Table of Contents
I. NOWPAP Progress
1. NEAT - a satellite - based technique to keep an eye on growing eutrophication threat to oceans (2019)
2. Promoting cross-border environmental cooperation in the Korean Peninsula
3. Sharing experiences in addressing marine litter in the Yellow Sea
4. Identify best practices and gaps to achieve voluntary commitments to the UN Ocean Conference
5. Sharing experiences with East Asian countries in institutional strengthening to address marine pollution
6. Applying the Northwest Pacific Action Plan Eutrophication Assessment Tool on a global scale
II. Upcoming Events of NOWPAP
III. Digest of Marine Environmental News
1. Asian Development Bank sets aside $5bn to boost marine economy, clean up oceans
2. UN chief outlines ‘intertwined challenges’ of climate change, ocean health facing Pacific nations on the ‘frontline’
3. S. Korea Aims to Halve Plastics in Local Waters by 2030
4. More Microplastics in Deep Sea Than Great Pacific Garbage Patch
5. China Focus: Marine ranching restores ecology on desertified seabeds
6. G-20 Agrees on Framework to Cut Marine Plastic Waste
7. UN oceans treaty ‘essential’ to combat ‘unprecedented pressure’ on the world’s seas – UN chief
8. Japan, Indonesia issue joint statement on tackling marine plastic pollution
9. 40 Tons Of Fishing Nets Removed From Pacific Ocean
10. UN report: Ocean biodiversity in peril due to overfishing and climate change
I. NOWPAP Progress
1. NEAT—a satellite-based technique to keep an eye on growing eutrophication threat to oceans (2019)
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. Nearly half of the world’s population lives within 100 km of a coast—an estimated 41 per cent of the global ocean is strongly affected by land-based human activities.
In 2008, massive green macroalgae blooms caused by eutrophication spread over 2,400 km2 in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea and 1 million tons had to be removed and treated at a cost of more than US$100 million.
A satellite imagery technique for timely detection of potential dead zones in the sea, developed by the UN Environment Northwest Pacific Regional Seas Programme is now ready for use to protect oceans from the serious threat of eutrophication.
Marine scientists from China, Japan, Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation meeting in Vladivostok, Russia in March 2019, endorsed the effectiveness of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan Eutrophication Assessment Tool (NEAT) in protecting the region from eutrophication that threatens marine and human health and can severely harm fisheries and tourism.
The Regional Seas Programme’s Northwest Pacific Action Plan intends to collaborate with global online search giant Google and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency to test NEAT to monitor eutrophication in oceans around the world, using cloud computing.
“Eutrophication assessment with rapidly increasing amount of satellite data requires a simple but robust methodology like NEAT,” says Genki Terauchi of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan’s Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre who led development of the technique.
NEAT uses satellite-derived chlorophyll-a concentration levels and trends to detect potential eutrophic zones. Eutrophication results in high levels of phytoplankton growth and organic matter supply to marine ecosystems and chlorophyll-a concentrations are a reliable indicator of eutrophication.
Satellite monitoring data for chlorophyll-a concentration levels in Northwest Pacific seas was used for a Northwest Pacific Action Plan study led by Terauchi to devise the NEAT methodology. It overcomes difficulties with remote sensing such as estimating chlorophyll-a concentration in coastal waters due to turbidity caused by entry of water from land.
The Northwest Pacific Action Plan’s Special Monitoring Centre has been studying eutrophication since 2008 and has developed methodologies to assess eutrophication levels in the region. The NEAT methodology was reviewed at the eutrophication assessment meeting of marine scientists organized by the Northwest Pacific Action Plan’s Special Monitoring Centre in Vladivostok.
The Special Monitoring Centre has also developed an online portal on harmful algal blooms, countermeasures against harmful algal blooms and eutrophication monitoring guidelines for local government officials in coastal regions.
A significant reduction in marine pollution by 2025, in particular from land-based activities, is part of the commitment made by world leaders in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “Use of the NOWPAP Eutrophication Assessment Tool will help countries in the region to report their progress to achieve Sustainable Development Goals,” said Ning Liu, Programme Officer of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan.
Further resources: potential eutrophic zones in the NOWPAP region.
2. Promoting cross-border environmental cooperation in the Korean Peninsula
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. The meeting was organized by the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership, the Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea and the Ramsar Convention Regional Center.
Following the 2018 Summit between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, many environmental organizations have stepped up activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Meanwhile, the country joined the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership and became a Party to the UN Ramsar Convention on Wetlands. The National Wetland Inventory of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was published in October 2018. Contacts have been established between the country’s Ministry of Land and Environment Protection and more than 20 international environmental conservation organizations.
