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Busan, Republic of Korea, 05 June 2018 – On 5 June, celebrating World Environment Day, scores of excited school children defied the rain walking around Busan’s popular Haeundae beach, picking up plastic cups, bottles, discarded fishing gear and other waste littering the seashore.

The NOWPAP- Tripartite Environmental Ministers Meeting (TEMM) Joint Workshop on Marine Litter Management, held in Busan’s Hotel Homers was jointly organized by NOWPAP and OSEAN with support from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea, the Korea Environment Management Corporation and the Busan Metropolitan City Government.

The workshop began with presentations on progress in dealing with marine litter in Japan, People’s Republic of China and Republic of Korea.

May 2018. Jeju, Republic of Korea – In a presentation to a conference of leading Korean marine scientists, NOWPAP Coordinator Dr. Lev Neretin explained how the United Nations is using the best scientific knowledge and international cooperation to promote the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) in the Northwest Pacific region.

Toyama, Japan, 11 May 2018 – Four Northwest Pacific nations are stepping up cooperation to protect the wealth of fauna and flora found in their seas and shores which are under growing threat from human activities and climate change. Representatives of Japan, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation met here with biodiversity conservation experts at a United Nations forum and discussed the preparation of a Regional Action Plan on Marine and Coastal Biodiversity Conservation scheduled to be launched in 2023.

May 11, 2018, Seoul, R. Korea: NOWPAP Coordinator attended the 2018 International Forum for the Trilateral Cooperation (IFTC) “The Opening of a New Chapter for Trilateral Cooperation – The Past 10 years, the Coming 10 Years” held in Tokyo on April 18th, 2018. The forum brought together around 30 high-profile government officials and prominent scholars to share their insights along with the forum theme and attracted more than 300 participants from three governments, academia, media, business sectors and diplomatic community.

May 11th, 2018, Seoul, R. Korea: Together with other regional partners (Yellow Sea LME Phase II project, PEMSEA, and East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership) and national stakeholders in R. Korea, NOWPAP (also on behalf of UNEP) delivered a keynote presentation and contributed to the identification of priorities for maritime cooperation between two Koreas at the Regional Workshop on Putting Sustainable Marine and Coastal Ecosystems into Inter-Korean Cooperation. The Workshop organized by the R.

13 April, 2018, Seoul, R.

Dalian, P.R. China, 27-29 March 2018 - Dr. Liu Ning of NOWPAP RCU discussed further cooperation on marine environmental protection with the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystems (YSLME) Phase II Project during the Second Meeting of Management, Science and Technical Panel (MSTP) and the Second Meeting of the Interim Commission Council held on 27-29 March 2018 in Dalian, P.R. China. More than 45 representatives from the Chinese government, Korean government, UNDP, UNOPS, NOWPAP, and NGOs attended the meetings. Dr.

San Diego, CA, 12-16th March 2018 - NOWPAP was among contributors at the 6th International Marine Debris Conference (6IMDC). This largest global event for marine litter community was organized by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). It was built upon the success of the Honolulu Strategy developed at the 2011 5IMDC, where NOWPAP was also present and contributed to the strategy formulation.

United Nations Environment Programme has produced a public service announcement (PSA) that we think could shift people’s engagement (and non-engagement) with plastics. The PSA was released Feb. 12 in time for Valentine’s Day. A brief synopsis of the video is given below. 

Toyoma, Japan, 21 December  2017 – Four northwest Pacific nations meeting here for a yearly review of over two-decade-old joint efforts tackling environmental threats to their seas and shores, have agreed on the principles of an updated marine and coastal conservation strategy for one of the world’s most populous regions.

Toyama Prefecture of Japan jointly with the Northwest Pacific Region Environmental Cooperation Center organized an international environment symposium entitled "Productive sea and marine environmental conservation" on 21 December 2017 in Toyama, Japan. Toyama Prefecture Governor Mr. Takakazu Ishii made an opening remarks followed by the Director of the Asia and the Pacific Office of the UN Environment, Dr. Dechen Tsering.

The clear blue seawater and white sand make Mallipo Beach in the Republic of Korea’s western coastal Taean County along the Yellow Sea, one of the country’s most popular seaside resorts.

But for nearly a year during 2007-2008, the over 3 km-long Mallipo seashore was covered by a black sludge after the crude oil carrier Hebei Spirit anchored off nearby Daesan Port was accidentally hit by an industrial barge on the morning of 07 December 2007 and leaked over 12,000 kilolitres of its cargo.

