Seagrasses provide important ecological functions and ecosystem services in coastal ecosystems. However, widespread and accelerated losses have been reported worldwide and some seagrass species are now under threat of extinction. Although seagrasses have attracted much attention for their functions to maintain marine biodiversity and mitigate climate change, information on their distribution and threats in the NOWPAP region is very limited. To help address these concerns, a feasibility study was conducted for the assessment of seagrass in the NOWPAP region in 2015 to investigate the usefulness of satellite images for the assessment of seagrass distribution in the NOWPAP region. This report presents the results of the feasibility study and identifies the resources and tasks required for the assessment of seagrass distribution in the NOWPAP region.
Implementation of NOWPAP contributes to the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) in the Northwest Pacific region.