Trang An Landscape Complex

While there were commendable efforts to consult with local people during the nomination process with a view to securing broad based support for the site to become World Heritage, the 2019 reactive monitoring mission noted local resentment towards the World Heritage listing and the need for ongoing and transparent consultation with relevant national authorities and community stakeholders (WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN, 2019). Since then, there have been continued efforts to engage and support the community and it appears that the situation has improved, with the World Heritage Committee in 2023 (UNESCO 2023) commending the State Party’s efforts in engaging cooperation with public and private partners to increase livelihood and resilience of the local populations, in particular its focus on the position of women. A 2022 study (Mai et al., 2022) broadly confirms the positive improvement of the situation, concluding that there is strong engagement of communities and noting that: communities only cooperated to protect the environment out of fear of financial repercussion in the beginning. After witnessing the positive transformation of the area, both in terms of economic and environmental means, they are beginning to develop a pride and start to act towards the sustainable development of the local tourism. Based on the same sources, there is a continued need of the governmental authorities to take further steps to include community participation in their work, and this appears an important aspect for further strengthening in the property’s management.

The property is largely secured within three statutory protected areas owned by the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam and controlled by the Ninh Binh Provincial People’s Committee. It has been accorded the highest legal status for protection available in Viet Nam. Management of the property is delegated to a Management Board, which has extensive decision-making powers, responsibilities and resources. In 2017 the Board became embedded within the Provincial Department of Tourism but maintains its independence and its close functional links with research institutes and commercial and community stakeholders. It is guided by a Government-approved and legally binding management plan which is modelled on the highest international standards to address all important factors affecting the property (World Heritage Committee, 2014; WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN, 2019). In the evaluation report, IUCN raised concern in regard to the delegation of management responsibility in the context of tourism development through the granting of a 70 year private sector lease over the 3,000 hectare Trang An – Tam Coc – Bich Dong Scenic Landscape with details set out in the 2020 IUCN Outlook Assessment. The 2019 reactive monitoring mission noted that lease holders are allowed to operate and construct any facilities which are permitted in their license (or approved project), with details also summarized in the 2020 IUCN Outlook Assessment. The mission also learned (but did not directly observe the management practices being applied) of commercial show-cave and bird-watching activities at some of these sites and noted the need to establish a systematic monitoring programme to detect changes to the environment including the proliferation of lampenflora in the Show-caves and the impact of tourism on wildlife, such as bat and bird populations exposed to human activities (WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN, 2019). The property has taken action, followed up through the Reactive Monitoring process (UNESCO 2021, 2023) to strengthen the legal instruments providing protection to the property and the results have been noted positively in the relevant Committee decisions and State of Conservation Reports. Whilst there is a need for continued implementation it can be concluded that the regulatory system has been improved since 2020.

The property benefits from an established Trang An Management Board, which has been the focus of capacity development since 2020. The 2022 State Party Report indicates a highly-qualified and multi-disciplinary membership of the Board (State Party of Viet Nam, 2022). An ad-hoc Management and Scientific Advisory Committee was established, and welcomed by the World Heritage Committee in 2021.
In October 2024, the Ninh Binh Department of Tourism restructured the Advisory Committee to include leaders of the Department of Tourism, TAMB, National Cultural Heritage Council, domestic and international experts and scientists in the fields of archaeology, geology, biodiversity, management, and conservation and promotion of heritage values. The tasks of the Advisory Commission include consultative roles on (a) the management, conservation and sustainable use of the heritage values of Trang An Landscape Complex to ensure that the property's OUVs are maintained effectively and the standards of a World Heritage Site are upheld; (b) implementation of socio-economic development projects, scientific research projects; tourism development in the property and application of science and technology, research results, new discoveries in archaeology, history, geology, biodiversity etc., within the property; and (c) promoting cooperation, relationships and connectivity between domestic and international organizations, experts, scientists, state agencies, research institutes, businesses and local communities (State Party of Viet Nam 2024), which appears to be a strengthened level of technical oversight for the property.
The governance arrangements include an effective collaboration of the different public and private interests in the property, and appear to be broadly effective. The institutional arrangements for ensuring the inclusion of voices from the local communities are less clear, and it would be appropriate to better understand this aspect of the governance of the property, and to strengthen this where possible.

