22nd Tripartite Environment Directors-General Meeting addresses air quality, marine ecosystems

Participants to seek concrete cooperation on integrated bay and river basin management

An aerial view of the National Institute of Environmental Research in Seo-gu, Incheon. [National Institute of Environmental Research]
An aerial view of the National Institute of Environmental Research in Seo-gu, Incheon. [National Institute of Environmental Research]

South Korea's National Institute of Environmental Research, under the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy, said it will attend the 22nd Tripartite Environment Directors-General Meeting, held Thursday and Friday at the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry in China.

The annual meeting, launched in 2004, brings together environmental research leaders from South Korea, China and Japan to coordinate joint responses to major environmental challenges in Northeast Asia, including yellow dust and fine particulate matter.

The first day of the meeting will focus on integrated ecological and environmental management of bays and river basins. Discussions will cover research cooperation on the marine ecosystem of the Yellow Sea, shared by South Korea and China, as well as integrated management of rivers, lakes and bays across all three countries.

On the second day, participants will share progress on climate change responses and air quality improvement, and hold in-depth discussions on risk assessment and management priorities for emerging pollutants, including trace hazardous chemicals.

About 40 researchers and officials from the three countries will attend, including National Institute of Environmental Research Director General Kim Young-woo, Xi Beidou, director of the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, and Oshima Yoshito, director general of Japan's National Institute for Environmental Studies.

"This meeting is an opportunity to share research achievements from the three countries, including improvements in Northeast Asian air quality, and to solidify our joint research cooperation," Kim said. "We will continue to leverage the research capabilities of all three nations to strengthen climate change responses and environmental policy cooperation, with the goal of improving environmental quality across Northeast Asia and protecting public health."


thlee@heraldcorp.com