As part of the ongoing 5^th East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress at the Furama Hotel, a plenary session took place on Tuesday to discuss issues relating to climate change and integrated coastal management.  The event was chaired by the Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Mr Chu Pham Ngoc Hien.

Deputy Minister Hien said that oceans are being seriously threatened by pollution due to the dumping of waste at sea, and the over-exploitation and unreasonable use of marine resources.

Attendees at the event voiced similar opinions on the current exhaustion of marine resources and the serious pollution of the oceans.

Delegates in discussion on the sidelines of the event

Dr Gunna Kullenberg from North Korea said that the main reasons for the exhaustion of marine natural resources were the large amounts of greenhouse gas emissions and the uncontrolled exploitation of marine resources.

In order to solve all these problems effectively, Deputy Minister Hien stressed the need for East Asian countries to set up an effective ocean governance mechanism.  The focus will be on creating closer cooperation between these countries, and developing long-term plans.  The intention is to resolve issues regarding the overuse and over-exploitation of marine natural resources, protect the marine environments and ecosystems of these countries, and to promote their sustainable socio-economic development.