China Japan Korea Russia
 
 
 
 

New activities set for NOWPAP Regional Activity Centres

In May-June 2008, three NOWPAP Regional Activity Centres (DINRAC, MERRAC and POMRAC) held their Focal Points Meetings (CEARAC Meeting has been held in March 2008).  All four NOWPAP Regional Activity Centres (RACs) have reviewed their progress and agreed on new projects for 2008-2009 biennium.  In addition to continuing their routine tasks, NOWPAP RACs will implement the following activities:

•   Improve the Internet Communication System among NOWPAP members to provide relevant data and information about marine environment quality in the region in order to serve as a clearing house;

•   Carry out case studies on harmful algal blooms (HAB) in NOWPAP member states, develop HAB integrated website and procedures for assessing coastal eutrophication, conduct second training course on remote sensing data analysis;

•   Organize 2nd NOWPAP Joint Oil Spill Exercise in Qingdao, China in 2008 and a regional workshop to share the experiences in the cleanup of the Hebei Spirit oil spill (occurred in December 2007 in the Republic of Korea);

•   Integrate Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) into the existing NOWPAP Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan, develop HNS response operations guidelines, training manual and database;

•   Carry out activities related to Integrated Coastal and River Basin Management (ICARM) with involvement of all NOWPAP RACs and in cooperation with partners such as PEMSEA, organize a workshop during the 2009 East Asian Seas Congress;

•   Implement the NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI).

(released on 24 June 2008)

UNEP Deputy Executive Director visited Toyama

On 31 May 2008, Ms. Angela Cropper, Deputy Executive Director of UNEP, visited NOWPAP RCU office in Toyama where she exchanged opinions and ideas with RCU staff members after being briefed on NOWPAP activities.

While in Toyama, she paid a courtesy visit to Governor of Toyama Prefecture and Mayor of Toyama City to express appreciation for their support for the operation of NOWPAP RCU Toyama Office. She also visited ECO TOWN, a large recycling complex, to see the automobile recycling process.

She came to Japan to attend the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) held in Yokohama from 28 to 30 May 2008. After TICAD, she visited another UNEP office in Osaka (IETC) before coming to Toyama.

(released on 6 June 2008)

       

NOWPAP links with partners are strengthened

NOWPAP has recently increased exchange with partners through participation in a number of international meetings and workshops.  

On 7-10 April 2008, NOWPAP activities were presented at the 4th Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts and Islands (attended by over 400 patricians from 70 countries).  NOWPAP is trying to bring interested partners, such as PEMSEA, to share their experience in Integrated Coastal and River Basin Management (ICARM), and have received positive response.  

At the 2008 International Coastal Cleanup Conference on 23-25 April, NOWPAP marine litter activities and future plans were introduced to 60 attendees, including the ICC national coordinators from the US and around the world.  NOWPAP publications on marine litter were distributed among participants.  The Ocean Conservancy, the ICC initiator and advocate, has expressed its willingness to participate in a training workshop planned by NOWPAP in September 2008, in order to further promote the ICC campaign in the region. 

Presentation on NOWPAP efforts in marine litter monitoring has been made at the meeting of the UNEP/IOC Technical Working Group (TWG) on 1-3 May 2008.  TWG members discussed the first draft of the UNEP/IOC Operational Guidelines on Survey and Monitoring of Marine Litter.  Experience accumulated by NOWPAP member states in marine litter monitoring will be taken into account while finalizing the UNEP/IOC Guidelines, along with expertise from OSPAR, HELCOM and other programmes. 

In order to strengthen partnerships with other organizations and programmes in the region, NOWPAP will participate in the upcoming 7th IOC/WESTPAC International Scientific Symposium ¡°Nature Hazards and the Changing Marine Environment in the Western Pacific and the 12th Session of the NEAR-GOOS Coordinating Committee which will take place on 21-25 May 2008.  Both meetings are organized in conjunction with 7th Intergovernmental Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific scheduled for 26-29 May 2008.  Presentations on NOWPAP current and future activities will strengthen further cooperation with partners.

