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3 July was International Plastic Bag Free Day. Each year, more than 8 million tons of plastic ends up in the oceans, wreaking havoc on marine wildlife, fisheries and tourism, and costing at least $8 billion in damage to marine ecosystems. In the documentary movie, A Plastic Whale you will be astonished by the number of plastic bags contained in a whale’s stomach.

18 June 2017, Busan. NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU) and NOWPAP Pollution Monitoring Regional Activity Center (POMRAC) presented NOWPAP’s work on marine litter during the capacity building workshop for marine debris prevention and management in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) region. The workshop was organized by APEC, Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM) and Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fishers in Yeosu, Korea on 12th -18th June 2017.

Toyama, 18 June 2017. Annual event organized by the Toyama Prefectural Government focused on a theme on local actions for environment conservation "Eco Life Act" was held in the center of Toyama City, Japan. NOWPAP Senior Coordinator was invited as a guest speaker and talked about the importance of sustainable development goals and local action along with the Governor of Toyama Prefecture, Mr. Ishii.

Global Ocean Conference ends with about 1400 voluntary and action-oriented commitments putting oceans in the center of sustainable development agenda June 10th, 2017, New York.

June 5th, 2017. Toyama, Japan/Busan, Republic of Korea: Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) of the United Nations Environment Programme puts forward voluntary commitment of the UN Ocean Conference to strengthen regional cooperation to achieve ocean-related Sustainable Development Goals.

May 24, 2017: Ms. Jihee Yi, NOWPAP Programme Management Assistant, following the invitation of the Busan Metropolitan City and Busan Foundation of International Cooperation, delivered lecture to students and recent graduates taking part in the Busan International Organizations Academy. Ms. Yi informed students about various activities of the United Nations Environment Programme and NOWPAP. During the interactive discussion that followed, Ms.

19 May 2017: Participants at the eighteenth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (Consultative Process or ICP-18) focused on two main segments: ‘The effects of climate change on oceans, including environmental, social and economic implications;’ and ‘Cooperation and coordination in addressing the effects of climate change on oceans – current actions and opportunities for further enhancement.’

On 26 April 2017, Dr. LIU Ning, Program Officer of NOWPAP met with Busan Mayor Suh Byung-Soo in the City Hall of Busan. He was appointed as a member of the “Busan International Organizations Advisory Committee”. In the ceremony on the appointment, Dr. LIU stressed that NOWPAP is a part of UN Environment Regional Sea Program, and is keen to work with Busan Metropolitan City Government to organize international conferences, raise awareness, and cooperate with academic institutes and universities on environmental protection.

May 10th 2017, Toyama: Toyama NOWPAP-PICES Science Dialogue was held on May 10th 2017 following the invitation of the Advisory Panel for a Circulation Research in East Asian Marginal Seas (AP-CREAMS) of PICES. The dialogue was attended by the PICES Science Board Chair, Prof. Hiroaki Saito, NOWPAP Senior Coordinator, Lev Neretin, Drs. Takafumi Yoshida and Genki Terauchi from the NOWPAP CEARAC and members of the PICES AP-CREAMS (Photo below).

Marine litter is a global problem that affects every ocean of the world. Litter is an environmental, human health and socio-economic problem that is a symptom of a highly disposable society. With worldwide growth in the amount of solid litter thrown away every day and slow rates of degradation, the amount of litter present in the marine environment is increasing. This Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) seeks to inspire students to take action and leadership in the arena of marine litter through stimulating interaction with all stakeholder groups.

On 26 April 2017, Dr. LIU Ning, Programme Officer of NOWPAP, with the assistance of Ms. Jihee Yi, presented NOWPAP’ achievements and work on marine litter to 23 officials from Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of Republic of Korea. Dr. Liu highlighted NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter and the challenges on microplastics. The training was organized by the Oceans and Fisheries Human Resources Development Institute of Korean in Busan. The participants inquired the operating mechanisms of NOWPAP and current research and approaches to address plastics. 

On 21-23 April 2017, Dr. LIU Ning introduced the progress of NOWPAP and explored the possibility of cooperation with countries in the Western Pacific region at the 11th Intergovernmental Session of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC-XI) in Qingdao, China.

