HOW WAS BLUE TALKS 2022
On Wednesday 25 May, the “Blue Talks” event took place at the Carol I Central University Library in Bucharest, in the run-up to the United Nations Oceans Conference (UNOC), hosted by Portugal and Kenya in Lisbon from 27 June to 1 July. The Blue Talks event followed the concept of the eight UNOC interactive dialogues.
In her opening speech, Her Excellency Teresa Macedo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Portugal to Romania, stressed that “there is no healthy Earth without healthy oceans: there is no green without blue”, and sounded the alarm on the huge challenges arising from the environmental problems facing the seas and oceans, which require a coherent response from the whole of society: from governments, from scientists, research and innovation, from representatives of the private sector and civil society in general. The UNOC conference in Lisbon builds on all the work done so far and will itself be a call to action to create political momentum towards concrete solutions.
The “Blue Talks” event shared valuable information on the potential and challenges of the Black Sea and the positive role the private sector can play. The event was attended by representatives from central and local governments, who shared their experience in harnessing coastal geography to promote sustainable development in their communities.
In his speech, Mr Ionuț-Sorin Banciu, Secretary of State, Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests of Romania, stressed the need to promote a sustainable Blue Economy, with innovative solutions based on science, greener technologies and sustainable use of marine resources, protecting biodiversity and reducing pollution.
“Supporting the Blue Economy should not only be seen in terms of technical environmental sustainability. It must be an inclusive, people-centred approach that guarantees livelihoods for communities. This requires strong involvement of civil society, research, academia and the business community. For civil society to get involved, we need to share international, regional and local perspectives and experiences,” added Ionuț-Sorin Banciu, State Secretary, Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests of Romania.
“Blue Talks” also proved to be a valuable event to raise awareness about the consequences of water contamination and therefore the need to conserve our water-based resources and the environment and to encourage the constant recycling of materials in a structured and systematic way. To achieve this, emphasis has been placed on the need to increase scientific knowledge and promote new technological approaches to achieve these goals.
The event was organized by the Portuguese Embassy in Romania, with the support of AICEP Portugal Global, the Romanian Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests, the Romania – Portugal Bilateral Chamber of Commerce, the Reciclad’OR company, the Carol I Central University Library in Bucharest, SIBS Group and Radio Romania Regional.
