The East Asian Seas Action Plan recognizes COBSEA as the sole decision-making body for the Action Plan. It further, inter alia, identifies COBSEA’s role in providing information and guidance on the coordination of coastal and marine environmental activities. It also recognizes assessment and monitoring, data management and reporting as important underpinning activities essential for the success of the action plan; and identifies the need for collaboration to build a foundation of knowledge and experience for the East Asian Seas region.
COBSEA aims to provide an effective regional policy mechanism for the coastal and marine environment. By serving as a forum for exchange of experiences, policy and practice related to the two substantive themes, COBSEA’s role as a regional policy mechanism is strengthened. Its value to participating countries as a sustainability mechanism for project activities is also enhanced, in terms of policy uptake as well as in terms of legacy activities related to data and knowledge outputs and networks of experts and institutions. Ongoing work includes preparation of a regional SDG Implementation Outlook.
COBSEA participates in UN Environment Programme’s Regional Seas Programme, and through that engages in global coordination and collaboration on regional ocean governance as well as development and use of indicators and reporting that support tracking of implementation of global frameworks such as the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It also enables leveraging of UNEP’s global efforts in relation to land-based pollution, ecosystem-based management, Marine Protected Areas, coral reefs and blue economy.
