The International Maritime Organization announced Sept. 20 that the first regional task force meeting for Asia-Pacific countries in a major international project to help reduce marine plastic litter from maritime transport and the fishing sector has been held in Busan, South Korea.
The meeting brought together 20 participants from 10 countries, according to the IMO. The countries discussed potential joint regional activities where lead partner and partnering countries would establish bilateral and multilateral twinning activities based on the problems and commonalities identified to address the global issue of sea-based marine plastic litter.
The Regional Task Force meeting was sponsored by the governments of Australia, Norway and Saudi Arabia, and took place at the start of the seventh International Marine Debris Conference, which was held in Busan from Sept.18-23.
The conference is one of world’s longest-running international series dedicated to the issue of marine litter and plastic pollution.
The regional task force aims to help the maritime transport and fishing sectors move towards a low-plastics future by helping developing countries apply best practices for prevention, reduction and control of marine plastic litter.
The participating countries discussed potential joint regional activities where lead partner and partnering countries would establish bilateral and multilateral activities based on the problems and commonalities identified to address the global issue of sea-based marine plastic litter.
The countries are expected to present detailed proposals that outline joint activities and resources required to implement the proposed arrangements sometime this fall. It’s anticipated that implementation of selected activities would commence by the end of the year, the IMO said.