Hanns Seidel Foundation Korea, (a non-profit political organization based in Seoul), the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership (a network aims to protect migratory waterbirds, their habitat and the livelihoods of people dependent upon them), the Ramsar Convention Regional Center, Birds Korea, a Republic of Korea-based non-governmental organization and the Beijing Office of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have launched conservation activities in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Hanns Seidel Foundation has organized five conservation workshops in Pyongyang which were attended by about 260 participants. Another 750 participants were trained in training workshops organized by the group around the country.
At the Seoul meeting, Birds Korea shared findings of its surveys for a wetland project in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The northeast coast of the Korean Peninsula is an important habitat for waterbirds and seabirds and a potential eco- and avian-tourism destination.
According to the New Zealand-based Pukorokoro Miranda Naturalists’ Trust, with continuing habitat loss around much of the Yellow Sea, tidal flats in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea offer a safety net habitat for the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. However, tideland reclamation is accelerating.
At the Seoul meeting, the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership highlighted the case of the Mundok Migratory Bird Reserve located along the Chongchon River estuary in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The country’s Ministry of Land and Environment Protection plans to promote the Mundok Migratory Bird Reserve as a model for wetland conservation in the country.
Northwest Pacific Action Plan Programme Officer Ning Liu said that participation in the Seoul meeting was a valuable opportunity to explore how the UN Environment Regional Seas Programme can use its regional cooperation-based approach to promote marine environmental conservation on the Korean Peninsula.
3. Identify best practices and gaps to achieve voluntary commitments to the UN Ocean Conference
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 accelerated implementation of the 2030 Agenda… The ocean and its resources are essential to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] as a whole.”
Yangsoo Kim, Vice Minister, Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea, stated: “The issue of marine debris, one of the globally intractable problems, will completely be addressed by the measures improving prevention and buy-back schemes targeting up to 30 per cent reduction by 2022 and 50 per cent by 2030 [in Korea].”
More than 1,400 voluntary commitments to advance the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 and related targets were registered in the 2017 Ocean Conference. Participants in Incheon shared the progress of their voluntary commitments. The Nature Conservancy and the Convention of Biodiversity pointed out that 866 voluntary commitments regarding marine and coastal ecosystems management were registered, there was disproportionate representation of some regions, the private sector and science community were under-represented, and one third of volunteer commitments did not indicate links to other Sustainable Development Goals.
The UN Environment Programme reported that 136 volunteer commitments related to coral reefs were registered, but only 26 per cent were updates. It was suggested to consider certificates for reporting and completion, or awards ceremony at the United Nations Ocean Conference.
India’s Suganthi Devadason Marine Research Institute introduced the removal of marine debris from reef areas in the Gulf of Mannar, Tamil Nadu, India to reduce the stress to the bleached corals and to support the recovery process. The Institute highlighted that removal of debris was a continuous process and that removal, enforcement and awareness-building among fishers should be in place.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature introduced their “Support to the Government on Marine and Coastal Resource Management and Sustainable Livelihoods in Northern Sri Lanka” and pointed out that resources and political commitment at the local level are less than optimal to meet the complex socio-economic, climate and technology challenges.
The Northwest Pacific Action Plan exchanged views with the participants in the conference on how to further collect data on marine litter, build databases on ocean resources, and engage civil society to achieve the voluntary commitments.
4. Sharing experiences in addressing marine litter in the Yellow Sea
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. As China’s National Marine Environmental Monitoring Center pointed out, “From 2010 to 2018, the average density of beach litter of monitored beaches of the Yellow Sea was reduced from 72,825 to 35,502 items per square kilometre.” And according to Our Sea of East Asia Network (a Korea-based non-governmental organization), “Long-term monitoring by the Korea’s Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries shows the decreasing accumulation rates around the Korean peninsula and along the western coasts. However, abandoned fishing and aquaculture items and sport fishing gears have still seriously affected endangered birds and their habitats, and navigation safety of naval ships and other vessels.”
The meeting also addressed the source of marine litter. China’s Shandong Marine Resource and Environment Research Institute briefed participants on the status and regulatory measures of marine litter management in Weihai City of China, stating that the city will implement total pollutant control measure in the estuary area and further improve its marine litter monitoring and evaluation system.
The official from Taean, Chongnam Do, Republic of Korea highlighted the importance to establish integrated improvement measures to minimize marine litter through prevention and systematic management.
