Two gentlemen came on board recently as new directors of NOWPAP Regional Activity Centres, stepping up the ongoing efforts for the implementation of NOWPAP activities. Mr. Norihiko TANAKA from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan has replaced Mr. Hidemasa Yamamoto as the new CEARAC director and Mr. Hongbo SHANG from the Policy Research Centre for Environment and Economy of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China became the new director of DINRAC to succeed Mr. Jianguo Wang, who had finished his 9-years service for DINRAC. In recognizing his contribution to DINRAC and NOWPAP in general, Mr. Wang was given a plaque of appreciation. We warmly welcome Mr. Tanaka and Mr. Shang on board and wish Mr. Yamamoto and Mr. Wang a bright future at their new posts.
(released on 25 August 2010)
NOWPAP at the 3rd East Asian Seas Partnership Council Meeting
The Third East Asian Seas Partnership Council Meeting was held in Dandong, China on 26-29 July 2010. NOWPAP was invited to the meeting as a non-country partner. In addition to reviewing several reports that summarize the progress and achievements of PEMSEA, the meeting discussed issues relevant to PEMSEA transformation and sustainability. It was expressed at the meeting that NOWPAP considers PEMSEA as an important regional project/organization and has participated actively in the implementation of SDS-SEA as a partner and will continue to do so in the future. During the meeting, NOWPAP representative delivered positive message on behalf of GPA for continued collaboration with PEMSEA and circulated a leaflet of Global Partnership on Nutrient Management (GPNM). He also represented UNEP, as requested, during the discussion on GEF-IW Stock-taking for the East Asia region.
(released on 25 August 2010)
NOWPAP Participation in Writing the 2011 UNEP Yearbook
NOWPAP has been invited to participate in a writing workshop in Prague for the UNEP Yearbook 2011, to contribute on-site perspective on the topic of plastics pollution as one of the emerging issues to be addressed in the Yearbook. As NOWPAP has been implementing a regional action plan on marine litter in the recent years and plastics account for a majority of marine litter, experiences and information gathered in the NOWPAP region will be useful in the process of compiling the Yearbook.
(released on 25 August 2010)
NOWPAP MERRAC and POMRAC Focal Points Meetings
Two of the NOWPAP Regional Activity Centres, POMRAC and MERRAC, have organized their Focal Points Meetings respectively on 26-27 May and 8-11 June 2010 in Busan and Daejeon, Republic of Korea. After reviewing the on-going projects, the two Regional Activity Centres will continue the following activities:
POMRAC
• Preparation of a regional overview on ¡°Atmospheric Deposition (AD) of Contaminants in the NOWPAP Region with Special Case Studies on Anthropogenic and Natural Changes¡± using AD modeling data.
• Preparation of a regional overview based on the case studies on ¡°River and Direct Inputs (RDI) of Contaminants with Focus on the Anthropogenic and Natural Changes in the Selected Areas of the NOWPAP Region¡±.
• Further implementation of ¡°Integrated Coastal and River Basin Management¡± (ICARM) taking into consideration the results from case studies.
MERRAC
• Organization of the 2010 MERRAC Expert Meeting and Oil Spill Exercise in Hokkaido, Japan on 5 September 2010.
• Collection of information through questionnaires on the implementation of NOWPAP Regional Oil and HNS Spill Contingency Plan.
• Publishing the results of completed specific projects on HNS (Hazardous and Noxious Substances) Training Manual, HNS Database, and Regional Report on HNS Preparedness and Response.
(released on 21 June 2010)
NOWPAP at the 5th Global Oceans Conference and 8th IOC WESTPAC Intergovernmental Session
NOWPAP representatives recently attended the 5th Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts, and Islands held on 3-7 May 2010 in Paris, France and the 8th Intergovernmental Session of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC) held on 10-13 May in Bali, Indonesia.
As for the conference in Paris, NOWPAP representative attended several sessions under Policy, Science and Technical Symposium related to issues of interest to NOWPAP such as ecosystem based adaptation to impacts of climate change, biodiversity conservation, governance of large trans-boundary marine ecosystems, and the Policy Conference where the outcomes from the symposium, round table discussions and working group meetings were presented and the way forward drafted. It was learned from the conference that there are challenges and long way to go before reaching the 2010 and 2012 biodiversity targets including 10 percent of world ocean coverage by protected areas. Using the opportunity, the NOWPAP representative had short meetings with UNEP MCEB Director, COBSEA Coordinator, GOOS Office representative and other experts. In particular, practical steps to enhance collaboration between NOWPAP and NEAR-GOOS were discussed as well as possibility to have marine and coastal biodiversity forum (suggested by Toyama Prefecture as a side event during CBD COP10) during the ¡°Oceans Day at Nagoya¡±.
