Authorities in a province in south-central Vietnam announced on Tuesday that they had submitted a proposal to higher agencies for installing solar-powered cameras in a nature reserve in order to preserve and reproduce coral at the site, following reports on damage to local coral reefs last month.

The People's Committee of Nha Trang City, a coastal tourist destination that is the capital of Khanh Hoa Province, filed such a proposition to the provincial People's Committee, while directing the management board of Nha Trang Bay to coordinate with relevant units in researching and surveying the cause of coral decline in the area.

Among the solutions proposed to tackle the problem is the possible installation of solar-powered cameras in the city's Hon Mun Nature Reserve at a cost of nearly VND260 million (US$11,123), as well as the construction of navigation buoys and markers at sites where coral restoration is currently taking place.

According to Huynh Binh Thai, head of the management board of Nha Trang Bay, solar-powered cameras will be installed on islands to enhance the monitoring of fishing vessels and submersibles in the conservation zone.

“All swimming and diving activities in some areas of Nha Trang Bay, particularly Hon Mun Nature Reserve, have been suspended from June 27,” Thai said.

“For now, people can only dive around Hon Rom Islet [located in Hon Mun Nature Reserve] and we also stipulate that divers must have a professional license to work here.”

The Nha Trang Bay management board also proposed using underwater cameras to replace human labor and conveniently monitor the rate of coral growth, while increasing personnel and material resources for upcoming monitoring and conservation work.

Besides, the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center will continue to plant and restore pilot corals in certain regions of the reserve and other locations in Nha Trang Bay, based on the results of a previous project.

Thai added that the Nha Trang Bay management board and the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center are working together to reclassify coral regions in the bay so as to restore coral reefs.

“It will then specify where leisure activities are allowed and where they are not," Thai said.

“A follow-up document on where locals can exploit fisheries and visitors can take part in sea leisure activities at the nature reserve is expected to be published this month.”

After conducting research, the Vietnam-Russia Tropical Center will select the best method and proceed with creating a large-scale restoration plan for Nha Trang Bay by applying the features of the corals' asexual reproduction.

The Institute for Marine Science and Fishing Technology of Nha Trang University has also engaged in coral restoration at Hon Mun Nature Reserve via Biorock technology.

Biorock technology is a technique that uses safe, low-voltage electrical currents to pass through seawater, causing dissolved minerals to crystallize on structures and produce a thick layer of limestone, similar to what is naturally reproduced on coral reefs.

Additionally, the Nha Trang People's Committee suggested establishing a coordinating board to oversee biodiversity conservation in Khanh Hoa Province and implement a patrol strategy.

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