On October 30, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee held a scientific conference entitled “Developing Con Dao into a Green, Smart, and Livable Island in Association with Natural Heritage Conservation and Sustainable Development” in Con Dao Special Zone.
Speaking at the conference, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Bui Minh Thanh commended experts and scientists for their thoughtful and scientifically valuable contributions.
He stressed that Con Dao is not only a hub for economic and tourism development but also a sacred historical land, a unique ecological area, and a location of strategic importance for national defense and security.
The city will prioritize ensuring water security, treating wastewater and solid waste, reducing marine plastic pollution, promoting clean energy use, and developing infrastructure resilient to climate change. It will also strengthen efforts to protect and restore forest ecosystems, coral reefs, seagrass beds, and rare species.
At the conference, Dr. Nguyen Chi Thanh, Director of the Center for Forest and Wetland Research, said that since forests and special-use forest land account for 76.7 percent of the archipelago's total area, the Sustainable Forest Management Plan and the Ecotourism Development Scheme prepared by the Con Dao National Park Management Board should be designated as common reference documents for the entire special zone. They should serve as a basis for developing resolutions, plans, master plans, and projects.
Con Dao's tourism economy relies primarily on its forest and marine ecosystems. Therefore, the Con Dao National Park Management Board should cooperate and form partnerships with tourism investors to develop green tourism, offering high-end, smart, and attractive tourism products and services that generate substantial economic returns.
Dr. Vu Ngoc Long, Director of the Southern Institute of Ecology, said that with more than 30 years of conservation and development efforts, Con Dao National Park—a member of the Asian Heritage Parks network—had successfully protected and preserved a rich and valuable natural capital of which the country could be proud. Its new status also calls for a distinctive, sustainable approach to managing the island and marine urban area, he said.
Con Dao should not pursue conventional urbanization or mass tourism expansion. Instead, it should position itself as a “world-class destination for ecological and spiritual retreats,” built on three pillars: “a green island, a smart island, and a livable island.”
Director of the Con Dao National Park Management Board, Nguyen Khac Pho, proposed that the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee prioritize including Con Dao in pilot regulatory sandbox mechanisms for developing the circular economy, clean energy, and green carbon credits.
He also called on the city to allocate sufficient medium-term public investment funding to implement key projects, including those aimed at protecting and restoring ecosystems and conserving and restoring historical sites.
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