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Representatives from governmental agencies, research institutes, international and non-governmental organizations gathered online on 15-16 September 2021 to review the progress in implementing the Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter in the Northwest Pacific region.

The Korea Global Forum for Peace 2021 was organised from 31 August to 2 September 2021. The Forum was hosted by the Ministry of Unification (MOU) of the Republic of Korea. The key aim was to discuss the peace and unification process in the Korean Peninsula. As one of the regional players, NOWPAP was invited to present its activities at the Forum. NOWPAP was represented by RCU.

NOWPAP was invited to introduce its achievements and lessons learned in addressing marine litter in an online workshop on marine litter management organised by the 21st Century Maritime Cooperation Committee and World Association of Major Metropolises from 25 to 27 August 2021.

Experts from the Northwest Pacific region and partners gathered at the 18th Focal Points Meeting of the Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre (CEARAC) of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) on 24-25 August 2021 to review the progress in monitoring and assessment of the coastal environment in the NOWPAP region.

Toyama Cosmopolitan Association (TCA), hosted by Toyama City, is responsible for the international cultural exchange and providing various aid to foreign residents living in Toyama. TCA and NOWPAP have had a long history of collaboration since the establishment in 2004.

Sampling microplastics on a beach

Since 1996, the Northwest Pacific Region Environmental Cooperation Center (NPEC) has carried out several surveys of marine litter on beaches with citizens‘ participation under the framework of the Association of North

The Focal Points and partners of the Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre (MERRAC) of NOWPAP gathered online at the 23rd MERRAC Focal Point Meeting (FPM) and the 15th Competent National Authorities (CNA) Meeting on 7-8 July 2021 to explore measures to further strengthen the regional cooperation on addressing maritime disasters.

Experts from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Russia, and representatives from international organizations and research institutes met online, exploring the cooperation in identifying pollution sources through oil fingerprinting and addressing illegal discharge of pollutants from ships on 5 and 6 July 2021.

A group of marine scientists from the Northwest Pacific Region gathered online on 18 May 2021, discussing how to develop a detailed project proposal for a bigger intervention to strengthen the efforts of the NOWPAP Member States in conserving biological diversity in the NOWPAP region.

The Northwest Pacific Region Environmental Cooperation (NPEC), the host organisation of the NOWPAP Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre (CEARAC), organised an online Progress Meeting on the development of a Near Real-Time Monitoring System for Marine and Coastal Eutrophication Using Google Earth Engine (GEE) on 7 May 2021.

The NOWPAP Pollution Monitoring Regional Activity Centre (POMRAC) organised a virtual workshop on April 8, 2021, to discuss the structure and implementation process of the SOMER-3 Report. Regular assessment of the environmental status and trends within the NOWPAP region is one of the key components of the NOWPAP Programme of Work.

In cooperation with the Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) Secretariat, the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) presented its achievements in addressing marine litter through a global webinar on 29 March 2021. This webinar was the first event of a series presenting activities of Regional Nodes of the Global Partnership on Marine Litter.

On 25 February 2021, governmental officials from Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea, visited the NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU) in Busan, Korea, exploring the possibilities of cooperation with NOWPAP in addressing marine litter.

Marine scientists from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Russia met virtually on 19 February 2021 to discuss conducting case studies to estimate seagrass blue caron in the selected sea areas in the Northwest Pacific (NOWPAP) region.

The Northwest Pacific Action Plan Regional Coordinating Unit (NOWPAP RCU) was invited to present its activities in the Subregional Parallel Sessions for South Asia and Temperate East Asia of the Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) on 5 February 2021.

Marine scientists and policymakers from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and Russia gathered in the 18th Focal Points Meeting of the Data and Information Networking Regional Activity Center (DINRAC) virtually on 15 January 2021 to discuss how to improve further the information and data exchange on marine and coastal environment.

On October 9, 2020, a global workshop was organized by the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), located in Potsdam, Germany. The workshop built on the results of the Marine Regions Forum organized by the Government of Germany in October 2019. More details on the Marine Regions Forum could be found at https://www.prog-ocean.org/marine-regions-forum/.

The Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) participated as an observer in and contributed to a virtual meeting of the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) Marine Environmental Quality Committee (MEQ) on September 23, 2020. The meeting reviewed the progress of MEQ, discussed high priority items to be reported to the PICES Science Board, and new topics and directions for MEQ development.

Representatives from the Chinese government at central and local levels, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, and research institutes brainstormed via a virtual meeting to further reduce marine plastic pollution and enhance cooperation in the East Asian region.

The Northwest Action Plan (NOWPAP) was invited to introduce the experience in hosting the Regional Node of Global Partnership on Marine Litter in technical consultation of the Working Group in East Asia.

Marine scientists from China, Japan, Korea, and Russia identified conservation of biological habitats, plankton species, and environmental DNA as one of the highest priorities for the Northwest Pacific region, as well as the deciding way to protect marine biodiversity. These priorities were thoroughly discussed at a meeting held in Chiba, Japan, in November 2019.

In November 2019, in the City of Chiba, Japan, a group of marine scientists from the Northwest Pacific region agreed on a roadmap to develop the Regional Action Plan on Marine and Coastal Marine Biodiversity.

At the Chiba meeting, the experts reviewed previous work on marine and coastal biodiversity and identified gaps in the current knowledge, particularly, in the following areas:

In November 2019, in the City of Chiba, Japan, a group of marine scientists from the Northwest Pacific region agreed on a roadmap to develop the Regional Action Plan on Marine and Coastal Marine Biodiversity.

At the Chiba meeting, the experts reviewed previous work on marine and coastal biodiversity and identified gaps in the current knowledge, particularly, in the following areas:

· status, trends and future potential of the marine and coastal ecosystem services

· geographical scope and health of major marine and coastal habitats

As the country with the biggest population and the second-largest world economy, China plays a significant role in addressing marine litter.

Writer: Ning Liu,  Editor: Anna Manikowska D.G., Reviewer: Yegor Volovik, Nancy Groves As a part of a capacity-building programme, representatives from government authorities, research institutions and non-governmental organizations from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Peru, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Timor-Leste, Singapore, and the Republic of Korea participated in a training workshop on marine debris in Busan, Korea, in October 2019. This workshop was organized by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's Marine Environme