The Northwest Pacific Action Plan engaged with Our Sea of East Asia Network, a Korea based non-governmental organization, in analyzing policies and identifying gaps to address marine litter in the Northwest Pacific region in July 2019 in Tongyeong, Republic of Korea.
The Northwest Pacific Action Plan member states adopted a Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter in 2008. The plan, until now, has successfully facilitated information exchange and regional cooperation on fighting marine litter in the region. After over a decade from then, there is an urgent need to revise the Action Plan to respond to the current calls and initiatives of various stakeholders to manage marine litter in an integrated manner. The Northwest Pacific Action Plan cooperated closely with Our Sea of East Asia Network to develop the Third Overview of Marine Litter in the Northwest Pacific Region.
In the meeting in Tongyeong in July 2019, Dr. Ning Liu, Programme Officer of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan, highlighted that the Third Overview of Marine Litter would provide recommendations for the countries on how to revise the Action Plan. He also stressed that it was critical to follow up on the resolutions on the marine litter adopted by the United Nations Environmental Assembly in the last few years and to bridge identified gaps promptly and effectively at the global level.
Our Sea of East Asia Network introduced their analysis of the status and trends in the distribution and impacts of marine litter and presented an analysis of relevant recommendations and resolutions of major international forums, including the G7 and G20 meetings. Both parties agreed to further cooperate on strengthening the Overview. Further, the Overview will be reviewed by the Meeting of the Focal Points on Marine Litter of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan in September 2019 in Dalian China to be published by the end of 2019.
Our Sea of East Asia Network is a non-profit organization established in 2009 dedicated to research, education, policy development, and international cooperation to protect the marine environment from marine litter. In June 2018, The Northwest Pacific Action Plan and Our Sea of East Asia Network co-organized a regional marine litter workshop and a non-governmental forum in Busan, in cooperation with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea.
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.