(released on 9 May 2008)

 

NOWPAP efforts to deal with marine litter got wide recognition


Since NOWPAP launched the marine litter activity in 2005, its efforts on dealing with this global problem have been continuously strengthened and started to attract attention outside the region.  In the 2007 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) report, recently published by the Ocean Conservancy, in addition to reflecting data from Korea and Japan, China and Russia (who jointed the ICC campaign recently) have been also praised for their participation in this international effort in Shanghai and Vladivostok.  The report says that ¡°2007 ¡¦ also marked the second year of China¡¯s involvement with the ICC efforts. ¡¦ Russia also took part in the cleanup for the first time since 2003 ¡¦ ICC events in both Russia and China in 2007 were organized due to the efforts of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) of UNEP.  With the NOWPAP assistance, clean-up campaigns will be continued in the region in 2008-2009 and beyond¡±.

(released on 24 April 2008)

 

PEMSEA launched a book on ocean governance

The book ¡°Securing the Oceans: Essays on Ocean Governance – Global and Regional Perspectives¡± was launched by PEMSEA (one of the NOWPAP partners) during the 4th Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts and Islands held on 7-11 April 2007 Hanoi.  The book is envisaged to further stimulate and strengthen the pursuit of sustainable ocean development so as to secure the ocean and its resources for our future generations. The 25-chapter volume is a compendium of essays written by 25 authors in their different capacities as scientists, economists, lawyers, teachers, managers, users of marine resources, national and international civil servants, and administrators. To know more about this book, click here or order your copy now from the online bookstore.

(released on 23 April 2008)

 

 

NOWPAP databases linked with COBSEA

To share data and information, NOWPAP is working with COBSEA (Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia) to build a website linkage between the East Asian Seas Knowledgebase established by COBSEA and NOWPAP databases.  Initial NOWPAP input has been already reflected in the Knowledgebase.  In the nearest future, the databases developed by the NOWPAP Data and Information Network Regional Activity Centre (DINRAC) will be further linked which will allow wider audience to access  the data and information. (released on 26 March 2008)

 

CEARAC New Activities in 2008-2009

On 6-8 March 2008, the 6th Focal Points Meeting of CEARAC (Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Center of NOWPAP) has been held in Toyama, Japan. In conjunction with the Focal Points Meeting (FPM), the First Coastal Environmental Assessment Workshop was organized on 7 March.  

During the FPM, the future CEARAC activities in 2008-2009 biennium were discussed. Meeting participants adopted the CEARAC work plan and budget and agreed that the main CEARAC activities will be as follows (all these activities will be undertaken in close communication and collaboration with global and regional partners such as UNESCO-IOC, PICES, IOC-WESTPAC, NEAR-GOOS, YSLME and others):

-   Implementing HAB (Harmful Algal Blooms) case studies in NOWPAP member states;
-   Developing HAB integrated website, compiling and linking all recent results from NOWPAP and related projects and organizations;
-   Preparing educational materials for utilization of remote sensing data for marine environment monitoring;
-   Organizing 2nd training course on remote sensing data analysis (jointly with partners);
-   Developing procedures for assessment of eutrophication status, including evaluation of land based sources of nutrients, for the NOWPAP region;
-   Implementing NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI).  

In early September 2008, in conjunction with another regional workshop (details of which will be confirmed later), CEARAC is planning to bring together experts of its Working Groups on HAB and Remote Sensing applications to discuss the progress of implementation of CEARAC activities.  (released on 11 March 2008)

 

UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea Project invites Expressions of Interest for the ¡°SAP demonstration activities"

The ¡°UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) Project¡± aims to facilitate protection and sustainable use of marine and coastal resources in the Yellow Sea.

To achieve this objective, the Project has identified management actions in its preparation of the Strategic Action Plan (SAP).

It is expected that implementing the management actions will mitigate environmental problems in the Yellow Sea and improve its diverse ecosystems.  

The demonstration activity will be administered by UNOPS through the Project Management Office in Ansan, Republic of Korea.

To see the detail of each activity, click here. (February 2008)

 

NOWPAP members joined hands in fighting the oil spill in Korea

China, Japan and Russia joined hands in fighting the worst ever oil spill incident in the Korean history after activating the NOWPAP Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan on 10 December 2007. With the assistance from the NOWPAP Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre (MERRAC) and NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit, China has sent a ship with experts and sorbents on board and Japan dispatched a team of experts to join the international efforts to help clean-up the oil spilled off the coast of Taean, Republic of Korea. Since the response operations at the sea have come to the end and the clean-up efforts are now focusing on the shore, NOWPAP deactivated the contingency plan on 14 January 2008.

Click here to find the progress in more detail.

Realizing the risk of oil spills in the region and importance of cooperation among members, NOWPAP plans to have the second joint oil spill exercise in October 2008 in China. (released on 16 January 2008)