April 21st, 2017: Following the invitation of the G7 Presidency of Italy and the United Nations Environment Programme/Mediterranean Action Plan, Mr. Lev Neretin, NOWPAP Senior Coordinator, attended the G7 Workshop on Marine Litter “Mainstreaming the work of the Regional Sea Programmes towards the better implementation of the G7 Action Plan and the achievement of the global commitments on marine litter” held on April 20-21st 2017 in Rome, Italy.

The 20th NOWPAP MERRAC Focal Points Meeting and12th Competent National Authorities Meeting was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 10-13 April 2017. The meeting reviewed the progress of MERRAC activities made during the intersessional period and discussed various technical issues including MERRAC future activities regarding oil and NHS marine pollution preparedness and response, implementation of the NOWPAP Regional Oil and HNS Spill Contingency Plan, and MERRAC workplan and budget for 2018/2019 biennium under the NOWPAP MTS for 2018-2023. On behalf of the NOWPAP RCU, Dr.

On 27-31 March 2017, Dr. LIU Ning presented NOWPAP’s work on marine litter at the Workshop on Marine Litter and Microplastics: Measuring Effectiveness and Identifying Gaps within International and Regional Policy Frameworks organized by the UN Environment in Nairobi, Kenya. Dr. Liu introduced the NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter, and the progress achieved by the NOWPAP member states and Regional Activity Centers addressing the issue of marine litter.

How to finance a sustainable ocean economy was shed light on by the fourth World Ocean Summit which was held in Bali, Indonesia, on February 22nd-24th 2017.

On 23rd February 2017 during the Economist Oceans Summit in Bali, the UN Environment launched a global #CleanSeas campaign to eliminate major sources of marine litter: microplastics in cosmetics and the excessive, wasteful usage of single-use plastic by the year 2022. UN Environment calls for robust enforcement of legislation and relevant policies as well as for the enhanced efforts from private, civil society and public at large to combat marine litter problem.

January 24th, 2017: Dr. LIU Ning, Programme Officer of the NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit attended the Preparation Meeting for the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) Project Phase II in Incheon, Republic of Korea on 24 January 2017.

NOWPAP Senior Coordinator, Lev Neretin, met with local authorities in the hosting NOWPAP RCU Toyama Prefecture and Toyama City. He acknowledged and expressed his strong appreciation to Toyama Prefecture Governor, Mr. Takakazu ISHII, for the continuing support to NOWPAP and interest to strengthen links between NOWPAP and Prefecture to support environmental co-operation in the region. Among the issues discussed were reduction of marine litter and stronger engagement of public and private sector in environmental activities.

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.

On 13 November 2016, NOWPAP highlighted its activities at the 2016 Toyama International Exchange Festival held at Toyama Central Station and CiC building along with over 30 groups of local and international NGOs and communities. NOWPAP booth was located side by side with the NPEC (Northwest Pacific Region Environmental Cooperation Center), where posters and brochures were displayed and environmental issues discussed with the visitors.

The NOWPAP RCU Busan Office has moved in new offices offered generously by the Training Center for Aquatic Disease Control at the National Institute of Fisheries Science (NIFS) [https://www.nifs.go.kr/main.do]. NIFS provides facilities and equipment for the NOWPAP Busan office. Mr. Kang Joon-Suk, NIFS President and Mr. Liu Ning, Programme Officer of NOWPAP together with several senior officials from the Korean government agencies attended the opening ceremony in Busan on 3 November 2016.

Senior NOWPAP Coordinator, Dr. Lev Neretin, attended Sustainable Ocean Initiative (SOI) Global Dialogue with Regional Seas Organizations and Regional Fisheries Bodies on Accelerating Progress Towards the Aichi Biodiversity Targets co-organized by the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Environment. The meeting was held in Seoul, Republic of Korea on 26 - 29 September 2016.

As an expression of his appreciation for the tireless work, effort and contribution of all UN staff members around the globe, the UN Secretary-General has dedicated 25 October 2016 as UN Staff Day. On 25 October 2016, the United Nations family will gather at all duty stations and field missions in celebration of the courage, commitment and sacrifice of the men and women who have answered the noble call to become international civil servants.

The 2016 NOWPAP International Coastal Cleanup and NOWPAP-TEMM (Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting among China, Japan and Korea) Joint Workshop on Marine Litter Management was held in Slavyanka, Primorsky Kray on 23-24 September 2016.