Okinawa NGO & Asia-Pacific Environmental Forum "World Chura (Beautiful) Oceans Towards the 22nd Century"

The Okinawa NGO & Asia-Pacific Environment Forum hopes to create a new shift in policy to address the rapidly expanding issue of marine trash – especially plastic – that is increasingly choking the ocean’s resilience, and lead towards a World Ocean Renaissance by 2033 with a new baseline for stewardship from “Blue October” 2013.  This forum is made possible thanks to a grant from the Japan Fund for Global Environment (JFGE), UNEP NOWPAP and will be held at OIST.

NGO leaders from the outer islands – Miyako, Ishigaki, Iriomote, Kume Island and others – will be there, along with leaders from Hawaii, Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan and the United States of America, discussing on "World Chura Oceans Towards the 22nd Century" (“Chura” is the Ryukyuan word for “beautiful”).

The recommendations from the NGOs will then be presented at the UNEP Regional Seas Program 2013 NOWPAP International Coastal Cleanup and Workshop on Marine Litter Management, which will be held from October 24 – 25 at the OIST main campus.

On Saturday afternoon, October 26, the International Coastal Cleanup Campaign will take place at Kuraha (Malibu) Beach, Yamada Onna Village, followed by a closing ceremony and I Love Okinawa Campaign® 20th Anniversary Reception at Coconut Moon.