The 2nd WESTPAC workshop on Microplastic Research and Monitoring will take place on 15-17 October 2018, Shanghai, China. This event will be kindly supported and hosted by the East China Normal University (ECNU) and its Plastic Marine Debris Research Center (PMDRC).

The first day will be dedicated to a microplastics science symposium, with presentations on the latest research findings on microplastics, its research or assessment approaches, methods, and techniques, and its impacts at global, regional and local scales. This symposium will also be an opportunity for participants to share their latest research results and to explore new opportunities of collaborative research in the region.

The 2nd and 3rd day will be a follow up to the inception workshop (20-22 September 2017, Phuket, Thailand), with objectives to finalize the draft harmonized method for microplastic sampling and analysis in beach sediment; to develop a harmonized microplastic sampling and analysis protocol in surface water; to review the progress made since the last year in the pilot sites and by two working groups (microplastics in surface water and marine organisms); to examine strengths, challenges and lessons learned from the programme implementation in the past; and to explore partnership building opportunities and future research directions, while taking into account the results generated from the science symposium on the first day. For your reference, you can find the summary report of the 1st WESTPAC workshop at http://iocwestpac.org/news/845.html

For more detailed information please visit: http://iocwestpac.org/calendar/882.html