The Action Plan for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Northwest Pacific Region (NOWPAP), launched in September 1994 by the People’s Republic of China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation is part of the United Nations Environment Regional Seas Programme. NOWPAP implements its far-sighted mandate to protect the Northwest Pacific seas and coasts for present and future generations, guided by a six-year strategic framework of sectoral goals and implementation modalities. The 2018-2023 NOWPAP Medium-term Strategy aims to equip Member States with the evidencebased cooperative mechanism to ensure a healthy marine and coastal environment, thereby advancing regional progress towards achieving ocean-related Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Medium-term Strategy 2018-2023 Vision is a resilient Northwest Pacific marine and coastal environment, supporting sustainable development for the long-term benefit of present and future generations. The major focus of the NOWPAP Medium-term Strategy 2018-2023 will be on the coordination of the regional implementation of the ocean-related SDGs using NOWPAP mechanism. Medium-term Strategy 2018-2023 identifies four core areas of work to prevent and reverse increasing degradation of the marine and coastal environment in one of the world’s most impacted by human activities and natural changes 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.