The workshop will be opened in Tokyo, and the dissemination activities will take place at the Otsuchi Marine Research Center of ORI at Otsuchi, Iwate Prefecture.

Young researchers representing China, Indonesia, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam will take part in this workshop. They will be joined by a number of Japanese students and scholars.

The workshop will feature lectures on various marine issues by prominent researchers from ORI, Ehime University, Tokai University, Kobe College and the National Institute of Polar Research. In addition, the participants will have the opportunity to observe marine research activities in the field.

ORI is a leading research institution in the field of marine and ocean sciences, and undertakes fundamental research on marine environment and marine biodiversity with a global perspective. This International Workshop on Marine Environment is part of an ongoing tripartite collaborative programme between UNU, ORI, and the Iwate (Japan) Prefectural Government. The programme, launched in August 1999, utilizes marine ecosystems in Iwate prefecture as case studies for research on the conservation and protection of global marine and coastal environment.

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