The following priority programme activities were identified by the member states of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) immediately after its establishment in 1994:

    Establishment of a comprehensive database and information management system;

    Survey of national environmental legislation, objectives, strategies and policies;

    Establishment of a collaborative, regional monitoring programme (carried out by CEARAC and POMRAC together);

    Development of effective measures for regional cooperation in marine pollution preparedness
       and response;

    Establishment of regional activity centres and their networks.

After the establishment of four regional activity centres (RACs) and their networks in 2000-2002, the RACs have been carried out numerous activities; some of the outcomes are as follows:

    Integrated Report on Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB);

    Countermeasures against HABs in the NOWPAP Region;

    Integrated Report on Remote Sensing Applications for Marine Environment Monitoring;

    First NEAR-GOOS - NOWPAP Joint Training Course on Remote Sensing Data Analysis

    Eutrophication Monitoring Guidelines by Remote Sensing;

    Regional Database on Institutions;

    Regional Database on Individual Experts;

    Regional Database on Geographic Information Systems (GIS);

    Regional Database on Remote Sensing Applications;

    Regional Database on Marine Litter;

    Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan with Extended Geographical Coverage;

    Regional Reports on Shoreline Clean-up, Sensitivity Mapping and Dispersant Applications;

    Regional Overview on Atmospheric Deposition of Contaminants to the Marine and Coastal Environment;

    Regional Overview on River and Direct Inputs of Contaminants to the Marine and Coastal        Environment.

Since the 10th Intergovernmental Meeting (2005), new activities have been initiated by the RACs such as:

    Regional and National Reports on Marine Biodiversity Data and Information;

    Regional Overview and National Reports on Marine and Coastal Nature Reserves;

    Internet Communication System for information on marine environment quality;

    Regional Contingency Plan for Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) as
       an integral part of the already existing oil spill contingency plan;

    Integrated Coastal Zone and River Basin Management (ICARM): on-going;

    State of Marine Environment Reporting (SOMER).

Several activities have been / are being implemented jointly by several Regional Activity Centres and the Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU):

    Marine Litter Activity (MALITA). This activity has been completed successfully in 2007 due to the joint efforts made by RACs and RCU and strong support by the member states. The next stage of this activity is the NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI) which is implemented since 2008.

    Project Addressing Land-based Activities. This proposed GEF project has been formally endorsed by China, Japan, Korea and Russia and it might be resubmitted to the GEF pipeline in 2008;

    Regional Overview of Legal Aspects of the Protection and Management of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Northwest Pacific Region. This overview was updated by national experts and published in 2007;

    State of Marine Environment Report (SOMER). POMRAC prepared a comprehensive review of marine environmental problems in the region based on the analysis of data and information from different sources, including other RACs.