The workshop will be sponsored by the State Key Laboratory of Satellite Ocean Environment Dynamics (Second Institute of Oceanography, State Oceanic Administration), Hangzhou, P. R. China (SOED), Land-Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) and the International EMECS Center.

 SOED was established in July, 2006 by the Ministry of Science and technology. The main tasks of SOED are to carry out multi-disciplinary ocean research with advanced observational means such as satellite remote-sensing, to study the processes and mechanisms of the spatial and temporal variations of ocean environment, to establish a theoretical framework for the ocean environment dynamics of the China Seas and the adjacent oceans, to develop new technologies for monitoring and simulating ocean environment, and to provide scientific and technical support for sustainable exploration of marine resources and national security. The director of SODE is Dr. Dake Chen, and the Scientific Advisory Committee of SOED is chaired by Academian Jiping Chao.

   LOICZ is a core project of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP) and the International Human Dimensions Programme on Global Environmental Change (IHDP).
   LOICZ aims to provide science that contributes towards understanding the Earth system in order to inform, educate and contribute to the sustainability of the world’s coastal zone. Therefore LOICZ seeks to inform the scientific community, policymakers, managers and stakeholders on the relevance of global environmental change in the coastal zone.

   The International EMECS Center is an organization established for promoting international exchanges on not only coastal but also catchment areas of the enclosed coastal seas in a wide range of fields such as research, policy, civic action, education and industrial activities and so forth to solve the problem on the environmental conservation of enclosed coastal seas in the world such as the Seto Inland Sea, the Chesapeake Bay (USA), the Baltic Sea (Northern Europe), and the Mediterranean Sea (Southern Europe).
   The name of the Center is an acronym for Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas. The organization was established in Kobe City in 1994 after the success of the first and second International Conferences on the Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas, and became a foundation under the cojurisdiction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of the Environment in 2000.