Most of the property is secured within three statutory national protected areas and regulations concerning management, protection and promotion of heritage values have been developed at both central and provincial government level (State Party of Vietnam, 2013, 2014). Provincial aspirations clearly support tourism development and its potential benefits so it is essential that management of the property be planned in an integrated way with regional and indeed national tourism development planning. However, the 2015 revised management plan, which includes a section referred to as the ‘tourism management plan’ did not adequately address management of the potential for the projected increase in tourism to impact on the OUV of the property (World Heritage Committee, 2016). The placement of the Management Board within the provincial Tourism Department in 2017 is considered to strengthen the Boards position in dealing with the pressures to further the property’s role in the economic development of the province. While this could also be seen to confirm that tourism is the primary management objective for the property the 2019 RMM report notes that ensuring a balance between tourism development and protection of the property is a key aspect of the new management plan now in preparation (WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN, 2019). There has been an improvement in the recognition of the protection of the property through the measures taken since the mission, and reported to the World Heritage Committee (UNESCO 2021, 2023).

All of the key elements of a fengcong and fenglin Karst landscape are present within the inscribed property and the natural processes of Karst development are on-going. However, whilst the property was of sufficient size to include all of the values that underpin World Heritage criteria (vii) and (viii), the boundary as selected was not the most appropriate in relation to natural criteria, as it included developed areas and infrastructure which detracted from the OUV (IUCN Evaluation, 2014). In its December 2015 response to the World Heritage Centre the State Party proposed minor boundary changes to resolve this concern and the proposed changes were approved by the Committee in Decision 40 COM 8B.36 (World Heritage Committee, 2016). It is acknowledged that the boundaries of the property were selected not only to include all the important OUV attributes but also to provide for effective management of the property overall.

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In 2014 the State Party was asked to make a minor alteration to the boundary of the property and to submit a revised management plan to address the committees concerns about effective management of tourism and to include in it effective measures to prevent overcrowding within the property. In 2016 the Committee noted the change made to the boundary but again expressed its concern about the revised plans provisions for tourism management. The State Party provided State of Conservation reports for 2017 and again for 2019 providing extensive detail of the steps it has taken to address the further concerns of the Committee expressed in Decision 40 COM 7B.67. The 2019 RMM provides numerous recommendations for consideration by the Board in the preparation of the 2021-2026 Management Plan (State Party of Viet Nam, 2018, 2020; WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN, 2019). Following the mission the property has continued to be included in the State of Conservation process, with reports to the World Heritage Committee in 2021 and 2023 (UNESCO 2021, 23). In these decisions substantial action is noted and welcomed in addressing the RMM recommendations, and the ongoing threats to the property. Based on the progress achieved the State Party was asked to provide a report in 2024, but without the need for a further WHC/IUCN report to the World Heritage Committee. This report confirms the substantial completion of the remaining work requested. In this regard it can be concluded that there has been an effective response to the World Heritage Committee’s decisions, noting that there will continue to be a review of the latest report in view of the recent history of concerns and issues.

No specific information available.

