Feature article
A World of Neighbours:
UNEP's Regional Seas Programme*
Dr. Ellik Adler, Coordinator
Regional Seas Programme
United Nations Environment Programme
Nairobi, Kenya
Common Elements
The Regional Seas Programmes have several common elements.
The process of establishing a Regional Seas Programme usually
begins with the development of an action plan outlining
the strategy and substance of a regionally coordinated programme,
aimed at the protection of a common body of water. The action
plan is based on the region’s environmental challenges
as well as its socioeconomic and political situation. It
may cover issues ranging from chemical wastes and coastal
development to the conservation of marine species and ecosystems.
In most cases, the action plan is underpinned by a strong
legal framework in the form of a regional convention and
associated protocols on specific problems. The legally-binding
convention expresses the commitment and political will of
governments to tackle their common environmental problems
through joint, coordinated activities.
Why has this approach worked so well?
First, the limited geographic focus of the action plans
and conventions enables the countries to channel the energies
of a wide range of interest groups towards a global purpose:
preserving the world’s ocean and coastal ecosystems,
and the livelihoods they secure.
Second, although UNEP applies a common strategy in drawing
up its regional action plans, it is by no means in-flexible..
The specific activities are customized to fit the needs
and priorities of the region.
Third, from the start of the process, UNEP consults closely
with a region’s governments, regional organizations,
interested international organizations, and regional experts
to determine the scope and substance of a suitable action
plan.
Fourth, UNEP ensures that the action plans are firmly grounded
on regional knowledge, by producing comprehensive reviews
of the environment and environmental problems which governments
can use to set priorities.
Fifth, action plans are truly comprehensive. They normally
include chapters on environmental monitoring and assessment,
management and legislation, as well as institutional and
financial arrangements needed to support these actions.
All these parts are interdependent, so thay make up a coherent
and effective whole.
Finally, the programme is flexible and responsive to evolution
and changes in the international environmental agenda. The
Earth Summit/UN Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, and the World Summit
on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in
September 2002, had an influence on the work programme and
priorities of the various regional seas programmes.
The five emerging global priority issues which were announced
by the UN Secretary General prior to WSSD – water,
energy, health, agriculture and biodiversity (WEHAB) –
will be taken on board and addressed by the Regional Seas
Conventions and Action Plans.
A New Era
At the request of its Governing Council, UNEP strengthened
its commitment to the Regional Seas Programme in the mid-1990s.
To generate and sustain its momentum, UNEP began to convene
regular global meetings of the secretariats of all the regional
seas and partner programmes. Today, 16 regional programmes
discuss common interests, set priorities, and establish
lasting links with one another, as well as with global environmental
conventions and international organizations. This close
collaboration continues today, and the global meetings are
characterized by enthusiasm, determination, and productivity.
Since then, the UNEP Governing Council has repeatedly made
its wishes clear: the programme is expected to increase
both regional and interregional collaboration by promoting
horizontal ties among the action plans and partner programmes.
It should link more closely and be better coordinated with
the Global Plan of Action for the Protection of the Marine
Environment from Land-based Sources of Pollution (GPA).
It should also collaborate more closely with Multilateral
Environmental Agreements (MEAs) or global conventions and
other partners such as the International Coral Reef Initiative
(ICRI), the International Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN),
the Global International Water Assessment (GIWA), and the
Global Plan of Action for Marine Mammals.
The Governing Council also requested the individual regional
seas programmes to strengthen their cooperation with international
organizations such as the International Maritime Organization
(IMO), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of
UNESCO, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO).
The Governing Council also encouraged the Regional Seas
Programme to expand to other parts of the world when requested
by the countries of a region. Recognizing the regional programme’s
valuable role in delivering UNEP’s own programme and
priorities, the Governing Council requested the Executive
Director to strengthen its contribution and technical support
to the various regional seas programmes.
Change and Flexibility
Many of the regional programmes began to reach maturity,
just as the international environmental agenda was undergoing
a change and shifting towards new directions.
UNCED 1992 propelled the concept of sustainable development
to the forefront of international concern, creating a new
paradigm for discussion and action that was embodied in
the meeting’s major product - Agenda 21.
Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 outlined detailed provisions for
the protection of oceans, seas, coastal areas, and related
resources. The concentrated work that led to the adoption
of the chapter seemed to have a catalytic effect. The decade
after UNCED saw the adoption or entering into force of some
20 instruments and initiatives related directly or indirectly
to the marine environment or marine biodiversity. These
developments had enormous implications for the future of
the Regional Seas Programme in general, and for individual
activities of the regional programmes.