4-6 December 2017, Nairobi, Kenya. Attended by over 4000 personnel working on environmental issues, the 3rd session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-3) focused on the theme “Towards a Pollution-Free Planet” and successfully became the first UNEA to issue a Declaration by environmental ministers. The Declaration stated that nations would honor efforts to prevent, mitigate and manage all forms of pollution.

 6 December 2017, Busan. More than 250 experts from P.R. China, Japan, Russian Federation, USA, Canada, and R. Korea have gathered at the 2017 International Maritime Disaster Response Conference in Busan, Korea to explore new measures on addressing maritime emergencies caused by pollution incidents.

The UN Environment Assembly, the world’s highest level decision-making body on the environment to be held in Nairobi from 4 to 6 December 2017, aims to mobilize global tangible commitments to tackle pollution. Everyone can do something about pollution. Citizens can join by committing to an action and signing the #BeatPollution pledge. Governments, businesses and civil society can register voluntary commitments. Learn more about pollution here.    

20-24 November 2017, the Philippines. PEMSEA Resource Facility and NOWPAP are co-organizers of the Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) training course in Manila and Batangas, Philippines, aimed at mid-career professionals working in the field. 15 participants from PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers and 4 participants from NOWPAP POMRAC will learn how to deliver effective ICM training courses on the ground in their countries. The course covers the basic principles of ICM development and implementation, includes case studies and fieldwork culminating in formulation of ICM action plans.

On October 17th and 18th 2017, NOWPAP attended the Global Dialogue on Technology for Resilient Cities organized by the UN Environment International Environment Technology Centre in Osaka, Japan. Over 100 participants including city/state/ministerial officials from Asia, international organizations, NGOs, and universities attended the dialogue to explore how technologies can contribute to urban resilience against environmental impacts, especially on waste issues.

With the confirmed full contribution from the People’s Republic of China, the NOWPAP Trust Fund has reached the 100 percent replenishment level in 2017. The NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit and its Regional Activity Centres express their gratitude to Member States and NOWPAP global and regional partners for their continued support to the NOWPAP mission. The NOWPAP family continues its over 20-year-old journey, providing a platform for successful intraregional cooperation and dialogue aimed at the protection of the marine and coastal environment in the Northwest Pacific region.

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.”

Three POMRAC publications won the 2017 Best Scientific Books Award under the category of scientific publications on environmental issues in the Northwest Pacific. The first publication, Regional Overview of PTS and POPs issues of ecological concern in the NOWPAP region deals with PTS sources, temporal trends, eco-toxicological effects and the status of regulatory frameworks. The second publication, Integrated Coastal Planning and Ecosystem-based Management in the Northwest Pacific Region, includes case studies from bays in the NOWPAP region.

The 2017 Joint NOWPAP-TEMM (The Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting among Japan, China and Korea) Workshop on Marine Litter Management and the 2017 NOWPAP International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) Campaign were held in Toyama, Japan on 19 and 20 September with presentations on marine litter management and microplastics by the four NOWPAP Member States. Presentations on local and global-level initiatives to address the marine litter problem were also made by a Japanese NGO and NOWPAP partners including UN Environment International Environmental Technology Centre (IETC), FAO and YSLME.

The cloudy morning of 11 September saw NOWPAP staff joining a class of fourth grade students, their teachers, members of the local senior people’s club and Toyama Prefecture government staff on Matsudaehama Beach, Toyama to remove and classify beach litter. Participants in the Marine Litter Survey, conducted by NPEC (Northwest Pacific Region Environmental Cooperation Center), collected artificial objects from designated square patches of 10 x 10 m, and weighed and sorted the trash into categories.

The role of NOWPAP in supporting the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda was highlighted at the First Asia-Pacific Ministerial Summit on the Environment organized by UN Environment and the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in Bangkok from 5 to 8 September with the theme, ‘Towards a Resource-efficient and Pollution-free Asia-Pacific.’ During the Summit Special Event titled “Strengthening regional ocean governance and partnership towards clean seas”, NOWPAP Senior Coordinator Lev NERETIN made a presentation on how the Regional Seas Programme contri

On 7 September, NOWPAP took part in the Opening Ceremony of the World Fisheries University (WFU) Pilot Programme at Pukyong National University in Busan.

WFU is a postgraduate institution and admits students from developing countries and small island nations to foster national capacities for sustainable fisheries development. The WFU Pilot Programme offers a master’s degree in three semesters. Thirty students have joined the inaugural course. The acceptability of the establishment of WFU will be determined by the FAO General Assembly in 2019.