2008 NOWPAP International Coastal Cleanup and training workshop

The NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI) is being implemented since March 2008, after its approval by the four NOWPAP member states. The 2008 NOWPAP International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) and Training Workshop were held in Vladivostok, Russian Federation on 26-28 September, as one of RAP MALI activities. Representatives of the member states and the Regional Activity Centres (RACs) of NOWPAP and its partners such as COBSEA (Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia), YSLME (Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem) and Ocean Conservancy (which initiated the ICC campaigns in 1986) attended the events. In addition, Russian students, NGOs, media representatives and general public also participated. At the training workshop on 26 September, 12 presentations were given to share national case studies on the ICC campaigns and related activities in the NOWPAP region as well as beyond the region (e.g., East Asian countries). The global vision of the ICC campaign as a year around movement was presented by the representative of Ocean Conservancy. An on-site training for ICC beach cleanup was conducted in Schitovaya Bay, Vladivostok on 27 September. Fifty participants collected approximately 40 kg of marine litter. After the on-site training, there was a small group meeting to exchange views on the annual ICC campaign in the NOWPAP region as part of outreach strategies to address marine litter issues. The meeting encouraged China and Russia to continue their efforts to organize national ICC campaigns after they have recently joined this kind of activity through the NOWPAP projects on marine litter implemented over last three years.   A working meeting was held on 28 September, back-to-back with the workshop and on-site training of ICC, to discuss the current progress on the implementation of RAP MALI. Further activities to be carried out in the 2008-2009 biennium were also discussed in-depth.