Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Announces Host City Competition for the '7th International Marine Debris Conference'

Two-Week Contest Held for Coastal Metropolitan Local Governments

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 16th that it is accepting applications for the host city of the world's largest international event on marine debris, the "7th International Marine Debris Conference," until the 28th.

The International Marine Debris Conference is scheduled to be held over five days around September 2022. Considering the scale of past conferences, it is expected to be a large-scale event attended by more than 700 participants, including government agencies such as the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as well as non-governmental organizations, international organizations, research institutions, and related companies.

At the conference, ideas and best practices for monitoring, research and development, private sector collaboration, education, and policies for the prevention and management of marine debris will be shared, along with opportunities for personal exchanges.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is conducting the call for applications targeting coastal metropolitan local governments with high relevance to marine debris-related policies, under the principle of selecting the host city with objectivity and transparency. Evaluation criteria include ▲contribution to related events and policies ▲willingness for administrative and financial support ▲capacity to host the event. The host city will be finalized through evaluation in March.

The International Marine Debris Conference, first held in 1984, has been hosted only within the United States by NOAA. The 5th and 6th conferences were jointly organized by NOAA and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to raise international awareness of marine debris issues. At the 5th conference (March 2011), the "Honolulu Strategy" for the prevention and management of marine debris was adopted. This will be the first time the conference is held outside the United States.

Song Myung-dal, Director of Marine Environment Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "Hosting the International Marine Debris Conference is an opportunity for our country to emerge as a leading nation in marine debris management and a chance to raise public awareness about marine debris." He added, "We hope that many coastal metropolitan local governments will show interest and participate in the call for host city applications for this international conference."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.