Tokyo (VNA) – Twenty-two young intellectualsrepresenting ten ASEAN member states and Japan, on March 16, adopted a joint declarationin which they expressed their concern over marine plastic waste and gave 13recommendations.

In the “Future Leaders’ Declaration on ASEAN-JapanCooperation for International Marine Plastic Waste”, they emphasised that “onthe basis of the United  Nations  Convention on the Law  of  the Sea (UNCLOS),which defines ‘pollution of the marine environment’ (PartI, Art.1,para.  1(4)), we  are concerned about the continuing plastic pollution(including macro-plasticand micro-plastic) of the marine environment and its harmful effects on marinelife and human health, and recognise the threat of plastic pollution to themarine environment for future generations.”

They gave recommendations in the 13 areas for the pertinent stakeholders,  namely from the private  sector, thegovernment sector and the academic sector, as well as the general public, takinginto account the fact that the plastic waste problem requires concerted effortsfrom all the people on the planet.

The 13 recommendations listed in the joint statement involve a series ofmatters including promoting research and development activities for materialinnovations and production of biodegradable plastics; strengthening researchand academic collaboration and knowledge transfer on marine plastic wastebetween ASEAN and Japan; and establishing cooperative partnerships betweenlocal communities and other stakeholders on plastic waste reduction.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, ASEAN Secretary General LimJock Hoi called for increasing ASEAN-Japan cooperation in tackling the pollutionto protect the ocean for future generations.
Doctor of Law Nguyen Thi Thanh Tra, one of the twoVietnamese representatives signing the Declaration, shared her most favouritesolutions in the document, in an interview with the Vietnam News Agency (VNA). Theyare those on technological development and transfer, education and publicawareness raising, and urban development incorporating technology and cleanenergies, she said.

Building the “Future Leaders’ Declaration on ASEAN-JapanCooperation for International Marine Plastic Waste” was a project sponsored bythe ASEAN-Japan Centre (AJC) to promote cooperation between the two sides inaddressing marine plastic waste.

Twenty-two undergraduate and graduate students representing Japan (Okayama,Shizuoka, Tokyo, Hiroshima, Mie, and Yamaguchi prefectures) and ten ASEANmember countries were selected after a rigorous screening process fromapproximately 60 applicants who are currently studying in Japan.

Since last November, the 22 students worked together onlineto draft the joint declaration through a series of three preparatory sessionsand lectures with guidance from many experts in the field./.