On August 13, the 1st Mega-Delta Programme Workshop was held, with 26 scientists from more than ten countries participating online, including the members from Future Earth Coasts Executive Committee. Miss Chloe Nunn from IOC-UNESCO also joined this workshop on behalf of the Ocean Decade Team.
Professor Xiuzhen Li from the State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research (SKLEC) made a brief introduction about the background of the Mega-Delta Programme, the partners, the locations of the deltas, and welcomed all participants.
The Implementation Plan for the Mega-Delta Programme was discussed, including Aims, Research Objectives, Work Plan for the Next Ten Years and Activities in the First Two Years. They all showed confidence in carrying out the Mega-Delta Programme successfully and looked forward to working together for solutions to common problems faced by world deltas.
The Mega-Delta program is based on the Mega-Delta Workgroup of Future Earth Coasts. It aims to provide solutions to problems faced by different types of deltas in different regions with varying levels of social-economic development. All deltas are faced with climate change and human activity related challenges.
Thus, combined efforts from different organizations and multi-disciplines are required to fulfil the task. This program was is one the first round of 65 programs endorsed under the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.