Japan has proposed to work with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to address ocean pollution by minimizing plastic waste.According to the action plan launched at the 21st ASEAN + 3 Summit held in Singapore on November 15, Japan, together with China and South Korea, will support ASEAN nations to improve the capacity of plastic waste monitoring and assess plastic waste impact on marine ecosystems through research.
Plastic waste. Photo: AFP
|
The amount of plastic waste floating in the oceans and seas is becoming a global problem. Small pieces of plastic waste can hardly be collected and experts have not yet fully assessed their impact on the environment, Abe stressed.
According to Japan’s estimate, Vietnam ranks fourth worldwide in the amount of plastic waste dumped into the sea, with about 730,000 tons each year.
In September 2018, when speaking about prospect of Vietnam-Japan cooperation in marine plastic waste, Head of the Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI) Ta Dinh Thi highlighted the effective cooperation between Vietnam and Japan in sea and island-related issues, Vietnam News reported.
Thi said that his administration had drafted possible contents for cooperation with Japan such as sharing experience in management of maritime environment and resources, sea-based economic development and marine science.
The agency will soon begin building a project on cooperation with Japan in addressing the problem of marine plastic waste, Thi stressed.
Acknowledging that Japan is one of the leading countries in marine plastic waste treatment, Thi said the country showed their support for an initiative to establish a common cooperation framework in East Asia in handling marine plastic pollution.
At the sixth Assembly of the Global Environment Facility (GEF6) which took place in Vietnam’s central Da Nang city in June 2018, the Vietnamese Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the VASI proposed a regional project on marine plastic waste, covering contents in which Japan can support the region and Vietnam in particular.
The VASI has also proposed programs to Japan, aiming to enhance collaboration in science and maritime natural resources survey in Vietnam, especially in deep and far waters.
At the GEF6, Vietnam proposed that East Asian countries build, approve and implement a strategy and action plans on marine plastic waste management in the regional waters; reduce plastic production and tighten the management of the trading and use of plastic products. It also called for applying new technologies to replace plastic products by biodegradable plastics, among others.
