Events

The regional training workshop is organized jointly with the Blue Solutions Initiative (a partnership between UNEP, GIZ, GRID-Arendal and IUCN, funded by the German Ministry of Environment) to advance marine and coastal spatial planning in the East Asian Seas region. The training will use interactive practical exercises to examine different elements of an ecosystem-based marine and coastal spatial planning process, in particular for protecting blue economy assets and their climate resilience.

The 24th Intergovernmental Meeting of COBSEA adopted the revised COBSEA Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI). This includes Terms of Reference for the COBSEA Working Group on Marine Litter (WGML), promoting the implementation of the RAP MALI and providing strategic and technical support to the IGM and COBSEA Secretariat.

The COBSEA Secretariat is hosting a webinar series to discuss the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework. The first webinar focuses on UNEP’s work with and through Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans on development, implementation and tracking related to the Framework. The webinar will provide an opportunity to discuss further efforts through COBSEA. 

Please see the concept note for further information.

The Regional Workshop on COBSEA Follow-up and Review of Ocean-related Sustainable Development Goals was held from 11-12 December 2019 in Manila, Philippines. The workshop was organized by COBSEA in collaboration with the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources to guide the Secretariat in the finalization of the COBSEA SDG Outlook document based on national reviews and consultations, for consideration at the 25th Intergovernmental Meeting of COBSEA.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) held a Regional Policy Dialogue on “Harnessing the sustainable ocean economy in South East Asia” as part of its work to support partner countries in the region. The Dialogue was held on 3-4 December in Bali, Indonesia and co-hosted with the Coordinating Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Investments of Indonesia, in co-operation with COBSEA. The Dialogue provided an opportunity to exchange on policy challenges and solutions to promote a sustainable ocean economy in South East Asia.

The third meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Expert Group on Marine Litter and Microplastics will be held from 18-22 November 2019 in Bangkok, Thailand. The meeting will be open to member States and accredited Major Groups and Stakeholders.

UNEP will provide the most direct economy class air ticket to the venue, as well as a per diem for the time in Bangkok, for participants from developing countries with priority given to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS) with special vulnerabilities.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Global Programme of Action (GPA), Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML), and the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) convened a workshop to present and promote a national source inventory approach in national marine litter planning and monitoring. The workshop was organized in the context of the COBSEA Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI) and the COBSEA-UNEP SEA circular initiative following the SEA of Solutions partnership week on plastic pollution prevention.

SEA of Solutions 2019 is the first annual partnership week convened by SEA circular – an initiative of the UN Environment Programme and the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), with support from the Swedish Government – to inspire partnerships for market-based solutions and encourage enabling policies to prevent marine plastic pollution in South-East Asia. The event is structured to showcase solutions along the plastic value chain and engage key stakeholders including local and national governments, businesses and plastic producers, communities and youth.

The Training of Trainers on Monitoring and Assessment of Marine Plastic Litter and Microplastics held on 9-13 September 2019 in Bali, Indonesia, was organized by the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) and the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA), co-hosted by the Ministry of Environment and Forestry of Indonesia and the Regional Capacity Center on Clean Seas (RC3S) and implemented in partnership with Universita

The Twenty-fourth Intergovernmental Meeting of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) was held on 19-20 June 2019 in Bali, Indonesia, back to back with the meeting of the COBSEA Working Group on Marine Litter. The meeting revised and adopted the COBSEA Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI), discussed activities carried out in the context of the action plan, and agreed on steps toward the establishment of a Regional Activity Centre and Regional Node of the Global Partnership on Marine Litter.