Phl Hosts Regional Meeting on Marine Environment Protection

Wazzup Pilipinas!

The Philippines, through the Maritime Industry Authority (MARINA), hosted the Second High-Level Regional Meeting on Marine Environment Protection of the Southeast Asian Seas (MEPSEAS) on 27 to 29 August 2019, bringing together heads of maritime agencies from participating International Maritime Organization (IMO) Member States.

Gracing the opening ceremony, Assistant Secretary of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for Maritime Lino H. Dabi expressed the Philippines’ collective gratitude for the honor of being the host country of said meeting.

“As one of the beneficiary countries of this project, hosting this event not only allows us to demonstrate our full commitment in and support for this project, but also provides us the opportunity to reciprocate the initiative and efforts of the IMO and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD),” Asec. Dabi said.

As the chair of said meeting, MARINA OIC – Administrator Vice Admiral Narciso A Vingson Jr reiterated the country’s commitment to participate and comply with its obligations to the MEPSEAS Project.

“Through the Philippine maritime administration, we shall remain steadfast in our efforts in ensuring the full and effective implementation of our priority maritime environment conventions,” VADM Vingson said.

The IMO Project Coordination Unit and international consultants led the session by providing updates regarding the MEPSEAS Project website, initial steps undertaken to capacitate countries in implementing the provisions and requirement of the Conventions, results of the Train the Trainers (TTT) held in Singapore on 28 to 30 May 2019, and initial delivery of the training modules covering the Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, Anti-Fouling System (AFS) Convention, and MARPOL Annex V.

The MEPSEAS Project is a four-year project (2018-2021) of the IMO, in cooperation with the NORAD, providing assistance to Southeast Asian countries in ratifying and implementing IMO Instruments for the protection of the marine environment. It aims to reduce the risks and impacts of environmental issues related to maritime transport in the ASEAN region. It supports the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 which is to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”.

About "WazzupPilipinas.com"

WazzupPilipinas.com is the fastest growing and most awarded blog and social media community that has transcended beyond online media. It has successfully collaborated with all forms of media namely print, radio and television making it the most diverse multimedia organization. The numerous collaborations with hundreds of brands and organizations as online media partner and brand ambassador makes WazzupPilipinas.com a truly successful advocate of everything about the Philippines, and even more since its support extends further to even international organizations including startups and SMEs that have made our country their second home.