{
  "id": 9282623,
  "title": "100-year-old seaside church is Vietnam's first climate change heritage site",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/100-year-old-seaside-church-is-vietnams-first-climate-change-heritage",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-23T05:55:23.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "VnExpress International",
    "slug": "vnexpress-international",
    "url": "https://e.vnexpress.net/news/news/environment/100-year-old-seaside-church-is-vietnam-s-first-climate-change-heritage-site-5123700.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Church of the Sacred Heart, Vietnam's first climate change heritage site, is a century-old seaside church. Situated outside the current sea dike, it marks the birth and development of the coastal settlement of Xuong Dien, now a part of Hai Tien Commune. This settlement was established in the late 17th and early 18th centuries as people reclaimed land from the sea for agriculture and protection. In 1885, the Ngo Ham Dike was built to safeguard the reclaimed land, but the coastal area has been plagued by storms, waves, and erosion ever since. Notable incidents include a 1925 breach of the Hai Ly Beach dike and a 700-meter coastline erosion in 2005. The shoreline has receded by about a kilometer over the last century due to various factors, including climate change.\n\nAssociate Professor Vu Cao Minh, a former deputy director at the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology, highlighted the church's significance as a 100-year-old structure now standing outside the dike. This placement provides valuable evidence of shoreline changes and the process of land reclamation and protection. Minh emphasized that the church is not merely a relic but holds importance due to its connection with the shoreline, dike, and human settlement history, making it a unique heritage site in Vietnam and rare globally.\n\nInternationally, structures affected by erosion, rising sea levels, and natural disasters are preserved for research, education, and tourism. Examples include the twin towers of St Mary's Church in Kent, preserved as a navigation landmark, and the ruins illustrating centuries of coastal erosion. Minh suggested that disaster heritage sites, if preserved, documented, and appropriately developed, can offer valuable visual records of climate change impacts and human responses. He noted that the value of a heritage site extends beyond preserving a structure; it enables people to understand the changes in the shoreline over time and the human efforts to adapt to these changes. The area around the Hai Ly church, including Thinh Long Beach, embodies distinctive culture, cuisine, and fishing life. Its recognition as a tourism site will facilitate its development as a heritage site, ensuring the protection of the remaining structure, landscape, and records documenting shoreline changes.",
  "summary": "An abandoned church by Hai Ly Beach in the northern Vietnam's Ninh Binh Province, whose bell tower now stands next to the sea, has been recognized as a \"climate change heritage tourism site.\"",
  "key_points": [
    "Church of the Sacred Heart is Vietnam's first climate change heritage site.",
    "Located outside current sea dike, marks Xuong Dien settlement's history.",
    "Receded shoreline by about a kilometer over last century due to climate change."
  ],
  "editors_take": "The recognition of the Church of the Sacred Heart as Vietnam's first climate change heritage site highlights the country's efforts to preserve and showcase the impacts of climate change on its cultural and historical landmarks.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}