The ocean is the world's largest natural ecosystem, playing an indispensable role in achieving sustainable economic and social development and addressing climate change. While developing the marine economy and realizing the sustainable use of marine resources, how to reduce marine pollution, reduce damage to the marine ecology, and better protect marine resources is a common issue facing the international community.

This year's World Oceans Day theme is "Protecting the marine ecosystem and harmonious coexistence between man and nature". The ocean accounts for about 71% of the earth's surface area and about 97% of all the water resources on the earth. It is not only the basis for the survival of many creatures including humans, but also of great significance to the sustainable development of the global economy. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, by 2030, the marine industry will make outstanding contributions to economic development and employment promotion, and the contribution of the marine economy to the global economic added value will double to 3 trillion US dollars, accounting for about 2.5% of the global economic added value.

Portugal--

Strengthen the construction of marine protected areas

The Savage Islands in Portugal have a unique ecosystem, where more than 150 species of plants and 38 species of birds thrive. The waters near the archipelago are an important migration route for fish and mammals in the Atlantic Ocean. There are nearly 100 species of fish and more than 200 species of mollusks, many of which are endemic to the area. As early as 1971, the Portuguese government established the country's first nature reserve here.

In order to further protect local biodiversity, in November last year, the Portuguese government announced that the Savage Islands Marine Reserve would be extended to 12 nautical miles around the archipelago, and the area of the reserve would be expanded from less than 95 square kilometers to 2,677 square kilometers, making it the largest marine reserve in Europe. All resource exploitation activities, including fishing and mining, are prohibited in the waters of the reserve. Local marine experts said that the expansion of the Savage Islands Marine Reserve marks an important step for Portugal in the field of marine protection.

"Strengthening the construction of marine reserves will help the recovery and self-renewal of marine ecosystems and enhance marine biodiversity." Emmanuel Gon?alves, a scientist at the Portuguese Blue Sea Foundation, said. In addition to driving the recovery and growth of local fishery resources and enhancing marine biodiversity, the construction of the reserve can also promote the sustainable development of fisheries and make fishermen profitable.

In recent years, Portugal has vigorously advocated the development of the marine economy and continuously increased its attention to marine protection. To this end, the government has set up a special Directorate General of Natural Resources, Security and Maritime Services to be responsible for the demarcation of marine protected areas. At present, Portugal has established 72 marine protected areas in China.

In 2015, in order to promote and strengthen comprehensive and coordinated global marine governance, the Portuguese government established the Ministry of the Ocean to coordinate marine affairs, formulate scientific marine development and protection policies and supervise the implementation of policies, and promote the sustainable development of the marine economy. Since its establishment, the Ministry of the Ocean has played a cross-departmental coordination role. In 2017, the Ministry of the Ocean took the lead in jointly establishing a working group with local governments, universities, non-governmental organizations, etc. to evaluate Portugal's existing marine protected areas and put forward opinions and suggestions on related supervision and other work.

In the future, EU member states including Portugal will continue to increase their investment in marine protection, provide policy and financial support for the establishment of loss compensation mechanisms and economic restructuring, and implement more effective management and monitoring of marine protected areas.

Thailand--

Promote the recycling of marine plastic waste

Not long ago, a dying turtle was found on a beach in Thailand. The local marine endangered animal rescue center found that there were at least 158 pieces of garbage in the turtle's stomach, mainly plastic bags. About half of the improperly handled garbage in Thailand each year is eventually discharged into the sea, most of which is plastic garbage. The resulting marine plastic pollution has not only had an adverse impact on the local tourism and fisheries, but also damaged the marine ecological environment, causing a large number of marine animals to die from accidentally eating plastic garbage.