The 8th Intergovernmental Session of IOC WESTPAC was attended by member states and international organizations which reviewed the programmes and projects implementation since the last WESTPAC Intergovernmental Session, including activities on HAB, ocean remote sensing, oil spill response, NEAR-GOOS, marine and coastal biodiversity (with the focus on invasive species), data and information network (ODIN WESTPAC), which are relevant to NOWPAP. A statement was delivered at the meeting stressing the need of further cooperation between NOWPAP and IOC WESTPAC and suggesting development of joint activities. During the discussion on NEAR-GOOS, the meeting was informed of a recent consultation between UNEP Regional Seas Programme and IOC GOOS office which encouraged cooperation between the NEAR-GOOS and NOWPAP. As a result, a NOWPAP-initiated joint training course on remote sensing data analysis was accepted at the meeting. In addition, NOWPAP was invited to be involved in a newly established WESTPAC working group on Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment. Representatives of DPR Korea indicated that they would like to consider participation in the 15th NOWPAP IGM scheduled later this year in Russia.
(released on 19 May 2010)
NOWPAP Marine Litter Workshop and ICC in Hirado
With the kind support of the Japanese government, the NOWPAP International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) and Workshop on Marine Litter Management were successfully organized on 26-28 March 2010 in Hirado, Nagasaki, Japan.
Focusing on ICC campaigns, marine litter and solid waste management, the workshop was attended by marine litter focal points and government officials of NOWPAP member states, officials from Nagasaki Prefectural Government and Hirado Municipal Government, several NOWPAP partners (PEMSEA, YSLME and UNEP IETC), directors and representatives of NOWPAP Regional Activities Centres, environmental NGOs, experts on marine litter and local citizens.
During the workshop, past NOWPAP ICC campaigns were reviewed with experiences and lessons of promoting and organising the beach cleanups shared. The workshop also discussed the marine litter management in NOWPAP countries, in particular solid waste management which is considered as a key factor to the control of marine litter generation. While recognizing the trans-boundary nature of marine litter and need of building up public awareness, the meeting participants wished to continue the NOWPAP ICC campaigns in the region.
Korean government kindly offered to organize the next NOWPAP ICC event in September-October 2010 in the Republic of Korea. On the day after the workshop, the workshop participants together with local citizens participated in the cleanup at Tanoura beach where hundreds of kilograms of marine litter were collected, sorted and recorded. The compiled marine litter data are available. In conjunction with these events, the NOWPAP RAP MALI (Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter) working meeting was held to finalize the RAP MALI work plan and budget for 2010-2011 biennium.
(released on 31 March 2010)
Activities on Biodiversity Assessment
14th NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting decided to develop a project on assessment of the current status of marine and coastal biodiversity in the NOWPAP region, which should cover the main threats, pressures, impacts and trends at the ecosystem, community, habitat and key species level.
Implementing this decision, NOWPAP RCU, together with RACs, has been working on preparation of the project. As a first step, NOWPAP is participating in the UNEP-initiated global outlook on marine and coastal biodiversity, contributing regional input. A consultant is being contracted, using funds provided by UNEP, to collect and compile regional data and information to be reflected in the global assessment. This global outlook is due to be released for the upcoming 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 10) in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan. At the same time, NOWPAP RCU is preparing a proposal for long term biodiversity assessment which will involve NOWPAP national experts to produce a regional report on the biodiversity issues mentioned above. Currently project proposal is being drafted, competent experts and project proponent to be involved are being selected as well as potential donors for the project funding.
The results of the biodiversity assessment activities will be reported to the 15th NOWPAP IGM later this year.
(released on 03 March 2010)
Vacancy at YSLME Project Management Office
NOWPAP partner, Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem Project (YSLME) is looking for a programme officer for marine environmental management. Details can be found at the vacancy announcement at the UNOPS website and the deadline for application is 18 February 2010: http://www.unops.org/_layouts/scripts/GetVAFile.aspx?id=4250.
