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Writer: Ning Liu, Editor: Anna Manikowska D.G., Reviewer: Yegor Volovik, Nancy Groves   The global production of plastics has increased between 1950 and 2017 at an average of 9 percent per year, reaching about 350 million tons in 2017. Natural weathering processes convert larger plastic products into much smaller pieces of plastics, micro- and nanoplastics.

Chinese volunteers team up to clean up beach in Dalian Representatives of the government agencies and research institutes from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, as well as participants from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, and non-governmental organizations teamed up with volunteers from China to clean up the Bangchui Beach in Dalian, China, on 25 September 2019. The campaign organized by the Northwest Pacific Action Plan and the Trilateral Environmental Ministers Meeting among China, Japan, and Korea, in cooperation with

 Policymakers and experts from the Northwest Pacific region gathered in Dalian, China, in September 2019 to discuss how to improve waste management to address marine litter at source.

The Northwest Pacific Action Plan, the Trilateral Environmental Ministers Meeting with China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, joined by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, jointly organized the marine litter management workshop in Dalian in September 2019.  The theme of the meeting was "Improvement of waste management to reduce marine litter into the oceans."

The Northwest Pacific region features a high diversity of marine and coastal species ranging from boreal to subtropical.

In August 2019 in Dalian, China, Chinese environmental protection volunteers, from elementary students to senior citizens, exchanged views on marine environmental protection and biodiversity conservation with experts at the 17th Focal Points Meeting of Data and Information Networking Regional Activity Center of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan. A representative from the Dalian Environmental Protection Volunteer Association introduced beach clean-up activities in the past decade.

Maritime experts and policymakers gathered in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, in August 2019 to brainstorm on future directions of regional cooperation to address oil, hazardous noxious substance, and marine pollution. Due to the fast economic growth and the corresponding increase of maritime traffic in the region, several oil and hazardous noxious substance spill incidents occurred in the Northwest Pacific region.

In the 17th Focal Points Meeting of Data and Information Networking Regional Activity Centre of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan held in Dalian, China, on 22–23 August 2019, marine scientists and government administrators agreed to survey the species assigned to the category of endangered in the Northwest Pacific region. In 2014 and 2015, scientists confirmed that 69 species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list are present in the Northwest Pacific region. They expanded the research to 143 species in 2016 and 2017.

Over 150 representatives from academia, governmental agencies, international organizations, industry, and non-governmental organizations met in Tokyo, Japan, in August 2019 to brainstorm on how to achieve the objectives of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The UN Decade declared by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2017 endeavors to provide countries full support to achieve the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals through the ocean science.

In August 2019, the Korea Association for UN Environment initiated a two-day 2019 Beat Plastic Pollution: Save the Sea—Clean-up Marine Litter Camp. The Camp involved 30 university students and gave a rare opportunity to participate in marine litter clean-up activities and acquire specific knowledge about marine litter. The students came from 17 different Korean universities, among them: the Pusan National University, the Pukyong National University, the Catholic University of Korea, the Korea Maritime & Ocean University, and the Yonsei University.  Dr.

The Yellow Sea is a vast, shallow, and highly productive sea between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. It covers an area of 400,000 km2 populated by 600 million people predominantly living in its coastal areas. The Yellow Sea is one of the most heavily exploited marine ecosystems in the world.

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.

The Northwest Pacific Action Plan was invited to the First Operational Satellite Oceanography Symposium held in June 2019 in Maryland, United States to introduce the Northwest Pacific Action Plan Eutrophication Assessment Tool (NEAT) and its applicability on a global scale. The Symposium was organized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Center for Weather and Climate Prediction. Some 150 experts on satellite oceanographic data, products and applications attended the meeting.

The Northwest Pacific Action Plan was invited to the 24th Intergovernmental Meeting of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia to share its experiences on addressing marine environmental protection through institutional strengthening. The meeting took place in June 2019 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. Participants discussed the establishment and operation of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia’s regional activity centres to enhance its abilities to protect the marine environment.