The Property is State-owned and controlled by the Ninh Binh Provincial People’s Committee. It is managed by the Trang An Landscape Complex Management Board. In 2017, the Board became embedded within the Provincial Tourism Department. Management is guided by a legally binding management plan which adopts a zoning system that allows for management prescriptions to be more effectively aligned to the varying protection and use requirements in different parts of the Property. Ongoing management priorities include: extended monitoring and control of tourist operations; development of visitor centres and services; ongoing research together with improved archaeological site conservation. Long-term concessionaire leases delegate authority for some aspects of conservation and tourism management to four private tourist operations within the property. From the time of its inscription onto the World Heritage list in 2014 the World Heritage Committee has expressed concern about some aspects of the Management Plan. The Plan presented as part of the nomination documents was revised in 2015 and in 2016 the State Party was asked to amend some aspects of the revised Plan, particularly in regard to management of overcrowding by the projected increase in visitor numbers (1 million to 2 million by 2020) (World Heritage Committee, 2016). The further revision was presented in the form of an Archaeological Heritage Management Plan and a separate Visitor Management Action Plan which revises the projected 2020 visitation from 2 million visitors to 3.5 million. The 2019 RMM report acknowledges the latter to be an important management tool, but notes that it fails to address the requests by the WH Committee. The report further notes that a new plan for the period 2021-2026 is being prepared (WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN, 2019), which has subsequently been completed and provided to the World Heritage Committee. Thus the property benefits now from both an updated management plan and improved management system to support its implementation (UNESCO 2021, 2023).

The property is well protected within a national and provincial legislative framework based on four primary national legal statutes applying to protection and use of the property. They include extensive measures for identification, recognition, protection, preservation, management, research, monitoring, reporting, and promotion of the cultural and natural values and attributes of the property. Importantly they include enforcement measures for specifying violations and illegal activities and for the discipline and prosecution of offenses. In general, enforcement is not a significant issue for management of the property although staff are positioned at strategic points in order to rapidly respond to potential incidents of inappropriate behavior by tourists and in the event of illegal acts (e.g. the walkway construction) by commercial interests in the property, the Board has taken the appropriate action (WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN, 2019). Regular law enforcement patrols are undertaken to detect any infringements against regulations in a timely manner (State Party of Viet Nam, 2020).

Trang An has an adequate level of finance supported by the significant income from visitors. The 2013 IUCN evaluation report cites that the average annual funding for development and management of the property is an adequate USD500,000, with capital investment funding in the order of some US$7 million in recent years. In 2020 the Management Board was reported to have an annual budget in excess of $US 5 million for maximizing the use of the property and the protection of its OUV (State Party of Viet Nam, 2020). This is rated as a large and steadily growing budget with its effectiveness being re-evaluated in parallel with the 2021-2026 management plan, with the reports to the World Heritage Committee indicating increased resources (but with no figures quoted). There do not seem to be immediate challenges regarding the sustainable financing of the property.

The Management Board has primary responsibility for all aspects of day-to-day management of the property; in 2015 it had a staff of 84. Incomplete data in available reports indicate that in 2019 the Board had a staff comprising an executive of 3, administration support of 8, a technical and researcher division of 7, a foreign affairs and public relations division of 7, an environment and landscape management division of 13, 140 rangers and security staff and 95 guides (State Party of Viet Nam, 2020; WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN, 2019). The 2020 IUCN Outlook Assessment provides details on the findings of the 2019 mission regarding this issue. Following the mission there has been an investment in staff training, and the 2022 State Party report (State Party of Viet Nam 2022) notes the period from 2019 to 2022 saw eight employees have enrolled for postgraduate degrees in business management, culture and heritage and 25 in a range of other courses. Working with the Management Board, SUNDASIA has funded training for 140 local staff in natural and cultural heritage management, and undertaken a detailed survey to assess the role of ecotourism and local community management towards sustainable development (SUNDASIA archaeological project 2016-22). Training, in tourism management has been given a high priority. More than 30 training courses in cultural and natural heritage management were held from 2015 to 2020, involving more than 6,000 people, including staff and local residents at major tourist sites in the Property (SUNDASIA Archaeological project 2016-22).
It is thus assessed that staffing is mostly effective, and undergoing continued strengthening.

