East Asian Seas countries cooperate to deal with marine plastic pollution
East Asian Seas countries are current in the process of negotiating a global agreement to put an end to plastic pollution and marine plastic litter, said Pham Thu Hang, Deputy Director-General of the Vietnam Institute of Seas and Islands (VISI) on October 12.
An exercise to stop oil spills in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Illustration. (Photo: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) – East Asian Seas countries are currently inthe process of negotiating a global agreement to put an end to plastic pollutionand marine plastic litter, said Pham Thu Hang, Deputy Director-General of the VietnamInstitute of Seas and Islands (VISI) on October 12.
The regional countries are close to a new agreement onglobal biodiversity goals through the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework,aiming to conserve and protect the nature and essential natural ecosystemservices for humans, Hang told the 25th Inter-governmental Meetingof the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), Part Two, underwayin Hanoi.
The event brought together representatives from nine COBSEAmember states, namely Cambodia, China, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea,Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
It is a very promising joint initiative by countries in theEast Asian Seas region, she said, noting that the marine and coastal ecosystemsof the Seas of East Asia are at risk of habitat loss, pollution and climatechange due to human activities.
She went on to say that Vietnam has taken various measuresto tackle these issues. It has adopted the 2020 Law on Environment Protection;and issued a national strategy for sustainable development of marine economy intandem with protection of environment and ocean ecosystems and a nationalaction plan for management of marine plastic debris by 2030, she noted, addingthat it has also accelerated plastic awareness campaigns and pushed for scientificresearch, innovation, technology transfer and new public-private partnership inaddressing plastic pollution.
Vietnam maintains its political commitment to forming aglobal agreement on marine plastic pollution based on international laws andwithin the UN framework, for a blue ocean, green planet, peace, stability andprosperity, she stated./.
ASEAN and the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS) have signed an agreement to support ASEAN member states in combating marine plastic pollution through the joint implementation of the World Bank’s 20 million USD grant project: Southeast Asia Regional Program on Combating Marine Plastics (SEA-MaP).
An ocean clean-up model that engages a fleet of fishing vessels has proved effective in the resort island of Phu Quoc in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang.
Cooperation with regional partners will enable Vietnam to gain experiences from other countries in monitoring and assesing marine debris, said Dr. Nguyen Le Tuan, Director of the Vietnam Institute of Seas and Islands (VISI) on October 10.
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An exercise to stop oil spills in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Illustration. (Photo: VNA)
