoning for integrated coastal management

4 Results

4.1 Functional Zoning for integrated coastal management, case study in northern coastal area of Vietnam

Based on the methodology of functional zoning for integrated coastal management, the northern coast is divided into 4 main functional zones:

Group A: Protection and Conservation zone

Group B: Resource protection and usage zone

Group C: Active Development zone

Group D: Safety and Security Protection zone

Features of each group is detailed as in Table 2 and Figure 2

Figure 2: Marine functional zone for the Norrthern coastal region (Scale 1: 250.000)

Table 2: Features of functional zoning groups in the Northern Coast

No Functional

Zoning

Group

Extent Key environmental

functions

Characteristics

1 Protection and

Conservation

zone

(Zone A)

Protective forests of Binh Lieu - Mong Cai, Yen Tu mountain areas,

Ramsa Xuan Thuy

Conservation of biodiversity and landscape; riverhead protection, wave break protection and coastal erosion protection

Ensuring the ecosystem quality of the riverhead area, and the biosphere reserve of the Red River

Delta

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2 Resource

protection and

usage zone

(Zone B)

Vang Danh production area, Giao Thuy agricultural and fishery production area, Kim Son coastal alluvial area, Hai Phong - Quang Ninh coastal area, Thai Nam Ninh

region

Providing food; supply raw materials for production; residence place for rural population communities, small and medium cities

Urgent environmental issues concerning natural resources of Vang Danh - Cam Pha coal production areas, coastal waters pollution

in Quang Ninh - Hai Phong, coastal erosion in Nam Dinh - Kim Son

3 Active

Development

zone

(Zone C)

The mainland coastal area extends from Mong Cai (Quang Ninh) to Kim Son (Ninh Binh) and the 3 nautical miles to 6 nautical miles area from Mong Cai to Ninh Binh

The residence of the majority of the population; the place

to develop multidisciplinary production activities

It is a dynamic development area with diverse economic sectors, located in the national key economic region

4 Safety and

Security

Protection

zone

(Zone D)

Quang Ninh - Hai Phong sea and island area

Is the area of national defense and security

A prohibited development area, prioritize sustainable conservation combined with coastal safety and security Functional zone for protection (Zone A) of the northern coastal zone includes 3 functional zones: (1) function zone of protection Binh Lieu - Mong Cai, (2) function zone for conservation Yen

Tu, (3) The Ramsa Xuan Thuy zone covers an area of 82473.53 ha, accounting for 6% of the total area

of the region, and is a biodiversity and landscape conservation area; riverhead protection, wave break protection and coastal erosion protection The functional zone of Binh Lieu - Mong Cai protection zone is in Binh Lieu district and most area in the north of Tien Yen, Dam Ha, Hai Ha and Mong Cai cities is the riverhead protective area of Quang Ninh province in particular and in coastal zone in general Yen Tu function zone for conservation is a protective forest area in the eastern Yen Tu region located in Cam Pha town and Hoanh Bo district The Ramsa Xuan Thuy area in Giao Thuy district, Nam Dinh is the largest biosphere reserve area of the Red River Delta, with many roles in protecting the environment and coastal resources

Functional zone for resource use and protection (Zone B) include Vang Danh - Cam Pha coal mining area (B1), Giao Thuy development zone (B2), utilization and protection areas Kim Son coastal alluvial zone (B3), Hai Phong - Quang Ninh coastal resource use protection zone (B4), Thai Nam Ninh