The revised management plan acknowledges the important role of interpretation, raising awareness of and respect for the property’s OUV and notes the Board’s intent to develop and implement a comprehensive interpretation plan to help orient visitors to the property, influence their behaviour and enhance their experience (State Party of Viet Nam, 2015). As noted in the 2020 IUCN Outlook Assessment, and following the 2019 mission (WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN 2019) there have been challenges in implementation, including what have been seen as inappropriate developments including an illegal walkway and a poorly located developed based on a former film set. Following the mission both of these features have been removed and the issues were regarded by the World Heritage Committee as resolved in 2022. The State Party has taken a range of interventions related to interpretation and visitor management, with the support of UNESCO and a number of national and international partners, and a programme of training for guides and other local providers.

The revised management plan includes provision for promoting the Property as an important site for education and to encourage educational institutions to use it for studies, and to develop and implement a comprehensive interpretation plan for the Property. Within the SUNDASIA archaeological project, funding and content was provided for a poster and documentary exhibition that accompanied the release of the Delacour’s langur into Trang An, while evidence from Trang An’s archaeological research has been prepared for an exhibition. As of October 2023, this includes four large touch-screen terminals with bilingual interactive story-maps tracing different aspects of the property’s past and its future; a series of 14 commissioned 1/5 scale figurines depicting aspects of prehistoric life; a 212pg illustrated popular book; and a forensic facial reconstruction of the face of the 12,000-year-old individual that was uncovered. The row boat operators are trained as guides, so virtually all visitors receive guidance on the property’s natural and cultural values. The replica film set is no longer operational. When resources allow, the Tourism Center at Trang An Scenic Landscape Area will be supplemented with translation and educational equipment, a display area and a mini-museum. There are plans to invest in and upgrade small tourist centres at the other gateways to the Property (IUCN Consultation, 2025).

Visitor management is the most significant issue for the property. Visitation is focused on 6 areas; the Hoa Lu Ancient Capital site managed by the Department of Culture and Sport and 5 which are managed by licensed concessionaires. Access to Hoa Lu is limited to foot traffic only whereas the 5 privately managed sites are dependent upon small rowboats (access to Bird Valley is by car, cycle or foot with an optional boating activity). This site also includes a substantial resort development and it (and reportedly one other area) has show-caves which are accessed by both boat and foot traffic. The Property has two very distinct types of visitors; those who come to enjoy the spectacular scenery and observe the local culture and those, the vast majority of visitors, who visit the site as religious pilgrims. These two groups are not particularly distinct, as many religious pilgrims (who are mainly drawn to Bai Binh Pagoda in the buffer zone of the Property) also visit the Property for sight-seeing and cultural appreciation. A challenge for management is meeting the different needs and expectations of each group. In fact, management of the substantial number of pilgrims who visit Bai Dinh pagoda is largely a matter outside the responsibility of the Trang An Management Board and becomes only of concern where and when the pilgrims visit the Property. The 2019 Reactive Monitoring Mission (WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN 2019) paid detailed attention to these issues, and the position is summarized in detail in the 2020 IUCN Outlook Assessment.

Since the mission the property, as with all sites worldwide, was greatly impacted due to the suppression of tourism through the COVID pandemic, but numbers appear to now being re-established at levels that will likely reach the pre-COVID levels of visitation (State Party of Viet Nam 2022). There has been major and continuing work since the mission to undertake capacity studies for the six tourism areas for the property, and these have been completed in 2024, and reported in sequence previously to the World Heritage Committee (State Party of Viet Nam 2020, 2022, 2024). The State Party continues to assess that visitor numbers remain within the limits that have been established, and it appears there is now a sufficiently rigorous framework to enable a more sustainable planned approach to visitor management. Visitor carrying capacity surveys have been conducted for all major tourist nodes in the Property and measures to avoid overcrowding impacts are in place. Tourist operations conducted at present levels and intensities are shown to be within social carrying capacity limits and have no detrimental impact on the natural OUV of the Property. The revised management plan 2021-2025 vision to 2045 addresses the potential for impacts from increased levels of tourism, and the plan also maintains a balance between tourism development and protection. Previous inappropriate developments have been remedied satisfactorily and followed up with improved and more effective collaboration with private and commercial stakeholders.

