Representatives from governmental agencies, research institutes, international and non-governmental organizations gathered online on 15-16 September 2021 to review the progress in implementing the Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter in the Northwest Pacific region.
The Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) – Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting among China, Japan, and Korea (TEMM) Joint Workshop on Marine Litter Management, organized on 15 September 2021, has provided a platform for participants to present policy changes, updated statistics, actions and approaches addressing marine litter.
The representative of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China reported the efforts of the Chinese government to tackle marine litter, including the enactment of a new plastic restriction order in January 2020, the integration of marine plastic waste management in the 14th Five-Year Plan as a key task, the establishment of the working mechanism for marine sanitation in several coastal regions.
The representative of the Ministry of Environment of Japan informed that the Cabinet of Japan approved the Bill for the Act on Promotion of Resource Circulation for Plastics on 9 March 2021, which addresses the whole lifecycle of plastics. Local governments of Japan have declared commitments to reduce plastic waste further.
The representative of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea stated that the Government of the Republic of Korea had issued the Policy to Reduce Plastics from Households in December 2020 and the 1st National Management Plan on Marine Litter in May 2021.
The representative of the Russian Federation introduced the new waste management reform in the Far East region, highlighting its major difficulty is the high cost due to the low concentration of the population.
Officers from UNEP introduced the development in the mandate of UNEA on marine litter and plastic pollution issues, and the progress of the Global Partnership on Marine Litter, the Regional Frameworks on Marine Litter of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), and the progress and findings of the two International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC)projects located in Indonesia and Siri Lanka focusing on plastic waste management.
A representative from the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat shared the future plans on sustainable development, such as urban regeneration trends and rural revitalization, based on the discussion in the TCS 10th Anniversary Symposiums.
The Food and Agriculture Organization representative introduced the international framework to address abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gears (ALDFG), including the Voluntary Guidelines on the Marking of Fishing Gear (VGMFG) as well as the ongoing efforts of FAO to address Sea-Based Marine Plastic Litter.
A representative of the Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions introduced the Basel Convention Plastic Waste Amendments and the expected implementation impacts and challenges.
The NOWPAP Marine Litter Focal Points Meeting, organized on 16 September, has reviewed three ongoing NOWPAP projects, including management of the Northwest Pacific Regional Node of Marine Liter, microplastic pollution, and fishing gear research. The meeting agreed on the following projects to be implemented in the 2022-2023 biennium:
- Development of education materials on marine litter
- Further Development and utilization of Northwest Pacific Regional Node of Global Partnership on Marine Litter
- Collection and disposal of the sea-based marine litter in the NOWPAP Region
- Using artificial intelligence in the detection, identification and counting of marine debris elements in the monitoring of pollution in the NOWPAP region
