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| Seto Inland sea Declaration |
| EMECS '90 August 3-6, 1990 in Kobe, Japan EMECS
'90 was sponsored by the Environment Agency, the Governors and Mayors' Conference
on the Environmental Protection of the Seto Inland sea, Hyogo Prefecture, the
City of Kobe and other organizations, for the exchange of information between
government representatives, relevant private organizations and researchers involved
in studying the Seto Inland Sea and other enclosed coastal seas throughout the
world. The world's first EMECS conference was attended by 1,238 persons from 42
countries and regions around the world, including representatives from the United
Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the Organization for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO).The 186 representatives were divided into 9 sessions and covered a broad spectrum, including the humanities and social sciences as well as the natural sciences. This enabled researchers, government officials and private citizens who otherwise tend to become locked into their own specialist fields to meet, discuss, and exchange information and techniques. The result was a fulfilling experience befitting the first international conference on the topic. The achievements of the conference were summarized in the Seto Inland Sea Declaration. Related parties in countries around the world pledged their solidarity and cooperation to work to achieve the goals set forth in the declaration. | ||
| The
rich environment and great benefits of enclosed coastal seas must be passed on
to future generations. To this end, all those concerned should seek to advance
the use of such seas in a sustainable manner, while conserving their environment. Land and sea resources and the environment are closely interrelated and land use, industrial activity, coastal reclamation and other activities affect the quality and availability of coastal land, coastal waters, their ecosystems, the natural landscape and the marine environment. Thus a comprehensive integrated approach to coastal zone management is needed to ensure economic development as well as environmental protection of these areas. This can be achieved only through close co-operation between national, regional and local levels of the governments concerned. Such co-operation requires strong political commitment and consensus at all levels. [Declaration] | ||