NOWPAP Oil Spill Contingency Plan Activated

In response to the worst oil spill disaster in the Republic Korea occurred in the morning of 7 December 2007, the NOWPAP Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan has been activated following a request of the Korean government.  National On-Scene Coordinators and National Operational Contract Points were designated in each NOWPAP country as the first step for communication.

NOWPAP Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre (MERRAC) has requested assistance from other NOWPAP member states in providing sorbents, coastal cleanup equipment, aircrafts and helicopters for spraying dispersants.  Among the emergency supplies available in all NOWPAP members (China, Japan and Russia), Korean government, taking into account logistical issues, accepted kind offers from China and Japan.  More than 50 tons of sorbents were already shipped from China and 10 tons arrived from Japan by air along with 7 experts.  

Staff members of MERRAC and NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit help coordinate assistance from NOWPAP member states and the Joint UNEP/OCHA (UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) Environment Unit and the European Commission Monitoring Information Center which has dispatched a team of experts to asses the situation and provide help for the cleanup.  A team of 4 U.S. Coast Guard experts and marine ecology experts from the Autonomous University of Barcelona (AUB), Spain also arrived in Taean to measure the extent of the damage. Meanwhile EARL, a Singapore based oil spill Response Company, sent a C-130 airplane and 42 units of high pressure cleaning equipment.

The Korean Government arranged an expert meeting on 18 December to discuss the ecosystem restoration measures in areas damaged by oil spill incident.  Experts from UN/EC, US Coast Guard, Japan Coast Guard and NOWPAP MERRAC participated in the meeting along with Korean authorities.  The Korean Government estimated that more than 70% of spilled oil has been collected so far.

(posted on 18 December 2007)

TEMM-9 held in Toyama, Japan

The 9th Tripartite Environment Ministers Meeting (TEMM) was convened on 5-6 December 2007 in Toyama, Japan.  TEMM is a regional mechanism among the three environment ministers of the People’s Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.  In the Joint Communique released after the meeting, the three countries expressed their appreciation for the joint efforts made within the framework of NOWPAP and its Marine Litter Activity while recognizing the importance of further collaboration on marine litter and other areas related to marine and coastal environmental protection. It is the first time that a TEMM session was held outside the capitals of the three countries, sending out a positive signal of encouraging more local involvement in the environmental cooperation among the countries.

Immediately prior to the meeting, the Northeast Asia Environmental Partners Forum has been held on 4-5 December 2007, where the forum participants were greeted by Toyama Prefecture Governor and NOWPAP Coordinator.  During the Forum, three main topics were discussed by experts from four NOWPAP member states, China, Japan, Korea and Russia:
1) transboundary environmental monitoring system;
2) sharing technical information for environmental conservation;
3) development of human resources for environmental conservation.

(posted on 6 December 2007)

Analysis of Environmental Status and Trends of the Yellow Sea published

The UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem project has just recently published the Analysis of Environmental Status and Trends for the Yellow Sea.  The three-volume publication contains the National Reports of China and Korea and the Regional Synthesis.  The reports provide a comprehensive outlook on biodiversity, pollution, fishery and ecosystem in the Yellow Sea.

(posted on 6 December 2007)

NOWPAP Marine Litter Activity is moving into next phase

After more than two years since its inception, NOWPAP Marine Litter Activity (MALITA) is progressing to the end with success.  At a meeting held on 20-21 November in Toyama, Japan, the NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI) was finalized.  The finalization of RAP MALI is one of the import outcomes of the NOWPAP MALITA.  NOWPAP will continue to deal with marine litter issues once the member states approved the RAP MALI in the near future.   

During the MALITA implementation, NOWPAP has convened several regional workshops and working meetings, set up a marine litter database, compiled regional overviews on marine litter situation and related legislation and policies, developed a number of guidelines and brochures and launched International Coastal Cleanup Campaigns in all the member countries.  Those outcomes will be further reflected during the implementation of RAP MALI in the years to come.

