Conference Reports
New Frontiers in the Law of the Sea and Policy Integration
Water 2025, 17(3), 444; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17030444
As global advancements accelerate, modernisation and technological developments are transforming the ocean sector, bringing new opportunities while also posing significant challenges. Nevertheless, these developments have exposed gaps in the existing legal framework of ocean governance—the law of the sea—which has yet to fully address many emerging complexities and new frontiers. Addressing these gaps requires rigorous gap analyses and collaborative discourse. To this end, the 11th Ocean Law and Governance International Symposium, themed “New Frontiers and the Law of the Sea”, was held in Dalian, China, on 27–28 September 2024, in a hybrid format—online and offline. The event was co-hosted by the School of Law and the National Institute of Ocean Governance at Dalian Maritime University, with support from Zhejiang University and the Chinese Society of the Law of the Sea. The symposium brought together 22 experts and scholars from around the world to discuss critical topics, including high seas and seabed governance, climate litigation, digitalisation, law enforcement, and pressing issues, such as BBNJ and MPP. The symposium provided essential interdisciplinary legal insights, laying a robust foundation for fostering new discourse in the academic arena, which, in turn, advances future research while informing the development of marine policies aimed at achieving sustainable ocean governance. This study critically evaluates whether the symposium successfully bridged gaps in the existing academic landscape and explores whether it offers a way forward for addressing the challenges associated with new frontiers and the law of the sea. Through empirical legal analysis, this study aims to assess the impact of the symposium in promoting further discussions and policy innovations necessary to meet evolving ocean governance needs.
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Recalcitrant Compounds Removal in Raw Leachate and Synthetic Effluents Using the White-Rot Fungus Bjerkandera adusta
Water 2017, 9(11), 824; https://doi.org/10.3390/w9110824
Recalcitrant compounds limit the efficiency of conventional biological processes for wastewater treatment, representing one of the major issues in the field. This study focused on the treatment of three effluents with White-Rot-Fungus (WRF) Bjerkandera adusta MUT 2295 in batch tests, with biomass cultivated in attached form on polyurethane foam cubes (PUFs) to test its efficiency in the removal of the target effluents’ recalcitrant fraction. Treatment efficiency of B. adusta was evaluated on landfill leachate (Canada) and two solutions containing synthetic recalcitrant compounds, which were prepared with tannic and humic acid. Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) and color removal, the production of manganese peroxidases, and the consumption of a co-substrate (glucose) were monitored during the experiment. Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and fungal dry weight were measured at the beginning and at the end of the experiment. After co-substrate addition, effluent COD was 2300 ± 85, 2545 ± 84, and 2580 ± 95 (mg/L) in raw leachate and tannic and humic acids, respectively. COD removal of 48%, 61%, and 48% was obtained in raw leachate and in the synthetic effluents containing tannic and humic acids, respectively. Color removal of 49%, 25%, and 42% was detected in raw leachate and in tannic and humic acid solutions, respectively. COD and color removals were associated with the increase of fungal dry weight, which was observed in all the trials. These results encourage the use of the selected fungal strain to remove tannic acid, while further investigations are required to optimize leachate and humic acid bioremediation.
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