In its implementation of the East Asian Seas Action Plan, COBSEA is guided by 5-year Strategic Directions. Following the completion and valuation of the Strategic Directions 2018-2022, new COBSEA Strategic Directions for 2023-2027 were developed in consultation with COBSEA participating countries, including interviews, a survey, a webinar, an in-person workshop, and written inputs. New Strategic Directions 2023-2027 were adopted by silence procedure in the intersessional period in December 2023.
The purpose of the COBSEA Strategic Directions 2023-2027 is to define the forward-looking strategic objectives and priority actions for the substantive thematic programmes, and cross-cutting, foundational and enabling components for the next five-year period that address COBSEA’s long-term vision and mission. COBSEA’s vision statement describes what it is setting out to achieve and its mission statement describes how the vision will be achieved, as follows:
Vision: Healthy, resilient, and biologically diverse marine and coastal environments in the East Asian Seas region support human well-being and livelihoods and contribute to sustainable development for the long-term benefit of present and future generations.
Mission: To support the countries of the East Asian Seas region in the development of region-specific knowledge products and tools, formulation of science-based policy, capacity development, and coordination of activities to facilitate the control, reduction and prevention of marine pollution, and the conservation, sustainable use and restoration of marine and coastal resources and habitats, as well as to contribute to climate change mitigation and enhance climate resilience.
The COBSEA Strategic Directions 2023-2027 are underpinned by three thematic programmes, two cross-cutting components, and a number of supporting foundational and enabling components, and will be guided by the universal principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, including the principle of gender mainstreaming into environmental management and development.
COBSEA thematic programmes and cross-cutting, foundational and enabling components underpinning the Strategic Directions 2023-2027:
The Strategic Directions are guided by global and regional strategies, including UNEP’s MTS 2022-2025, the Regional Seas Strategic Directions 2022-2025 and other RSCAP Medium-Term Strategies. They align with relevant global conventions and Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEA) including the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) goals and targets; the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement; and relevant United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA) resolutions.
