Hong Thuy Vietnam News 23 Feb 11;
In an urgent move, Ha Noi People's Committee has decided to set up a steering committee to protect the legendary, but very real, Hoan Kiem Lake turtle. This is because, at present, everything remains vague about how to go about it.
The decision is a crucial step in preserving the extremely rare creature, whose ancestry is directly linked to the building of the ancient citadel of Co Loa, about 15km upstream from Ha Noi.
While there is no denying that Ha Noi authorities put a strong focus on saving the beloved reptile as far back as the early nineties, no office seemed directly in charge of the campaign. All that was available was a long list of offices concerned, but in a very general way.
Vice chairman of the Viet Nam Ecology Association, Mai Dinh Yen, said at the time that as the turtle was related to the culture and spiritual life of the Vietnamese people, the Government Committee for Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Culture and Information, the Ha Noi Science and Technology Department – and even the Department for Protecting Aquatic Resources – could all be concerned.
Turtle expert Ha Dinh Duc said no single body then had ultimate responsibility for protecting the giant turtle. "Never before have city authorities jumped at the chance to be involved," he said.
Local and foreign scientists recently met in Ha Noi to discuss measures to save the soft-shelled turtle, which has been lacerated by fish hooks, forced to survive in highly polluted water and suffering from attacks from small aggressive turtles released by ignorant people in the lake.
A series of proposals put forward at the meeting achieved little. Duc said everything was still in a muddle because there were too many opinions. While most scientists at the meeting agreed with a proposal to remove the turtle from the lake for emergency treatment, director of Ha Noi Science and Technology Le Xuan Rao said no measures were adopted.
A day after the meeting was held last Wednesday, Rao met the leaders of the Ha Noi city People's Committee to report on the meeting and propose emergency solutions. In a move that was beyond the expectations of many scientists and Hanoians, he asked city authorities to treat the pollution in Hoan Kiem Lake. However, there was no mention of treatment for the injured beast.
If his proposal is approved, it places a fresh and direct new focus on the poor animal. Back in 1991, there was a plan to improve water quality in the lake, which is polluted by run-off from the streets and rubbish thrown into the water. The People's Committee's agreed to dredge out much of the deep, stinking mud.
Using manual methods to prevent any harm to the lake environment and the creatures living in it, more than 3,000 cubic metres of mud and rubbish were removed by the end of 1993. Yet, Yen recalled, the level of pH increased to 10, which is much more alkaline than the safe level, which is between 6.5 to 7.4. Changes in pH levels can destroy the whole food chain in water, weakening or killing plants and animals. "At the time, many people complained that the so-called cleansing had achieved very little," Yen said.
Sixteen years later in 2009, a German dredging machine was given a trial run in scientifically cleaning lake waters without interfering with any aquatic life. Rao said the results were encouraging. He said the concentration of toxic water weeds had decreased remarkably after the dredging. Importantly, no plants or animals living on the floor of the lake were disturbed.
Pleased with the results, Ha Noi city People's committee gave the go ahead for the whole lake to be dredged clean with the German technology. It planned to begin work after the lunar New Year of 2010, but nothing happened.
Explaining the delay, Rao said it was because the Ha Noi Water Supply Company had not yet completed payments for the dredger, which is worth about VND8.3 billion. While Ha Noi authorities have yet to come up with a final plan to protect the turtle, mostly because the giant turtle has such significance to Vietnamese they do not want to make a wrong move.
Turtle expert Tim McCormack said little money had so far been spent on conserving the turtle, but protection was vital if the legend was to live on. "I hope this species can be protected in Viet Nam. "It is an amazing species and so special for its rarity, size and cultural importance," he said.
Those who love the ancient legend, which rivals the stories of King Arthur and his Round Table, share his view. We are all keeping our fingers crossed and waiting for something specific to be done to save the Golden Turtle, or Kim Quy. — VNS
