News

The Toyota Environment Activity Fund, the Nippon Foundation and Toyota Foundation were approached by a representative of NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU) in May and June for possible funding of projects to be implemented by experts from the NOWPAP region.

In order to strengthen the relationships with the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), NOWPAP RCU representative attended the 6th East Asian Seas (EAS) Partnership Council Meeting held on 23-24 June 2014 in Manila, the Philippines. Many NOWPAP activities are contributing to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia adopted in 2003 by PEMSEA countries and NOWPAP has served as a non-country member of the EAS Partnership Council since 2007.

UNEP convened two technical workshops from 30 June to 4 July 2014 in Geneva which a NOWPAP representative attended together with other participants from individual Regional Seas Programmes and relevant international organizations. 

The second State of the Marine Environment Report (SOMER-2) for the NOWPAP region has recently been published. The SOMER-2 has been prepared by NOWPAP POMRAC in collaboration with other three NOWPAP RACs, based on the first State of Marine Environment Report (published in 2007) and taking into account developments in recent years.

Three of the four NOWPAP regional activity centers (MERRAC, DINRAC and CEARAC) have convened their focal points meetings (FPMs) in June-July 2014 in Daejeon, Korea, Beijing, China, and Toyama, Japan, respectively. While reviewing the activities carried out since their previous FPMs, the focal points of MERRAC, DINRAC and CEARAC discussed and agreed on the implementation plans for the activities and projects to be implemented in 2014-2015 biennium which were approved by the 18th NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM) in December 2013. 

For CEARAC:

Initiated by NOWPAP and sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), the project “Impacts of Global Warming on Coastal and Marine Ecosystems in the Northwest Pacific” has been completed recently. Led by Professor Sukgeun Jung from Jeju National University, the experts from China, Japan, Korea and Russia conducted in 2012-2014 retrospective analysis of climate and oceanographic data collected during the past 40 years.

With the support of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA), a regional node of the GPML will be co-hosted by the Northwest Pacific Environmental Cooperation Centre (NPEC) and NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU). Based on the networks already established by NPEC and NOWPAP as well as the experience obtained from the implementation of the marine litter related activities, the northwest Pacific GPML regional node is expected to play the following roles:

NOWPAP convened its first Extraordinary Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM) on 9-10 April 2014 in Seoul, Republic of Korea to discuss possible measures to address financial sustainability of the NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU) offices in Toyama and Busan. Representatives of member states (China, Korea, Japan and Russia) as well as UNEP Headquarters attended the two-day special meeting which was requested by the chairperson of the 18th NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting.

By the end of 2013, several reports have been developed and published by NOWPAP Regional Activity Centers and partners.

The 18th NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM) was convened on 4-6 December 2013 in Toyama, Japan. Delegates from NOWPAP member states (China, Japan, Korea and Russia) attended the meeting. Directors of NOWPAP Regional Activity Centres, representatives from UNEP Headquarters and NOWPAP partners (PICES and YSLME) also participated in the meeting. The meeting reviewed the progress of NOWPAP implementation for the last two years and discussed the workplan and budget for the biennium of 2014-2015.

A proposal on organizing a topic session “Marine debris in the Pacific Ocean: sources, transport, fate and effects of macro- and micro-plastics” has been approved by PICES Science Board for the next year PICES Annual Meeting to be held on 17-26 October 2014 in Yeosu, Korea.

Jointly sponsored by NOWPAP and PICES, the Training Course on Remote Sensing Data Analysis was organized on 21-25 October 2013 in Qingdao, China by the NOWPAP Special Monitoring & Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre (CEARAC). With the help of local organizers of the Ocean Remote Sensing Institute of Ocean University of China and the Chinese National Environmental Monitoring Centre (CNEMC) of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the training course was conducted for 23 trainees from China, Japan, Korea, Canada, Cameroon and Oman.

2013 NOWPAP International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) and Workshop on Marine Litter management were successfully organized jointly by the non-profit organization (NPO) Okinawa Ocean Culture and Environment Action Network and NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit from 24 to 26 October 2013 in Okinawa, Japan.

