Third(EMECS97)

The third EMECS Conference was a joint conference with the 7th Stockholm Water Symposium. The joint conference was held in Stockholm, Sweden, a city that has been called the "water capital" of northern Europe. This was the first conference to be cosponsored by the International EMECS Center, which was established in 1994 following the success of the first two EMECS Conferences.The theme of the conference was "With Rivers to the Sea:Interaction of Land Activities, Fresh Water and Enclosed Coastal Seas". One thousand delegates from 80 countries,including researchers in the fields of both fresh and ocean water, government officials, and representatives from NGO organizations went beyond the confines of their individual specialties and forged ties by debating such topics as the flow of nutrients from land to sea, the
function of fresh water in transporting harmful pollutants, and the relationship between land utilization and water quality. They also considered the similarities and differences between coastal areas in various parts of the world and deepened their awareness of the importance of global efforts to preserve the environment in the world's enclosed coastal seas.In the conference plenary session, case studies were presented for some of the world's major enclosed coastalseas (the Seto Inland Sea, Chesapeake Bay, the Baltic Seaand the Black Sea). In the workshops, 165 speakers from 37 countries presented papers, with a discussion period following each presentation. There was also a poster session with submissions from 72 people representing 8 countries.At the end of the conference, the Stockholm Statement was
adopted by the delegates, identifying four principles to reduce the pollution load on enclosed coastal seaenvironments:
(1) Pursue an holistic approach
(2) Improve understanding
(3) Develop an active dialogue
(4) Act locally - think regionally