24th November 2016, Seoul, Republic of Korea: More than 40 stakeholders, including officials from the NOWPAP states - P.R. China, Japan, Republic of Korea, and the Russian Federation - met in Seoul to find solutions addressing pollution and declining ecosystem health and biodiversity of marine and coastal ecosystems in Northwest Pacific region.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Hyung-jong Lee, Director-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea emphasized that “it is our common duty and responsibility to protect shared marine environment in the North Pacific. Our cooperation continues for more than 20 years. This is the first inter-governmental meeting after NOWPAP restructuring and it provides a window of opportunity for the new future of the Action Plan”.
The rapid economic development of Northwest Pacific region, one of the most densely populated parts of the world, has brought enormous pressures on the environment. The 21st NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting comes also at a defining time for change in the global environmental governance. “The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development identified conservation and sustainable use of oceans as one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and as part of holistic and integrated development agenda for the planet. The level of ambition expressed by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets necessitates transformative action at multiple scales. Regional Seas will continue playing an important role in this process” said Ms. Lisa Emilia Svensson, Oceans Coordinator at the UN Environment.
The three-day meeting reviewed progress of implementation of the Action Plan and focused on discussing future priorities set by the draft NOWPAP Mid-term Strategy 2018-2023 (MTS 2018-2023). Participants at the meeting discussed how to strengthen NOWPAP mandate and actions addressing challenges affecting the marine and coastal environment in a holistic and integrated manner while at the same time contributing to sustainable development in the region.
Participants considered favorably a number of strategic priorities for environmental protection and development in the region, including pollution reduction and control, biodiversity conservation, application of integrated coastal zone management and others and expressed its strong support for the revitalized partnership with regional stakeholders and enhanced outreach efforts by the restructured Regional Coordinating Unit and the NOWPAP Regional Activity Centres. Member states agreed to undertake extensive consultations within countries and relevant stakeholders to develop further the MTS 2018-2023 that will be aligned closely with national and regional environmental priorities and Sustainable Development Goals. The next intergovernmental meeting to keep the positive momentum of the Seoul meeting and take this vision forward will be held in Toyama, Japan in 2017.
Participants of the Twenty-first NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting held in Seoul, R. Korea on November 23-24th, 2016 (Photo credit: Ning Liu).
