NOWPAP was actively involved in the 2017 Annual Meeting of the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) held in Vladivostok, Russia from 22 September to 1 October. More than 300 scientists and experts from PICES member countries and elsewhere attended the meeting “Environmental Changes in the North Pacific and Impacts on Biological Resources and Ecosystem Services.”
NOWPAP was co-convenor of the scientific discussion titled “Microplastics in marine environments: Fate and effects” and supported the workshop titled “Long-term changes in Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB) occurrences in PICES nations; the Eastern vs. Western Pacific”. Both discussions focused on regional and global research with the former covering the microplastic pollution chain from the sources of microplastics to its effects on organisms. The HAB workshop focused on research ranging from the effects of environmental factors on HABs, to research looking at species composition in blooms.
NOWPAP Senior Coordinator, Lev NERETIN addressed members of the PICES Science Board and made a presentation on priorities for institutional cooperation in the implementation of the NOWPAP Medium-term Strategy 2018-2023. NOWPAP also submitted a statement to the PICES Governing Board. The discussion with PICES led to the identification of the following five areas of future co-operation:
1. NOWPAP to continue working in the two priority areas of the PICES-NOWPAP Framework for Scientific Cooperation in the North Pacific Ocean by a joint PICES-NOWPAP Study Group on Scientific Cooperation in the North Pacific Ocean (SG-SCOOP) in 2015, namely HAB and marine litter, including microplastics: It is important to continue practice organizing joint meetings and workshops during PICES annual meetings and at other occasions where appropriate.
2. Collaboration in Ecosystem Status Reporting.
3. Marine and coastal biodiversity with a focus on invasive species with NOWPAP and PICES aiming to enhance cooperation through the PICES AP-NIS platform.
4. Regular joint publications on emerging Issues. Considering the unparalleled PICES access to the best scientific knowledge and expertise on marine issues in the region and NOWPAP access to policy and decision-making, a potential area of interest to NOWPAP is partnering PICES in producing concise and focused annual briefs on emerging marine environmental issues in the region. Proposed Emerging Issues Briefs would aim to provide early warning information to policymakers.
5. Developing climate change adaptation/resilience of socio-ecological systems, an area where NOWPAP lacks expertise and will explore partnering PICES in organizing relevant events, with the earliest opportunity being the ICES/PICES Marine Socio-Ecological Systems Symposium (MSEAS II) to be held in Yokohama in 2020.
