The NOWPAP Pollution Monitoring Regional Activity Centre (POMRAC) organised a virtual workshop on April 8, 2021, to discuss the structure and implementation process of the SOMER-3 Report. Regular assessment of the environmental status and trends within the NOWPAP region is one of the key components of the NOWPAP Programme of Work.
The major goal of SOMER-3 is to present the integrated assessment of environmental problems, status and trends related to the existing and changing natural and socio-economical conditions in the NOWPAP region. 
Previous SOMER and SOMER-2 were structured to reflect contemporary environmental issues and snapshots of environmental status and trends. It was suggested that SOMER-3 could reflect both the national visions on the marine and coastal environmental problems and, regionally, an integrated approach realized in the NOWPAP findings and publications.
The necessity of a joint analysis of national approaches is determined by the significant progress in the environmental planning in the NOWPAP Member States (e.g. Basic Ocean Plans in Japan or Comprehensive Plans for Marine Environment in Korea). National visions have some features which will be useful to take into account at further regional cooperation. The main reason for such a comparative analysis is to enhance the practical use of NOWPAP outcomes and recommendations by the national authorities.
The second major part of SOMER-3 should reflect the regional NOWPAP visions on the region's major ecological problems. Therefore, it will have five subchapters aligned with five Ecological Quality Objectives (EcoQOs) related to the groups of major ecological problems outlined by the NOWPAP RACs activities earlier. Subchapters of this part are supposed to be based on the published outcomes and achievements of NOWPAP RACs. Therefore, RACs will be invited to provide extended summaries of their outcomes to the relevant issues and participate in the preparation of subchapters.
Meeting agreed with POMRAC proposals in general but stressed the necessity to clarify the RACs participation mode in SOMER-3 preparation.
National experts for the preparation of national inputs for the first part of SOMER 3 and participation in the second part are nominated, and the contracting process is going on. Additional work is needed to elaborate on the mode of the RACs participation.