In 1992 there were a number of such agreements. Governments
at the Rio Summit signed the Convention on Biological Diversity
and the Climate Change convention; the Balitic countries
adopted the Helsinki Convention on the Protection of the
Marine Environment of the Balitic Sea Area; the Oslo and
Paris Conventions combined to create the OSPAR Convention
for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East
Atlantic; Black Sea States adopted the Convention on the
Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution (Bucharest
Convention); the Arctic Council for the Protection of the
Marine Envirnoment was established; and the 1989 Basel Convention
on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes
and their Disposal entered into force.
In subsequent years, the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) entered into force (1994); the Washington
Declaration established the Global Programme of Action for
the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based
Activities (GPA) (1995); the International Tribunal on the
Law of the Sea began operations (1997); and the Stockholm
Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants was signed (2001).
In addition to the 1992 Bucharest Convention, the decade
saw the adoption of several new regional seas agreements:
the North-West Pacific Action Plan in 1994, the South Asian
Seas Action Plan in 1995, the Convention for the North-East
Pacific (Antigua Convention) in 2002, as well as a number
of new protocols to existing conventions. In 1995, the Mediterranean
countries adopted a revised and modernized text of the very
first regional seas legal agreements – the Barcelona
Convention and its protocols.
A Milestone in Jakarta
Exemplifying the growing conviction that the conservation
and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity are
essential elements of sustainable development, the ‘Jakarta
Mandate’ was adopted by parties to the Convention
on Biological Diversity in 1995.
The Jakarta Mandate and its 1998 programme of action represent
a fresh and progressive approach to the management of marine
and coastal resources. Its six main elements echo traditional
concerns of the Regional Seas Programme such as marine and
coastal living resources, protected areas and mariculture,
as well as more recent ones such as alien species and genotypes,
and coral bleaching. The Jakarta Mandate and the Regional
Seas Programme both promote ‘integrated marine and
coastal area management’ (IMCAM) as the best tool
for the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal
biodiversity.
Reaching a Peak at WSSD
The decade-long surge in environmental activity resulting
from the Rio Summit culminated in the WSSD in 2002. This
meeting resulted in a Plan of Implementation, the Johannesburg
Declaration on Sustainable Development and perhaps most
important, an abundance of potential new partnerships among
countries, international organizations, civil society, the
private sector, and other stakeholders.
Section IV of the WSSD Plan of Implementation, Protecting
and managing the natural resource base of economic and social
development, relates most directly to regional seas, and
covers a range of water-related issues including the protection
of the marine environment. It draws particular attention
to pressures on marine and coastal ecosystems from fisheries,
biodiversity loss, and pollution.
Moreover, it specifically calls for strengthening regional
cooperation and coordination between relevant regional organizations
and programmes, including the UNEP Regional Seas Programme.
A Firm Foundation
With nearly 30 years of experience, the Regional Seas Programme
provides an ideal platform on which to construct regional
sustainable development, using the deliberations and results
of WSSD as a blueprint. Practically, it provides regional
platforms for both implementation of the principles of sustainable
development and for regional implementation of programmes
and activities related to global conventions and MEAs.
In fact, at a meeting held during the WSSD preparatory
phase, the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans identified
their major concerns and priorities as:
– Land-based sources of marine pollution with particular
emphasis on responding to pollution resulting from municipal
wastewater;
– Ship-generated marine pollution, oil spill preparedness
and response, and construction of port reception facilities
for ships’ wastes (a concern reinforced by the major
oil spills that occurred off the coasts of France and Spain
within the last three years);
– The impact of increasing urbanization and coastal
development on marine and coastal ecosystems, requiring
capacity building in support of integrated coastal management;
– Conservation and management of marine and coastal
ecosystems, including protected areas. Over-exploitation
or depletion of living marine resources including fisheries
has emerged as a priority concern; and
– Monitoring, reporting and assessment for the marine
environment, to fill the need for more accurate scientific
and technical information.
Most of these concerns are mentioned in the Plan of Implementation,
and are nearly identical to the issues identified by the
Commission on Sustainable Development. As such, they will
serve as a useful basis for cooperation between the various
MEAs, including the major environmental conventions, and
the various regional seas programmes.
Other areas of concern in the Regional Seas which could
be basis for future collaboration with MEAs, international
organizations and civil society include ecosystem-based
management of living marine resources such as fisheries;
data and information management including the use of sustainable
development indicators; dissemination of best practices;
and a multi-sectoral approach to IMCAM.
A New Global Strategy
The UNEP Governing Council, at its 22nd Session and Global
Ministerial Environmental Forum in early 2003, set out the
elements of a global strategy for the regional seas based
on the central idea of the Regional Seas Conventions and
Action Plans as an instrument for sustainable development.