The Secretariat of the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem Phase II Project updated the meeting on the status of the establishment of the Clean Beach City Alliance—a platform to promote and facilitate the cooperation and exchanges among business, academia, schools and communities at local level in different countries and catalyse result-oriented actions in addressing marine litter. The alliance tackles the issue through a holistic approach at local levels. It will promote technological cooperation to track the source of marine litter and remove the debris from receiving waters, through an exhibit. in a venue yet to be determined. Candidate cities include Qingdao and Wehai in China, and Chungnam Do in the Republic of Korea.
Ning Liu, Programme Officer of Northwest Pacific Action Plan highlighted the importance of controlling marine litter from its sources. He commented on and compared the waste management systems in China and the Republic of Korea. He also introduced the annual Northwest Pacific marine litter management workshop to be held on 24-27 September 2019 in Dalian, China, and invited the delegates to join the workshop to further enhance regional cooperation in addressing marine litter.
5. Sharing experience with East Asian countries in institutional strengthening to address marine pollution
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 on. 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. Indonesia established a Regional Capacity Centre for Clean Seas to respond to its presidential decree and Bali Declaration which called for mainstreaming of the protection of coastal and marine ecosystems including from marine litter and microplastics, and to foster linkages with the Regional Seas Programmes.
Indonesia suggested exploring the opportunity of making the Regional Capacity Centre for Clean Seas into a regional activity centre of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia. Its aim is to assist countries to improve their national capacities towards implementation of the Coordinating Body’s action plan and strategic direction. The Government of Indonesia allocated US$500,000 as initial funding from its national budget, with additional finance of US$500,000 envisaged annually.
Ning Liu, Programme Officer from the Northwest Pacific Action Plan, introduced the history and operation modalities of their regional activity centres. He explained that the Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre was set up by the Ministry of Environment of Japan in 1999, with the Government of Japan providing financial and human resources. The Centre has conducted research and assessments of the state of the marine, coastal and associated freshwater environments, promoted and coordinated regional cooperation through national focal points and nominated experts related to special monitoring and assessment of the marine and coastal environment.
Similarly, the Republic of Korea hosted the Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre to address oil spills and hazardous and noxious substances spills. In the Sanchi incident, where a ship which contained more than 130,000 tonnes of oil sank near Shanghai in early 2018, Member States have exchanged information effectively and timely through the mechanism set up by the Centre.
The Data and Information Regional Activity Centre hosted by China has facilitated marine environmental information exchange in the region, while the Pollution Monitoring Regional Activity Centre hosted by the Russian Federation has conducted various research project on pollution monitoring and environmental assessment.
Ning Liu highlighted that the Centres have enhanced the ownership of Member States and increased the Northwest Pacific Action Plan’s abilities to address marine and coastal environmental protection. The Centres have also played an important role in leveraging financial resources.
The meeting appreciated Indonesia’s efforts in reducing and mitigating land-based sources of marine pollution through institutional development focusing on capacity building, knowledge management and awareness raising. Participants also encouraged Indonesia to further develop the Regional Capacity Centre for Clean Seas, to transform it into a Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia Regional Activity Centre for consideration at the 25th intergovernmental meeting.
6. Applying the Northwest Pacific Action Plan Eutrophication Assessment Tool on a global scale
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 Symposium discussed what made an operational application successful, and where and how satellite service could be improved.
Genki Terauchi, Senior Researcher at the Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre of Northwest Pacific Action Plan presented the eutrophication assessment tool in the meeting. The tool enables detection of potential eutrophication zones from millions of pixel-based information retrieved by time series of ocean colour sensors.
Transforming big amounts of data into simple but robust indexes whose meaning stakeholders will understand instantly is of paramount importance, Trauchi said. He further explained that this method can help develop indicators for the index of coastal eutrophication under the sustainable development goal 14.1.1—Index of coastal eutrophication and floating plastic debris density—by using both concentration levels and trends of remotely sensed Chlorophyll a.
Application of the eutrophication assessment tool method on a global scale is in progress and almost ready for operational use. Use of higher-resolution ocean colour sensors is planned to better detect eutrophication in estuaries and enclosed bays.
The participants agreed that inter-validation of data from different sensors is necessary among agencies and companies which provide relevant data. Provision of reliable and validated data is more important than fast-paced provision of data and relevant agencies and companies should invest their time in education and human resource development to keep up with the continuous evolution of computer technology and data processing.
The Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre will continue develop the eutrophication assessment tool by using new satellite sensor data to better map eutrophication status in higher spatial resolution.
