On July 27, 2022, the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD) along with the Vietnam Institute of Seas and Islands (VISI) – Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI) and Nam Dinh Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DONRE) began a training on methods, protocols and practices for marine debris assessment and monitoring. The course will last three days, from July 27 to 29, including one day in-classroom training and two days of field practice at Nam Dinh riverine and coastal locations.

Training  scene

The training is held in a hybrid manner with nearly 100 participants, both in-person in Nam Dinh and remotely on Zoom, attending in-classroom training and nearly 30 participants in the field. Participants include leaders and officers of the Vietnam Institute of Seas and Islands (VISI); representatives of departments under Vietnam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI) and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment; the Centre for Marinelife Conservation and Community Development (MCD), national and international experts; lecturers and researchers from universities, research institutes, international organizations, NGOs and environmental projects in Vietnam; Participants from Nam Dinh include leaders and officers of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, representatives of the Division of Natural Resources and Environment of Nam Dinh city and the districts in the province,  the Management Board  of Xuan Thuy National Park; and the press.

Delegates in the training

The training is a part of the project “Accelerating effort to reduce plastic waste in Vietnam” implemented by MCD with funding and technical support from Ocean Conservancy. This project aims to promote stakeholder cooperation and connect them to technical support to increase the effectiveness of plastic waste reduction efforts in Vietnam, contributing to the implementation of the National Action Plan on marine plastic waste management.

At the training, Ms. Ho Thi Yen Thu, Standing Deputy Director of MCD said, “MCD always strives to connect resources from donors and funders, and work with stakeholders and partners at all levels and the community, to develop and implement projects on marine environmental protection and sustainable development in coastal areas of Vietnam. Fostering knowledge and skills for the personnel of agencies and organizations is among our top priorities, in order to contribute to establishing a stronger scientific and technical capacity for the protection of the marine environment, particularly ocean plastic waste management. Today, MCD is very pleased to cooperate with VISI and Nam Dinh DONRE to organize “The training on methods, protocols and practices for marine debris assessment and monitoring”. On this occasion, we would like to express our gratitude to the national and international experts, and our colleagues at Ocean Conservancy for their continuous support for MCD, VISI and Nam Dinh DONRE during the implementation of project activities.”

Ms. Ho Thi Yen Thu – Standing Deputy Director of MCD

The representative of the Vietnam Institute of Seas and Islands commented, “Operating as an institute of marine science and technology research for proposing strategies and policies in integrated management of natural resources and environmental protection of seas and islands, VISI stays active in cooperation with stakeholders and international organizations. We appreciate the opportunities to cooperate with MCD to implement scientific and technical activities, marine plastic waste management in particular. We hope that the participants in this course are provided with information, knowledge and skills on a number of national and international methods, protocols and practices for marine debris assessment and monitoring to better perform their tasks and contribute to the implementation of the National Action Plan on marine plastic waste management until 2030.”

Mr. Nguyen Le Tuan – Director of Vietnam Institute of Seas and Islands 

Ms Vien Tran, Senior Manager of the Vietnam program at Ocean Conservancy shared, “Ocean Conservancy is proud to help connect leading international experts in plastic waste research with MCD and Vietnam’s national and local partners to strengthen their scientific and technical capacity on marine plastic waste management. Through this partnership, we hope to contribute to the implementation of the National Action Plan on marine plastic waste management until 2030 in Vietnam and address plastic pollution both regionally and globally.”

The course aims to support management agency representatives, research and educational institution representatives, and stakeholders at all levels by teaching national and international methods, protocols, and practices for the assessment and monitoring of marine plastic waste in marine and coastal areas. This knowledge-sharing will contribute to supporting policy-making and data-based interventions in the management of marine plastic waste and to successfully implement the Action Plan on Marine Plastic Waste Management until 2030 at provincial and national levels.

For press information, please visit: http://ven.vn/training-on-marine-debris-assessment-and-monitoring-held-in-nam-dinh-province-46055.html