The Vietnam Sea and Islands Week 2018: Keep the blue of the sea

Artwork: Internet

Being a country with great potential about the sea, with over 3,260 km of coastline, two archipelagos of Hoang Sa and Truong Sa, over 3,000 large and small islands, Vietnam is always a responsible member in complying with international law, commiting and strong response to international maritime events. The Vietnam Sea and Islands Week has been regulated in the Law on Natural Resources and Environment of the Sea and Islands No. 82/2015 / QH13 dated 25.6.2015 and every year we organize together with activities of World Ocean Day.

Sea and Oceans are and continue to play an important role in the world's socio-economic activities; However, increase in exploitation and use of marine and oceanic resources is leading to the risk of resource depletion and marine pollution. Annually, tens of millions of tons of marine solid waste, oil leakage, oil spills, toxic chemicals and are seriously affecting ocean ecosystems, ocean health are being affected, threatened. Thus, World Oceans Day (8.6) this year has the theme: "Keep Oceans Blue" to call on community to protect the marine environment, encourage measures for plastic waste pollution and plastic waste prevention in the sea.

This year, Quang Ninh has been selected as local host for Vietnam Sea and Islands Week at national level. It is expected that opening ceremony for this series will take place at the Sun Square (Bai Chay Ward, Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province) at 20:00 on May 31, 2018 with the art program "Keep Oceans Blue "; Seminar "Youth with sustainable development and protection of sea and island sovereignty in Vietnam"; Launching campaign to write songs about the hometown island.

The highlight of event is launching ceremony of the Vietnam Sea and Islands Week in Vietnam and in response to World Ocean Day 2018 that will take place in the morning of 1 June at Ben Do, Cam Pha, Quang Ninh. Vietnam Television will lively broadcast the launching ceremony and follow up activities immediately: visit, give gifts to the people, forces to clean the sea; Organization of the hand-over ceremony of marine cleaning works, campaign for the marine environment sanitation, gathering and treatment of garbage and waste, and not disposal of plastic garbage into the environment; organization of conferences and seminars on the management, exploitation and use of natural resources and protection of the marine and island environment in a sustainable manner for socio-economic development, defenseand security ensuring,…

Within the week of the event, response will take place across the country. Agencies and units will hang banners, posters, slogans responding to the Vietnam Sea and Islands week and World Ocean Day in public places, main streets, working offices ...;. Organize many practical activities, pay attention to spillover activities and strongly influence public awareness; encourage, support and create conditions for activities of sustainable exploitation and use of natural resources and environmentprotection of the sea and islands; condemn acts of indiscriminateexploitation and use, destruction of natural resources and pollution of the marine and island environment. To intensify the control of collection, transportation and treatment of wastes and garbages along the coasts and on islands, to encourage construction commencement and handover of environmental protection works for the communityinterests. In addition, there is a need to improve life quality of the community, such as planting sandy green trees, preventingerosion and salinity intrusion, implementing environmental criteria in building new rural areas, supporting people to adapt to climate change.