In the period of September 26 to October 2, 2005 The second planning and coordination meeting of the Monsoon Asia Ecosystem Research Network was held at Chennai, India. The meeting has reviewed the progress of work of the Network since its last meeting at Purwokerto in December 2004. Among further objectives of the meeting are:
- Develop ideas for a joint proposal to be submitted to European and International funding agencies
- Discussion of coastal zone management issues within the context of natural disasters originating from the sea
- Development of joint courses and curricula in the field of ocean science and technology
At this meeting, Prof. Dr.Sc. Nguyen Tac An, Director of the Institute of Oceanography has presented a paper titled “Emerging problems of coastal environment of Viet Nam” dealing with emerging problems of environment related to the development of some important marine economies, degradation of typical ecosystems in coastal areas of Viet Nam, awareness of risks of environmental degradation and real economic value of natural ecosystem and the disasters accompanied with environmental degradation, lacking of comprehensive measure and insufficiency of scientific bases to serve for the management and treatment of the environment, and insufficiency of proper care about environmental management and development.