Globally, some eight million tonnes of plastic is dumped into the ocean every year, killing marine life and entering the human food chain. Five Asian nations account for 60% of the waste entering our oceans. The ubiquitous spread of plastic waste into every part of the marine environment has captured the attention of academics, industries, environmentalists, and the public. Plastic debris and animals killed by the ingestion of plastic capture the daily struggle of the world’s ocean ecosystems. The massive scale of this problem threatens our food security and sustainability.
In line with the International Year of the Reef 2018 and Singapore’s Year for Climate Action, this conference seeks to address the issue of plastic debris in the marine environment, with a special focus on microplastics and the environmental issues facing tropical Southeast Asia.
For more information, please visit the conference website at https://www.icpmesg.com/.
Programme:
Plastics in the Sea
Chemistry of plastic marine debris in seawater
Microfibers
Effects of microplastics on marine life
Biodegradation of plastic debris in different marine and coastal environments
Environmental Impact Assessment
Challenges for monitoring programs in the identification, management, and collection of plastics from the ocean
New approaches for monitoring and detection of marine debris and microplastics
Transport and fate of marine debris in the ocean: theory and modelling
Ecological and public health risk assessment of marine debris and microplastics
Land-Sea interactions: modelling discharges from the terrestrial environment
Oceanic subtropical gyres on plastic contamination in different regions of the world
Socio-economic issues
Estimating the Economic Impacts of Marine Debris: case studies
Ghost fishing gears; Local, state and federal ocean litter laws;
Public education and outreach initiatives
Role of NGOs
Data analysis on reduction efforts and policies on microplastic pollution
Local to global partnerships on microplastics
Solutions for the Future
Bringing Value to Marine Debris
Plastic waste: a new resource for the energy transition
Innovations for a clean ocean
via CoralList