The Vietnam Sea and Islands Week 2011, themed “Green Brainpower for Sustainable Development of Vietnam’s Sea and Islands ” will be held nationwide from June 1-8.

The information was released by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MoNRE) at a press conference in Hanoi on May 10.

The Vietnam Sea and Islands Week is an annual activity, aimed at raising public awareness of the function, role and special importance of seas and oceans, the sustainable development of oceans, and the minimisation of the adverse impacts of climate change on Vietnam and the world as well.

The week is also designed to improve the sense of protecting natural resources and the maritime environment as well as to enhance Vietnamese people’s national pride of sovereignty over territorial waters and the long-term development of the sea-based economy.

The central coastal province of Khanh Hoa was selected to host a number of main activities during the week, including a meeting in response to the Vietnam Sea and Islands Week 2011, forums highlighting brand name of the Vietnamese sea and the sea-borne economy, and the inauguration of a showroom displaying maritime resources of the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa archipelagoes.

In particular, more than 3,000 young people will hold each other’s hands to create a map of Vietnam , which is expected to set a record.

At the press conference, MoNRE also announced the theme of the World Environment Day 2011 “Forests – Nature at Your Service”, which emphasises the importance of forests on the life and ecosystem.

On the same day, a scientific seminar on tapping sea and island potential for the sustainable development of the central province of Quang Ngai and the whole central region opened in Quang Ngai.

The two-day seminar will define factors that affect the exploitation of sea and island potential as well as orientations and solutions for the development of the sea-based economy in the 2011-2020 period./.

Source: Vietnam+