Our vast region includes the People’s Republic of China, Japan, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Korea and the Democratic Republic of Korea. It also features extensive coral reefs, mangrove forests and island ecosystems with their spectacular marine life and commercially important fishing grounds.

The North-West Pacific is among the most highly populated parts of the world, resulting in enormous pressures and demands on the environment. Its people are particularly dependant on the sea for their food and livelihoods. Yet their health – and the health of their environment – are under growing threat, mainly from land-based activities and sources of pollution. Coastal development, industry, transport, and activities such as land reclamation and intensive mariculture take an ever-greater toll on coastal ecosystems.

Chemical and industrial wastes, untreated municipal sewage, agricultural pesticides and nutrients in run-off cause widespread damage and stimulate eutrophication and harmful algal blooms (red tides). Added to these are oil pollution from wastewaters and accidental spills, atmospheric pollution and marine and coastal litter.

The countries of the region realized that by joining forces they could strike a wise balance between provision for human needs, use of resources, and economic development on one hand, and the protection, enhancement and sustainability of the environment on the other. They launched (1991) and formally adopted (1994) the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP).
The Plan focuses on the wise use, development and management of the coastal and marine environment in order to achieve the greatest long-term benefit for the human populations of the region while protecting human health and ecological integrity for future generations.

The plan incorporates six priority projects to be implemented through a network of Regional Activity Centres (RACs). Four of these are in operation and deal with information management, pollution monitoring, environmental assessment, and marine emergency preparedness and response.

NOWPAP’s Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU), co-hosted by Japan and the Republic of Korea, will serve as nerve centre and command post of the Action Plan’s activities.

Ours is a young programme, so our priorities over the coming years are fairly basic: to set up a regional monitoring and assessment system; to develop a network of public outreach and environmental education; to put in place a contingency plan for oil and chemical spills; and to prepare a regional strategic plan to abate pollution from land-based activities (in accordance with UNEP-GPA); to set up regional programmes to protect marine and coastal biodiversity; and to initiate programmes for sustainable management of living marine resources based on the ecosystem approach.
And we intend that our ground-breaking programme will serve as a regional platform for the implementation of Multilateral Environmental Agreements and other global programmes and initiatives concerning the marine and coastal environment.

The adoption of our Action Plan was an extraordinary and historical moment. As work begins through the regional centres to implement the Action Plan, NOWPAP is well on its way to becoming one of the world’s most remarkable examples of regional cooperation for the environment.

Ellik Adler isRegional Seas Programme Coordinator, UNEP

North-West Pacific
UNEP-Interim Secretariat
P.O. Box 30552
Nairobi 00100, Kenya
Tel: +254 2 624544; Fax: +254 2 624 618
E-mail: ellik.adler@unep.org

Visit the website of the Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre (MER/RAC).