Upcoming Events
1. The 17th NOWPAP Data and Information Network Regional Activity Center (DINRAC) Focal Points Meeting, 22-23 August 2019, Dalian, China
2. The 22nd NOWPAP Maritime Emergency Response and Preparedness Regional Activity Center (MERRAC) Focal Points Meeting, 14th Competent National Authorities (CNA) Meeting and brainstorm workshop, 27-20 August 2019, Seoul, Korea
3. The 17th NOWPAP Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Center (CEARAC) Focal Points Meeting, 9-10 September 2019, Toyama, Japan
4. 2019 Joint NOWPAP-TEMM Workshop on Marine Litter Management, the 2019 NOWPAP International Coastal Clean-up Campaign, and the 2019 RAP MALI Focal Points Meeting and the Second Expert Group Meeting of the NOWPAP Special Micro plastic Project, 24-27 September 2019, Dalian, China
Digest of Marine Environmental News
1. Asian Development Bank sets aside $5bn to boost marine economy, clean up oceans
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a plan to help improve the marine economy and clean up the oceans over the next six years, making available some $5 billion for financing and technical assistance.
ADB announced its "Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies for the Asia and Pacific" at its board of directors' 52nd annual meeting in Fiji on May 2. ADB said in a press release that it will support the efforts of its developing member countries to achieve the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including SDG 14, "Life Below Water".
2. UN chief outlines ‘intertwined challenges’ of climate change, ocean health facing Pacific nations on the ‘frontline’
Visiting Fiji for the first time as Secretary-General, António Guterres outlined two “fundamental challenges” facing leaders attending the Pacific Islands Forum on Tuesday, namely climate change and the world’s rising ocean, which threatens to submerge low-lying nations.
3. S. Korea Aims to Halve Plastics in Local Waters by 2030
S. Korea Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon has declared 2019 as the first year in South Korea's bid to halve the amount of plastic waste thrown into the sea by 2030.
4. More Microplastics in Deep Sea Than Great Pacific Garbage Patch
Researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) used small drone submarines to take sea-water samples from the ocean surface all the way down to the floor, at 3,200 feet. They found that there were actually more microplastics 1,000 feet below sea level than there are in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, USA Today reported. The findings come as people around the world prepare to celebrate World Oceans Day Saturday and gives new insight into how plastics impact the entire marine environment.
5. China Focus: Marine ranching restores ecology on desertified seabeds
By the end of 2018, China had completed the construction of 233 marine ranches, which include 86 state-level demonstration marine ranching zones, producing considerable output in both economic and ecological terms, data with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs show.
6. G20 Environment Ministers Adopt Framework to Tackle Marine Litter
16 June 2019: The Group of 20 (G20) Ministerial Meeting on Energy Transitions and Global Environment for Sustainable Growth adopted a framework for action on marine plastic litter. In a Communique, the G20 Environment Ministers call for action to tackle marine plastic litter and microplastics, among other types of marine litter, and to address the adverse impacts on marine ecosystems, livelihoods, industries and human health.
7. UN oceans treaty ‘essential’ to combat ‘unprecedented pressure’ on the world’s seas – UN chief
The oceans are not only under “unprecedented pressure” due to climate change, but “half of all living coral has been lost in the past 150 years”, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday, addressing the latest gathering of nations which are party to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
8. Japan, Indonesia issue joint statement on tackling marine plastic pollution
OSAKA -- Japanese Environment Minister Yoshiaki Harada and Indonesia's Coordinating Minister for Maritime Affairs Luhut Pandjaitan on June 27 agreed to form a cooperative system aimed at reducing plastic waste in oceans, which is becoming an increasingly serious problem for Indonesia
A joint statement issued after Harada and Pandjaitan held talks in the western Japan city of Osaka calls for the monitoring of plastic trash off the coast of Indonesia at specified locations, including checks on the amount of waste, in an initiative that could begin as early as the current fiscal year ending in March 2020.
9. 40 tons of fishing nets removed from Pacific Ocean
40 tons fishing nets Pacific—One of the biggest problems of the 21st century is our dependence on plastic and the overconsumption of this product. The Ocean Voyages Institute announced Friday that it has successfully removed more than 40 tons of fishing nets and plastics north of the Pacific Ocean, where four ocean currents converge, creating a vortex that accumulates huge amounts of waste. The cleaning mission lasted for 25 days.
10. UN report: Ocean biodiversity in peril due to overfishing and climate change
The biodiversity of the world’s oceans is declining in a manner unlike any time in human history.
A recent report from the United Nations paints a dire picture for wildlife around the globe, in both land-based and marine environments. About two-thirds of the marine environment has been significantly altered by human actions and climate change has the potential to make the situation much worse, the report said.
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