9th International Meeting on the EMECS

As the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico demonstrates, coastal seas are both valuable and vulnerable. To manage the world's coastal seas and restore their ecosystems will require the best science-based approaches, commitment and resources. But it will also require accountability, effectiveness, and efficiency. It will require the best use of limited resources, for clear communication between governments and stakeholders, to determine what works and what does not.

The purpose of EMECS 9 is to improve our ability to manage coastal seas in all their ecological, economic, and cultural dimensions. The conference will work to cross barriers of discipline and culture by bringing together experts and stakeholders from different backgrounds to share information, insights, and lessons learned.

Since the first EMECS conference in Kobe, Japan, in 1990, this international gathering has met to discuss these issues. Conferences have been held in Sweden, Turkey, Thailand, France, China, and the United States. When EMECS was last held in the U.S. (in Maryland in 1993), it drew more than 600 participants from more than 40 nations. EMECS 9 promises to return that same excitement to Baltimore, Maryland in August 2011.