Marine experts from around the world are congregating at City University of Hong Kong (CityU) on 1–3 June for the 6th International Conference on Marine Pollution and Ecotoxicology to share and discuss their research findings, as well as the latest developments in key areas such as innovative technologies for monitoring and remediation of marine pollution, which are of global concern.

The conference, organised by CityU’s Department of Biology and Chemistry (BCH), will provide a platform for local and overseas experts to discuss their research findings, as well as the latest scientific and technological advancements. Its aim is to advance the participants’ understanding of local, regional and global issues related to marine pollution, with the hope that such problems may be more easily solved in the future.

Professor István Horváth, Head of BCH, welcomed the conference participants from 37 countries at the opening ceremony on 1 June. Professor Raphael P M Lotilla, Regional Director of PEMSEA (Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia) under the United Nations Development Programme, also addressed the ceremony by giving an update of PEMSEA’s integrated coastal management work. He congratulated CityU for its influential marine research and believed such research would contribute not only to the region but also the rest of world.

Keynote lectures in the three-day conference will address recent marine environment issues, such as oil spills, harmful algal blooms and ecotoxicological effects of pollutants. In particular, representatives from the Chinese Academy of Sciences will share details of their research which has a heavy focus on distribution and adverse health effects of emerging environmental contaminants in China.

Other presentations will focus on six key areas: “innovative technology in marine pollution”; “chemicals of emerging concern in the marine environment”; “hypoxia and eutrophication”; “pollution monitoring and remediation”; “ecotoxicology and risk assessment”; and “persistent organic pollutants and endocrine disruptors.”

Details of the conference and key lectures and sessions are available at: http://www.ncm2.xyz/bch/conf2010/