San Diego, CA, 12-16th March 2018 - NOWPAP was among contributors at the 6th International Marine Debris Conference (6IMDC). This largest global event for marine litter community was organized by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). It was built upon the success of the Honolulu Strategy developed at the 2011 5IMDC, where NOWPAP was also present and contributed to the strategy formulation. The 6IMDC brought together international marine debris researchers, natural resource managers, policy makers, industry representatives, and the non-governmental community. Objectives of this international conference included sharing lessons learned and best practices to reduce and prevent marine debris and its impacts; promoting international co-learning; exchanging innovative ideas such as market incentives and communication strategies; and sharing the latest research initiatives, methods, and results. In total 75 technical sessions across ten track areas were represented at the meeting. The conference was attended by several hundred participants and was a clear manifestation of the “maturity” of the global understanding and response to marine litter issues. The depth of collaborations and scope of partnerships addressing this important global challenge increased dramatically since the last conference in 2011. Several sessions were dedicated to micro- and nano-plastics in the environment, new technologies and tools to prevent and mitigate the impacts of marine litter. Participants also shared experiences in using digital technologies and communication tools. Sustainable business practices and emerging applications of plastics circular economy were presented. NOWPAP Coordinator, Dr. Lev Neretin, talk about successes and lessons learned in the development and implementation of the NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI) at the session moderated by US NOAA focused on marine litter action plans. During the conference, NOWPAP Coordinator held several working meetings with various NOWPAP partners, including microplastics researchers from Japan, R. Korea and the Russian Federation, GESAMP, OSEAN, and various colleagues from the UNEP. Dr. Nikolay Kozlovsky of NOWPAP POMRAC presented results of his research on micro-plastics discharge with rivers in the NOWPAP region; it was received with a great interest by participants at the conference. NOWPAP also attended and made contributions at the working lunch on the priorities and future activities of the Global Partnership on Marine Litter. The entire conference was an inspiration for the future work of NOWPAP in this area. Presentationss made at the meeting should become available at the conference website soon. MARCH 26: READ MORE ON 6IMDC FROM © JORDANA MERRAN'S TAKEAWAYS HERE.