(posted on 27 November 2007)

12th NOWPAP IGM held in Xiamen

The 12th Intergovernmental Meeting of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) was held on 23-25 October 2007 in Xiamen, the People’s Republic of China.  Representatives of the NOWPAP member states (China, Japan, Republic of Korea and Russian Federation), UNEP Regional Seas Programme and NOWPAP partners (COBSEA, IOC/WESTPAC, PEMSEA and YSLME) participated in the meeting.  The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea attended the meeting as an observer.  The meeting adopted the report of the Executive Director of UNEP on the progress in the implementation of NOWPAP during the 2006-2007 biennium and approved the work plan and budget for 2008-2009.  The meeting approved also in principle the NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter, as a major outcome of the NOWPAP Marine Litter Activity (MALITA) which has been implemented for the last two years.  The meeting reviewed the evaluation report on the four Regional Activity Centres (RACs) aiming at improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the RACs.  A Regional Oil and Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) Spill Contingency Plan was also adopted at the meeting.

(posted on 29 October 2007)

2nd Workshop of the Yellow Sea Partnership

NOWPAP RCU hosted and organized the second Workshop of the Yellow Sea Partnership (YSP) on 1 October 2007 in Busan, Republic of Korea.  The workshop was attended by representatives of YSP members including UNEP Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP), UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea Large Ecosystem (YSLME) Project, Birds Korea, European Union-China Biodiversity Project, the Nature Conservancy (China) and the Yellow Sea Eco-region Support Project.  The meeting reviewed the activities carried out by the YSP members and discussed joint activities for the future.  The next YSP workshop is currently considered to be held in 2008 when Ramsar Convention Conference is convened in the Republic of Korea.

(posted on 9 October 2007)

NOWPAP partners joined hands in promoting International Coastal Cleanup

As part of the NOWPAP Marine Litter Activity, an International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) campaign was organized on 29 September 2007 in Busan with kind sponsorship of Korean Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries (MOMAF).  It was the second time that NOWPAP has organized such event in 2007 to promote ICC in the region.  Participants in the campaign and an associated workshop were from NOWPAP member states, from several countries participating in the Coordinating Body for the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), from COBSEA secretariat, and from YSLME project. Several NGOs and reserach institutions also participated: the Ocean Conservancy (the founder of the ICC), Korea Ocean Research & Development Institute, Japan Environmental Action Network, Korean Marine Rescue Centre and the Korean National Fisheries Research and Development Institute.  During the Workshop, focused on sharing information on marine litter, participants witnessed a MOU signing ceremony between the Ministry of Environment, MOMAF and four local authorities in Korea for the Nakdong River Basin Marine Litter Management which contributes to the reduction of marine litter input from the river.  

In a separate development, another pilot ICC campaign was organized in Vladivostok, Russia on 2 October 2007 with more than 50 participants.  NOWPAP has indeed committed itself to continue promoting ICC campaigns in the region.

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(posted on 9 October 2007)

1st NEAR-GOOS–NOWPAP Joint Training Course on Remote Sensing Data Analysis

NOWPAP Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre organized the first NEAR-GOOS - NOWPAP Joint Training Course on Remote Sensing Data Analysis at Nagasaki University (Japan) on 3-7 September 2007, jointly with IOC/WESTPAC. 

23 trainees - postgraduate students and professional researchers from 8 different countries - learned the status of ocean remote sensing techniques and applications of remote sensing data for monitoring and assessment of marine and coastal environment. 

The course consisted of lectures by specialists and hands-on practical sessions on the analysis of satellite data and introduced practical satellite remote sensing applications, especially related to eutrophication, red tides and oil spills.

(posted on 9 October 2007)

NOWPAP launched an activity on integrated coastal and river basin management (ICARM)

An activity on ICARM has been recently launched by NOWPAP at a workshop in Toyama, Japan.  Working with other NOWPAP Regional Activity Centres (RACs), the NOWPAP Pollution Monitoring RAC (POMRAC) is leading this activity and will invite PEMSEA to share their rich experiences in this field.

