News

      COBSEA Newsletter: January - June 2024 

Warm greetings from COBSEA Secretariat!

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.

COBSEA has developed an interactive toolbox that addresses abandoned, lost, and otherwise discarded fishing gear (also known as ‘ghost gear’) in the region. The aim of the toolbox is to provide tools and guidance on environmentally sound and inclusive ghost gear prevention, mitigation, and management for the East Asian Seas region and share good practices for replication.

Koh Tao, Thailand, 8 June – The “Marine Litter Prevention through Reduction, Sustainable Design and Recycling of Plastic Packaging (MA-RE-DESIGN)” project officially launched on

Paris, France -The COBSEA Working Group on Marine Litter, represented by Malaysia, emphasized the importance of leveraging existing mechanisms to foster cooperation in managing plastic waste disposal, during the second meeting of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC-2) for the development of an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment.

The Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) participated and presented updates during the Partners Coordination Meeting on Coastal and Marine Environment of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) held last 23 May 2023.

The UNEP COBSEA Secretariat has released a new science-policy brief titled 'Bridging Science and Policy for Evidence-Based Action on Plastic Pollution in the East Asian Seas and Beyond'.The brief is now available on the STI Forum website and aims to strengthen the science-policy interface and foster

The Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) and the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) have developed an updated Handbook on Marine Litter Monitoring Methods, with support from the Government of Sweden under the SEA circular project.

The resumed session (part 2) of the Twenty-fifth Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM 25) of COBSEA concluded with key decisions. Notably, the Meeting formally established the East Asian Seas Regional Node of the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) and established the Regional Capacity Center for Clean Seas (RC3S) in Bali, Indonesia, as the first Regional Activity Centre of COBSEA.

Following the formal establishment of the East Asian Seas Regional Node of the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) by the resumed session of the Twenty-fifth Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM 25), COBSEA has launched the web platform of the Regional Node linked to the Global Digital Platform on Marine Litter.

COBSEA Announces its New Coordinator
UNEP’s Executive Director announces the appointment of Mr. Mahesh Pradhan as the Coordinator of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA). He assumed this position on 1 June 2022 and will be based in Bangkok, Thailand. Over the past year, Mr. Pradhan has been serving as interim COBSEA coordinator, while concurrently leading UNEP’s work on nutrients through the Global Partnership on Nutrient Management based in Nairobi, Kenya.

The Twenty-fifth Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM 25) of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) adopted Regional Guidance on Harmonized National Marine Litter Monitoring Programmes to strengthen monitoring in the region and promote data comparability for collective action.

The Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) and Blue Solutions initiated a collaboration in 2020 in advance marine and coastal spatial planning (MCSP) in the East Asian Seas Region by building capacity and supporting development of a conducive policy environment.

On World Ocean Day 2021, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) are partnering with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to launch an e-learning course on marine litter. 

United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Law Division is providing guidance to EAS countries to strengthen national legislation and/ or regulations based on National Action Plans on Marine Litter (or similar). The aim is to strengthen national legislative action on marine litter in EAS countries by identifying priority options to improve governance frameworks and recommend steps for further implementation.

COBSEA Secretariat is launching a call for Expression of Interest (EOI) towards the establishment of a COBSEA network of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). 

The overall aim of the activity is to strengthen biodiversity conservation and increase resilience to adverse impacts of climate change, in line with the East Asian Seas Action Plan and COBSEA Strategic Directions 2018-2022. 

The first ever virtual Blue Planning in Practice (BPiP) regional workshops took place 2nd – 6th November and 16th – 20th November 2020. The workshops were organized by the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) and the Blue Solutions Initiative to advance Marine and Coastal Spatial Planning (MCSP) in the East Asian Seas region. In order to provide the best learning experience while enabling an interactive participation format, the regional training was offered on two occasions. In total, 20 participants from COBSEA countries completed the training.

Are you interested in learning more about marine litter? Do you want to know how you can help create solutions for marine litter in your region? 

With plastic pollution a major priority for governments across Asia, scientists have been working diligently to expand our understanding of the problem. But the research has varied widely across countries, including in methodologies, types of data collected, study areas, baselines, and other elements critical to governments who need to make policy decisions based on the research.

On 28 May 2020, the COBSEA Secretariat hosted the first in a series of webinars on the post-2020 global biodiversity framework. The webinar series provide a platform for dialogue on how COBSEA can be leveraged to support countries during development as well as implementation of the framework.

* In light of COVID-19 and associated restrictions, dates and locations of upcoming events are subject to change.

Upcoming COBSEA events *

November

2-6 November; 16-20 November - Regional Training on Marine and Coastal Spatial Planning (Virtual):

COBSEA acts as a catalyst of actions that support regional delivery of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. An Outlook on COBSEA’s follow-up and review of ocean-related Sustainable Development Goals is being prepared, in line with the COBSEA Strategic Directions 2018-2022. This will guide COBSEA’s work especially in relation to Sustainable Development Goal 14.1 on marine pollution; 14.2 on sustainable management of coastal ecosystems and 14.5 on marine protected areas.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented global impact. Most of us have been and continue to be affected by physical distancing measures and other disruptions to our normal way of life. Many are contending with potentially severe health impacts. The COBSEA Secretariat extends best wishes to you, your family and colleagues in the hope you are all safe. In these difficult times, we stand together and are all part of overcoming the challenges we face.