In order to reduce the impact of plastic waste on the marine ecology, the Thai government has actively developed the marine plastic waste recycling industry in recent years. Since 80% of marine waste comes from land, in order to reduce marine plastic waste from the source, in June 2018, the Thai government and the business sector jointly developed a plastic material flow database that can show the source, circulation and circulation of plastic products and plastic waste. In the same year, under the "Public-Private Partnership for Plastic and Waste Management" program, the Thai government and the private sector, academia, non-governmental organizations, etc. cooperated to jointly manage plastics and waste, aiming to reduce the use of plastic products and reuse plastic waste.

Under the plan, Thailand has increased the number of plastic waste collection points; industrial manufacturers have established the "Thailand Plastic Recycling Alliance" to recycle, manage and reuse plastic waste generated during the manufacturing process; dozens of well-known Thai companies have formed the Thailand Sustainable Development Business Council, and cooperated with the Thai Environment Institute and others to carry out environmental protection practices and enhance public awareness of environmental issues.

The Thai government has pledged to reduce marine waste by at least 50% by 2027. In order to better achieve the goal of plastic reduction, the Thai government has launched the "Roadmap for Managing Plastic Waste 2018-2030". As Thailand's policy framework for dealing with the problem of plastic waste, the roadmap adheres to the principle of "less use, reuse, and recycling", strengthens public-private sector cooperation, promotes responsible consumption and production, and realizes a circular economy.

At present, Thailand's practice of mobilizing all stakeholders to participate in solving the problem of plastic waste has achieved remarkable results. Many Thai companies have developed biodegradable packaging materials, or innovated production processes, reduced the use of materials, and increased recycling efforts.

France--

Promote green and low-carbon marine economy

France is rich in marine resources, and its exclusive economic zone is among the largest in the world. According to the EU Blue Economy Report 2022 released by the European Commission, the output value of France's marine economy reached 22.4 billion euros in 2019, and 374,000 people were engaged in jobs related to the marine economy, exceeding the number of employees in the banking and automotive industries.

Protecting biodiversity and marine resources and developing sustainable economic activities have always been the goals of the French government to promote the development of the marine economy. In the 1980s, the French Ministry of Marine Affairs was established to implement unified management of the oceans; in February 2017, France adopted the "National Ocean and Coast Strategy" with the ecological transition of the oceans and coasts, the development of a sustainable blue economy, and the protection of the good ecological conditions of the marine environment as the core. Faced with the urgent need for global marine protection and domestic energy transformation, France has further increased its efforts to develop a sustainable marine economy in recent years.

On the one hand, it vigorously promotes the modernization and transformation of traditional fishing areas. Taking Brittany, a major fishing area in France, as an example, the local government subsidizes aquaculture companies to promote equipment upgrades and reduce the impact of fishing activities on the environment. Brittany is also the home of France's national marine high-tech park, which brings together many marine industry research institutions and high-tech enterprises, providing technical and talent support for the transformation and upgrading of France's marine industry.

On the other hand, the green and low-carbon process of the marine economy is promoted by expanding the scale of offshore wind power. Etienne Baker, energy adviser to the French Prime Minister's Office, introduced that in recent years, the French government has continued to promote the development of wind farms in the western waters of France and the Mediterranean Sea beyond a depth of 50 meters. In addition, France is actively modernizing and upgrading its ports to promote the decarbonization of the shipping industry. The French economic recovery plan in 2020 will raise 200 million euros for the "greening of ports" project, which will develop green shipping by installing power terminals at docks and using alternative fuels.

France has also further strengthened the governance of the marine environment, especially increasing its efforts to combat marine plastic pollution. At the "One Ocean" summit held not long ago, the French Development Agency promised to provide funds to address marine plastic pollution. At the same time, France also promised to deal with abandoned landfills on its coast within 10 years.

"France is achieving sustainable development of the marine economy by developing biotechnology, clean energy, etc." Fr¨¦d¨¦ric Moncany-Saint-Aignan, chairman of the French Maritime Cluster, said: "The marine economy will play an important role in driving employment, promoting economic growth, and promoting social transformation. We need to put it at the top of the priority list of France's economic development."

Plastic Industry Video