(posted on 9 October 2007)

International Coastal Cleanup in Rizhao

An International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) was successfully organized on 28 June 2007 in Rizhao city, China, with kind sponsorship of the State Environmental Protection Administration of China and Rizhao municipal government.  It was the first time the ICC was formally introduced to the newly emerging city as NOWPAP is advancing the implementation of its Marine Litter Activity launched two years ago.  Two dozens representatives from Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia and regional programmes and projects such as COBSEA, PEMSEA and YSLME joined hand in hand with two hundreds local participants in this beach cleanup in an effort to raise public awareness on marine litter and promote public participation in the cleanup.  The Rizhao ICC attracted a great attention in China with the local participants ranging from central government officials, vice mayors, experts to elementary school kids. The central and local media covered this activity widely on television and in newspapers.

Prior to the ICC activity, an associated workshop addressing marine litter prevention and control was held on 27 June 2007. NOWPAP will continue organizing ICC campaigns in Busan, Republic of Korea and Vladivostok, Russia later this year and next year as part of its Marine Litter Activity.

(posted on 3 July 2007)

Cooperation with YSLME project

NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit signed the Letter of Cooperation (LOC) with the Project Management Office of the UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) project on 24 May 2007 in Beijing.  The LOC will serve as the basis for the two sides to conduct cooperative activities.  As one of the follow-up activities, YSLME will join an International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) campaign organized by NOWPAP in Rizhao, China on 27-28 June 2007. 

(posted on 4 June 2007)

Evaluation of NOWPAP RACs performance

According to the decision of the 11th NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM), evaluation of the performance of the four NOWPAP Regional Activity Centres (RACs) is being carried out.  An independent international consultant interviewed all RAC directors in Beijing on 23 May 2007.  An evaluation report will be prepared by the consultant based on the interviews and responses to the questionnaires distributed earlier.  The results of the evaluation will be presented to the next IGM in October 2007 in China.

 (posted on 4 June 2007)

Focal Points Meetings of NOWPAP Regional Activity Centres

In order to review the progress on implementation of NOWPAP activities and prepare workplan and budget for 2008-2009, both MERRAC (Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre) and DINRAC (Data and Information Network Regional Activity Centre) organized their focal points meetings on 14-18 May 2007 in Daejeon, Republic of Korea and on 24-25 May 2007 in Beijing, People’s Republic of China, respectively.  

(posted on 4 June 2007)

Cooperation with COBSEA on Marine Litter

At the First COBSEA (Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia) Marine Litter Workshop held in Jakarta, Indonesia on 8-9 May 2007, representatives of NOWPAP introduced the overall progress on the implementation of its Marine Litter Activity (MALITA) which was launched one and half years ago. As sister programmes of UNEP Regional Seas, both NOWPAP and COBSEA are carrying out activities addressing marine litter issue in line with global UNEP marine litter initiative.  The two bodies keep close contact to exchange information and to share their experiences in dealing with marine litter problem.  Next month, COBSEA will join an International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) campaign organized by NOWPAP in Rizhao, China on 27-28 June 2007.  

(posted on 4 June 2007)

34th Session of GESAMP

NOWPAP Coordinator participated in the 34th Session of the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) held in Paris, France on 8-11 May 2007. Representatives from UNEP Regional Seas Programme, Large Marine Ecosystem Projects and Regional Fisheries Management Bodies were invited in order to explore three issues:

1) existing regional expert networks (to be used to build GESAMP pool of experts);

2) how GESAMP can help regional organizations; and

3) role of GESAMP in regional capacity building.

In response to these questions, information on DINRAC web-database of experts and networks of experts of all NOWPAP Regional Activity Centres (RACs) was provided.

Mutual interest was also indicated regarding possible NOWPAP involvement in two future GESAMP activities:
-   Atmospheric input of chemicals to the ocean (to be lead by World Meteorological Organization);
-   Assessment of trends in global pollution in coastal environment (to be led by International Atomic Energy Agency).  

(posted on 4 June 2007)

2nd NOWPAP Workshop on Marine Litter and 2nd Marine Litter Activity Working Meeting

UNEP DEPI Meeting of the Chiefs of Branches and Heads of Units

Cooperation with NEAR-GOOS initiated