VietNamNet Bridge - A female student studying in the U.S. is leading a project to protect Son Doong Cave from work that may affect the local ecosystem.

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Le Nguyen Thien Huong (second left)

Le Nguyen Thien Huong, a graduate of the California State University Fullerton, is now a postgraduate for an MBA in Nonprofit Management and an MA in Sustainable International Development at Heller School of Brandeis University.

Huong said she had always liked reading Doraemon, the strip cartoon about adventurous explorations into the entrails of the earth. When she grew up, she liked ‘Journey to the Center of the Earth’. 

When Huong heard about the discovery of Son Doong in Vietnam, she visited the cave.

In 2014, she read that a cable car would be built inside Son Doong Cave to serve 8,000 travelers a day. She thought it would have a negative impact on the local ecosystem.

In 2014, she read that a cable car would be built inside Son Doong Cave to serve 8,000 travelers a day. She thought it would have a negative impact on the local ecosystem.
“Vietnamese take pride in their beautiful landscapes recognized as the world’s natural heritage. But they don’t take action to protect the heritage,” she said.

“Why does a foreigner come forward and try to protect Son Doong Cave in Vietnam, while Vietnamese don’t?” she said.

The ‘foreigner’ she mentioned is Dr Howard Limbert, cave expert and explorer, a member of the British Royal Caving Research Association who spends time exploring caves in Vietnam.

The power of the crowd

Huong decided to take action to save Son Doong. She sent letters to many Vietnamese and foreign organizations and agencies. One of her articles had 20,000 views on the Internet. 

After catching the attention from the public and mass media, Huong decided to develop a serious campaign to protect Son Doong. She teamed up with the founder of Facebook group #SaveSonDoong and a group of young people in HCM City to develop a website and plan events to popularize Son Doong. 

The Facebook #SaveSonDoong campaign took shape. Huong and her co-workers received both big support and criticism from the community. From the challenge, Huong’s team learned how to manage the social network more effectively by respecting all opinions in the community and use different approaches with each. 

Son Doong Cave is more than 200m wide, 150m high, and approximately 9km long. It was believed to be formed 2-5 million years ago and discovered by a local resident in 1991.

The American news website Huffingtonpost.com declared the cave as an absolute must-see. Son Doong cave was also listed among the "52 Places to Go in 2014" by The New York Times Travel.


NLD