Nevertheless, the numbers visiting the property remain high, and the priority for monitoring and willingness to restrain visitor growth will be crucial to ensure the site is not overwhelmed. The visitor numbers noted also make clear that there remain areas with low levels of visitation, and it will be important to maintain a variety of options to provide for those who visitors who wish to avoid areas with very high levels of visitation.

The 2020 IUCN Outlook Report provides an extensive summary of the position regarding sustainable use, which is linked with the question of sustainable tourism as by far the dominant form of use of the property. As is noted under the discussion on tourism and visitation, the position remains challenging but has improved over the last five years through the conclusion of reviews of carrying capacity, and increasing the effectiveness of the implementation of management. Rapid growth of tourism in the Property leading to changes in livelihoods, cultural values, customs, practices and lifestyles of local people is the subject of a recent research project, which focused on three populous local communes. The results show that changes induced by tourism development are largely positive, contributing to the structural transformation of the economy from agriculture to services, handicrafts and improvements in material and spiritual life, while traditional cultural values are preserved and promoted; new knowledge, science and technology, experience, professional skills, innovative business methods are absorbed and supplemented by the people to enrich the social and cultural life of the local community (Bui Van Manh, 2018. “Changing culture and livelihoods of residents in the Trang An Cultural Landscape under the impact of tourism", unpublished Ph.D. Thesis).

It is also apparent that there has been a significant emphasis on the engagement of communities in the question of sustainable use and the sharing of benefits, and this is noted in both the State Party reports and recent research in the property.

The 2019 RMM report noted that aside from recording the numbers of visitors monitoring is generally limited to recording anecdotal comments about casual observations and that a program of research activities called the SUNDASIA project has been initiated and includes elements of wildlife monitoring. The report makes several recommendations in regard to increasing monitoring activities (WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN, 2019). Since the mission it is clear that the monitoring arrangements have strengthened in relation to attributes, as well as the establishment of the capacity studies. State Party reports (State Party of Viet Nam 2022, 2024 provide quantitative data on key parameters such as visitor numbers, and monitoring results of wildlife values are also reported. It appears there is room to establish now a fully effective and reportable monitoring system across the main values, attributes and threats to the property.

The 2019 RMM report commends the State Party for engaging in international cooperation and collaboration with national experts in the field of archaeological research, observing international standards of non-destructive techniques and in situ conservation and notes the establishment of a Management and Scientific Advisory Committee (WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN, 2019). It is apparent that a continued strong focus on international research is continuing, as can also be seen from the projects listed in the present assessment and as noted in the most recent State Party report (State Party of Viet Nam 2024). There is scope to share the lessons learned from this work more fully in the World Heritage system as a case study example for other sites to follow. An innovative, productive and collaborative research program, involving the Ninh Binh Provincial authorities, national and international (predominantly British) partners, remains active in the post-inscription period. This program which covers archaeology, history, biodiversity, geomorphology, cultural heritage and tourism is proving key information and proving highly effective for improved management of the Property (IUCN Consultation, 2025).

The management system appears to be functioning effectively and has the engagement of the national and provincial authorities in its implementation. The responsiveness to the Committee’s decisions and the 2019 Reactive Monitoring Mission (WHC/ICOMOS/IUCN 2019 is commendable). The site is relatively small in size and the pressures on the wider area are evident, and thus continued vigilance and prompt action on issues identified will remain essential.

The 2019 RMM and 2020 IUCN Outlook Assessment noted significant concerns regarding the effectiveness of protection and management, and with evidence of inappropriate tourism developments which have been removed at the request of the World Heritage Committee. The 2020 assessment notes correctly that they emphasize the Advisory Bodies’ concerns that “the greatest threat to the nominated property is from inadequately planned and managed tourism”. It is apparent that since the monitoring mission, and as noted in the relevant State of Conservation reports that there has been a significant period of progress to strengthen the governance, technical expertise, management planning, tourism capacity assessment and monitoring. This has led to a highly positive assessment of the World Heritage Committee, and the phasing out of reporting to the Committee for the time being.