New Marine Laboratory opens in Monaco, International Symposium on Marine Pollution Held

A new marine environment laboratory, the only one of its kind in the UN system, was today inaugurated by H.S.H. Prince Rainier III of Monaco and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei.

The laboratory, located in a new complex in the centre of Monaco, covers a floorspace of some 3000 square meters and will house a variety of scientific activities previously dispersed in different locations in the Principality since the 1960s. It will permit the laboratory to retain and strengthen its position as one of the world's leading scientific institutions of its kind, specializing in:

At the opening ceremony, Dr. Elbaradei paid tribute to the generous support given by the Principality to launching the new laboratory in such excellent premises, thus underlining Monaco's long-standing commitment to marine research.

Marking the occasion, and against the background of the UN "International Year of the Ocean" in 1998, an International Symposium is also being held at the Monaco Congress Centre from 5-9 October. Co-sponsored by the International Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Maritime Organization (IMO) plus the IAEA, and in cooperation with the Commission Internationale pour l'Exploration de la Mer Mediterranée (CIESM), the Symposium will review recent progress in marine pollution studies and cooperative endeavours among the co-sponsors as well as with other international and national organizations. It will also assess the current state of the marine environment and the sources and impact of pollution on water, biota and sediment with a view to improving scientific approaches to risk assessment and the definition of future priorities.

During the Symposium a Ministerial Meeting of States from the Black Sea region will be held to discuss further cooperation in managing the Black Sea ecosystem, including IAEA technical cooperation in marine environmental assessment.

The laboratory's Director, Dr. Hugh Livingston, said "The IAEA Marine Environment Laboratory is opening a new chapter in its history with the need becoming ever clearer for mankind not to abuse, but to use wisely, the world's oceans as its greatest natural resource."