Experts from the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and international organizations gathered in Busan, Republic of Korea on 4-5 June 2019 to explore ways to address marine pollution in the Yellow Sea. They compared the baseline survey research on marine litter, reviewed related legislation and regulation, and discussed measures to address marine litter in the Yellow Sea.  Their findings were largely positive.

International and regional environmental organizations, governments and academia gathered in May 2019 to identify the best practices and experiences, gaps and obstacles in the delivery the voluntary commitments to the 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference. The Meeting of the Communities of Ocean Action “From Commitments to Action: Implementing SDG14” was organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs in Incheon, Republic of Korea. In the opening session, Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said, “The next few years must be one of action and accel

International and regional environmental organizations and experts gathered in Seoul in May 2019 to explore ways to promote cross-border conservation in the Korean Peninsula, building on green initiatives launched after the historic 2018 Korean leaders’ summit. The Northwest Pacific Action Plan of the UN Environment Regional Seas Programme participated in the regional briefing on environment conservation and cooperation on the Korean Peninsula.

A carpet of algae, floating dead fish for as far as the eye can see, a stench so powerful it irritates the lungs and stings the eyes… these are some of the effects of algal blooms, caused by ocean eutrophication, a deadly phenomenon for aquatic ecosystems. Eutrophication happens when excessive nutrients from agricultural, industrial and urban wastes enter the seas, leading to serious disruption of marine ecosystems, damage to vital sea habitats and the spread of harmful algal blooms, commonly known as red tides.

Marine scientists from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation met in Vladivostok, Russian Federation in March 2019 to discuss ways of assessing the health of the seas shared by the four countries in order to support regional progress towards ocean-related Sustainable Development Goals.

Qingdao City in Shandong province of the People’s Republic of China, and Taean County in South Chungcheong Do province of the Republic of Korea are popular coastal resorts about 600 km apart, on opposite ends of the Yellow Sea, and known for their clean beaches and clear seas.       Shandong and South Chungcheong Do provinces are partners in an environmental initiative that brings together local authorities, businesses and civil society to keep their beaches free of marine litter—a threat to the seas and coasts of East Asia. Acknowledging the primary role of local governments in protecting th

Good ocean data science is vital for reversing the rapid decline in the health of our seas that threatens humanity and the planet, the UN Environment Northwest Pacific Regional Seas Programme told an international scientific forum in Tokyo, Japan, in February 2019, in preparation for the first UN Decade of Ocean Science. The 18–19 February 2019 International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange (IODE) XXV Scientific Conference, organized by the International Oceanographic Data and Information Exchange programme of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNE

Good ocean data science is vital for reversing the rapid decline in the health of our seas that threatens humanity and the planet, the UN Environment Northwest Pacific Regional Seas Programme told an international scientific forum in Tokyo, Japan, in February 2019, in preparation for the first UN Decade of Ocean Science.

The UN Environment’s Northwest Pacific Action Plan marks 20 years of partnership with Japan’s marine conservation centre

At an event to mark the 20th anniversary of Japan’s Northwest Pacific Region Environmental Cooperation Center (NPEC), the UN Environment’s Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) voiced its commitment to strengthen its 20-year partnership with the Center to help steer regional implementation of ocean-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Northwest Pacific Action Plan’s Medium-term Strategy 2018-2023.

One of very few intergovernmental cooperative mechanisms in Northeast Asia, the UN Environment Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) can play a large role in supporting regional peace and prosperity through ‘science diplomacy’, a major conference on East Asian seas in Iloilo City, Philippines, recommended.

At this year’s Fujisawa Campus annual festival at Japan’s prestigious Keio University, a large number of the over 10,000 mostly young visitors were drawn to a peculiar display booth. 

The attraction was understandable—visitors to the booth, mostly students from Keio and other universities as well as pre-university students and members of the public, were encouraged to change their lifestyles and reduce dependence on plastics. Reusable bags, drinking straws and bottles were displayed at the booth along with material about the UN Environment Regional Seas Programme.

Acknowledging the economic and social importance of the ecological health of their seas, Japan, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation have endorsed a six-year strategy that will harness science-based cooperation for regional progress towards achieving ocean-related Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).