NOWPAP representative attended the 15th Global Meeting of Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans (GMRS) held in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on 30 September – 1 October 2013. The Second Global Land-Ocean Connections Conference (GLOC-2) was held at the same venue on 2-4 October where work plans of three global partnerships (on marine litter, nutrients and wastewater) were discussed in detail. 

The Pollution Monitoring Regional Activity Centre (POMRAC) and Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre (CEARAC) have organized respectively their 11th Focal Points Meeting on 9-10 October 2013 in Tianjin, China and on 11-12 September 2013 in Toyama, Japan. Both POMRAC and CEARAC Focal Points and experts reviewed the progresses made since the previous Focal Points Meetings, discussed and agreed on the work plans and budgets for 2014-2015 to be submitted for approval by the 18th NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting to be held in December.

UNEP 2013 Administrative Management Meeting was held on 16-19 September 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya, hosted jointly by UNEP and UNON. This biennial meeting addressed introduction of the new accounting standard, IPSAS (from January 2014), and launch of the new Enterprise Resource Planning system, Umoja (expected in summer 2014). The meeting also covered various issues of finance, legal instruments, human resources, procurement, travel policies, and others.

NOWPAP Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre (CEARAC) organized the Expert Meeting on Marine Biodiversity and Eutrophication on 5-6 August 2013 in Toyama, Japan. Experts from NOWPAP member states (China, Korea, Japan and Russia) together with representatives from the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) and Japan Ocean Policy Research Foundation (OPRF) participated in the meeting.

NOWPAP Data and Information Network Regional Activity Center (DINRAC) held its 11th Focal Points Meeting on 24-25 July 2013 in Beijing, China. The goals of this meeting were to review ongoing projects, discuss suggested activities for 2014-2015 and agree on the work plan and budget for the 2014-2015 biennium (to be approved by the 18th NOWPAP IGM in December 2013). Among other issues, compilation of major marine environmental data on DINRAC website and preparation of an Atlas on marine invasive species were discussed in detail (Atlas is expected to be published at the end of 2013).

As a non-country member of the East Asian Seas (EAS) Partnership Council, NOWPAP representative attended the 5th EAS Partnership Council Meeting on 9-10 July 2013 in Manila, Philippines and delivered a presentation summarizing the current NOWPAP activities contributing to the 5-year implementation plan for the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia.

NOWPAP Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre (MERRAC) held its 16th Focal Points Meeting and the 8th Competent National Authority Meeting on 17-21 June 2013 in Incheon, Republic of Korea.  The meeting reviewed MERRAC activities being implemented since May 2012 and discussed the work plan and budget for 2014-2015 which will be submitted for approval to the 18th NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting to be held in December 2013.

NOWPAP participated in the Global Gathering 2013 in Busan, Republic of Korea, displaying UNEP and NOWPAP posters, brochures, publications and promotional items to the public on 25 May 2013. This annual event with the theme of “come together, get together”, organized by the Busan Foundation for International Activities with support of Busan metropolitan city has brought diplomatic missions, international organizations, academic, cultural and social institutions based in Busan to showcase their activities for promoting international exchanges.

At the 18th Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM) of the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) held on 10-12 April 2013 in Kobe, Japan, a proposal submitted by Okinawa Ocean Culture & Environment Action Network in collaboration with NOWPAP on promoting International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) was accepted for funding. Taking advantage of generous contribution from the Japanese government as well as APN funding, the 2013 NOWPAP ICC and Workshop on Marine Litter Management will be organized in Okinawa, Japan on 24-26 October 2013.

NOWPAP representative attended the Forum on 14-15 March in Tokyo which was organized by JEAN (Japan Environmental Action Network).

NOWPAP and NEASPEC jointly organized the Workshop on Marine Biodiversity Conservation and Marine Protected Areas in the Northwest Pacific on 13-14 March 2013 in Toyama, Japan. The workshop brought together focal points and experts from both NOWPAP and NEASPEC member states of People’s Republic of China, Japan, Republic of Korea and Russian Federation as well as representatives from international organizations: Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) and IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (IOC WESTPAC). The first day of the workshop was focused on

The North Pacific Regional Workshop to Facilitate the Description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) was convened by the Convention of Biological Diversity Secretariat in Moscow, Russia, from 25 February to 1 March 2013 in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Action Plan for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Northwest Pacific Region (NOWPAP), the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES), and the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC).