East Asian Seas:
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East Asia’s astonishing variety of political, economic and social systems is matched by its environment: ship-crowded straits, island groups, wide gulfs, shallow estuaries – and some of the most heavily populated countries in the world where millions rely on fish for much of their protein. The threats seem just as varied, and include erosion and siltation from land development, logging and mining, blast fishing in coral reefs, cutting and conversion of mangroves, overfishing, unimpeded development and disposal of untreated wastes. The Action Plan was approved in 1981 stimulated by concerns on the effects and sources of marine pollution and was initially sub-regional, involving only five countries of ASEAN. Another five were welcomed in 1994, bringing to ten the number of countries ready to face up to East Asia’s marine environmental challenges. The Action Plan is steered from Bangkok by its coordinating body, COBSEA. The Regional Coordinating Unit (EAS/RCU) serves as Secretariat, and is in fact the lead agency of the United Nations for marine environmental matters in East Asia, responsible for coordinating the activities of governments, NGOs, UN and donor agencies, and individuals in caring for the region’s marine environment. The Action Plan encompasses assessment of the effects of human activities on the marine environment; control of coastal pollution; protection of mangroves, seagrasses and coral reefs; and waste management. Recently we have revised it to include, technology transfer and environmental governance. And we have worked with the Global Programme of Action for Land-based Activities (UNEP/GPA) to address pollution from land-based activities, and prepared a transboundary diagnostic analysis of the South China Sea. Among the Regional Seas Programmes, East Asia has steered a unique course. There is no regional convention; instead the programme promotes compliance with existing environmental treaties and is based on member country goodwill. We have put in place a ten-year plan that takes into account the Regional Action Plan for the GPA, the UNEP/GEF Project “Reversing Environmental Degradation Trends in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand” and the work of the International Coral Reef Action Network. We are working to reduce habitat degradation and to promote the treatment and re-use of waste pouring into the sea. We are also seeking innovative ways to change people’s behaviour and bring a halt to activities that destroy marine habitats. As we contemplate the coming decade, our overriding aim is to maximize Action Plan’s benefits to all our member countries. Our favoured procedure is to work in close cooperation with our region’s non-government and government organizations and the private sector. Our catchword, however, is flexibility: we must be willing to fine-tune and perhaps even change our course as circumstances dictate. For example, the condition of the marine environment may improve in some ways and worsen in others, our resources might be exploited in new and unforeseen ways, our monitoring programme might reveal some unhappy surprises, while accidents and catastrophes can occur at any moment. As long as we stay alert and responsive, we can hope to minimize the damage to our marine environment, and perhaps even improve its prospects.
Regional Coordinating Unit for the East Asian Seas |
