5th International Marine Debris Conference 20-25 March 2011

The 5th International Marine Debris Conference will take place March 20-25, 2011 in Honolulu, HI, U.S.A.  here

Waves of Change: Global lessons to inspire local action

Date: March 20-25, 2011

Location: Honolulu, Hawai‘i, USA

Co-organizers: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the United Nations Environment Programme

It is our hope that this conference will open a new chapter in the field of marine debris by reinvigorating our efforts, providing new tools and information, and inspiring innovation. This new era relies on sharing across borders—building upon successes, taking away lessons from others’ experiences, and working towards common goals. This conference is being designed with a variety of tracks, themes, and session types, with all paths leading to the shared goal of moving forward, globally and locally, in combating the economic and environmental impacts of marine debris.http://www.5imdc.org/program/abstracts/

Australian national ports strategy

The Federal Government commissioned Infrastructure Australia and the National Transport Commission (NTC) to develop the national ports strategy released on 7 January 2011.  Why do we need this strategy? Most all imports to and exports from Australia are carried by ship and our our busy ports manage about 10% of the total world sea trade. There is increasing pressure on ports and peripheral infrastructure to to be able to handle trade levels that are expected to continue to double every ten years. The strategy is anticipated to provide a coordinated approach including transportation in and out of ports. The strategy will be submitted to the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) for endorsement and can be downloaded from the NTC website via this link. For more information on the strategy, please visit the Infrastructure Australia website at www.infrastructureaustralia.gov.au. Teachers wishing to introduce a unit plan about ports are invited to view the AUSMEPA unit of work called Ports and the Marine Environment which can be found here.

6th World Environmental Education Congress, Brisbane 19-23 July 2011

The 6th World Environmental Education Congress 2011 will be held from Tuesday 19 – Saturday 23 July 2011 at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, Queensland, Australia, and is expected to attract approximately 1,000 Australian and international delegates. 

The 6th WEEC is targeted at individuals and organisations with a stake in environmental and sustainability education who want to share learning and experiences with global experts and peers. Combining content from associations, government and industry sectors, 6th WEEC is offering an opportunity for your members to showcase and discover innovative ideas and network with their peers at this global event. 

The program, under the broad theme of Explore, Experience, Educate, will offer participants an opportunity to learn, encounter, share and debate new ways of thinking, feeling and doing and to explore new trends in research and practice in environmental education.

Click here for more and come and meet AUSMEPA there!