Hanoi (VNA) – The Vietnam Administration of Seaand Islands, in coordination with the UN Environment Programme and the WorldWide Fund for Nature, hosted an international conference in both online andin-person formats on solutions to handling plastic waste in East Asian seasfrom November 24-26.

Addressing the event on November 26, Deputy Minister ofNatural Resources and Environment Le Minh Ngan called for joint efforts by allparties, including policymakers, management officials, businesses and consumersto tackle the issue, which has posed serious impacts on the ecosystem andenvironment, especially the oceans.

Ngan said that due to the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, theworld is facing another source of pollution from medical masks, especially inthe context that many waste treatment plants have suspended operations due tothe pandemic.

The pandemic has led to the increase use of single-useproducts as part of measures to minimize COVID-19 spreading, he noted, addingthat the collection and recycling of these products have also been affected.

He stressed that current cooperation initiatives and models shouldplay a bigger role in facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experienceregarding best practice and methods in policy making, development and transferof technology and capacity building in each country as well as betweencountries.

The official expressed his hope that countries and internationalorganisations will continue strengthening cooperation with and support forVietnam in preventing and reducing plastic waste, thus contributing to the globalefforts in responding to one of the biggest challenges in the current era.

At the event, Ngan and representatives from the governmentsof ASEAN member countries and three partners of ASEAN as well as domestic and internationalorganisations underlined the need for effective coordination among sectors atdifferent levels in taking specific actions to deal with the challenges ofplastic waste pollution and marine debris.

Within the conference’s framework, Vietnam introduced aproject to reduce marine plastic waste, which is being implemented in ninecoastal localities with the aim to minimize marine pollution through thesupport in building guidance to implement prioritized policies related to plasticwaste, among others.

Duringthree days from November 24-26, the event included four plenary and 10 thematicdiscussions on measures to prevent the wasteful use of plastics and prevent thedischarge of waste to the ocean./.