Other key elements of the strategy are:
Commitment. The strategy calls for member
states to develop an enhanced sense of ‘ownership’
toward their respective regional seas programmes, leading
to stronger political and financial commitment to their
implementation.
Participation. The strategy calls for
new partnerships, inviting an increase in the participation
of civil society and industry in the development and implementation
of the regional programmes.
Sustainability. The strategy invites member
states to provide sound and lasting financial support to
their programmes.
Partnership. The strategy foresees the
use of the conventions and action plans as a platform for
the regional implementation of MEAs and global programmes
and initiatives.
To help realize these goals, the strategy calls for continued
administrative support from UNEP to the Regional Seas Programme,
and foresees a number of more specific objectives, including:
– increased horizontal cooperation between Regional
Seas Conventions and Action Plans;
– strengthened links with international organizations
such as IMO, UNESCO-IOC, FAO, CBD and other MEAs;
– intensified monitoring and assessment activities,
including participation in the new process of the UN General
Assembly known as the Global Assessment of the State of
the Marine Environment and of the GIWA; and
– participation in the Barbados Plan of Action on
Small Island Developing States.
Summing Up
Agenda 21, the WSSD Plan of Implementation and the new
global strategy have given the Regional Seas Programme both
a mandate and a roadmap for the years ahead. The programme’s
successes have been instructive. They offer a model for
future programmes and a yardstick with which to measure
progress. These many successes have been accompanied by
occasional setbacks. In a few regions, a great deal of time
and energy were invested in the early stages of a regional
programme that never ‘caught fire’, owing to
a lack of political will, insufficient financing, or competition
with other, overriding concerns such as war or poverty.
But these cannot be called failures. A failure would have
been not to try, to give up in advance simply because a
challenge appeared too daunting. A programme in question
might yet revive, when the time is right, and when outstanding
conflicts are resolved and competing interests reconciled.
WSSD is still being analyzed and digested. As a new era
of environmental action emerges, the focus is on the practical
implementation of the principles of sustainable development.
The Regional Seas Programme has had and continues to play
an important role in sustainable development. Given its
achievements built upon modest resources, the Regional Seas
Programme has given excellent value for its money for all
of its three decades.
The Mediterranean Action Plan
The Mediterranean, one of the world’s most beautiful
regions and a popular holiday destination, faces numerous
threats to the marine environment brought about by solid
waste generation, over-crowded coastal areas, soil erosion,
and pollution from ships.
These challenges prompted the Mediterranean countries and
the European Community to start working together in the
mid-1970s to protect the region’s marine environment.
The Mediterranean Action Plan (MAP) is the mechanism through
which the 20 countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea,
and the European Union, cooperate. It is the first such
instrument developed by UNEP. The Action Plan focuses mainly
on four key fields of activity: curbing pollution, safeguarding
natural and cultural resources, managing coastal areas,
and integrating the environment and development. MAP was
expanded in 1995 to include sustainable development and
make it more action-oriented.
The Athens-based MAP Coordinating Unit (MEDU) is the Action
Plan’s Secretariat. It manages and organizes the work
of the Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention,
i.e., the 21 MAP members, as well as the activities of the
six MAP Regional Activity Centers (RACs), which offer expertise
in specific fields of action. Focal points, appointed by
member countries, are responsible for the follow-up and
coordination of MAP activities, while the Mediterranean
Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) provides guidance
on policies for promoting sustainable development in the
Mediterranean basin.
Since its inception, MAP has involved various United Nations
agencies and numerous grassroots organizations in its activities,
and seen the adoption of its legal framework, the Barcelona
Convention for the Protection of the Mediterranean Sea Against
Pollution (1976) and six related protocols. Several key
tools have been developed to reduce land-based sources of
the sea’s pollution and secure maritime safety and
environmental protection in the region.
The Coastal Areas Management Programme was launched in
1987, indicating shift of the Plan’s focus to integrated
coastal management. The introduction of the Mediterranean
Action Plan Phase II (the Action Plan for the Protection
of the Marine Environment and the Sustainable Development
of the Coastal Areas of the Mediterranean MAP II) in 1995
incorporated UNCED principles to the Mediterranean context
showing the determination of the parties to use the regional
mechanism as a tool for sustainable development.
MAP presents a stable regional framework for meeting the
challenges of environmental degradation and to link sustainable
resource management with development in order not only to
protect the Mediterranean region but to improve and maintain
the quality of life of its inhabitants.
The East Asian Seas Action Plan
In 1981, five states of the East Asian region – Indonesia,
Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand – took
the initiative to create a cooperative programme for the
study, prevention and control of marine pollution in their
shared environment.
Backed by the UNEP Governing Council, these countries adopted
an Action Plan for the Protection and Sustainable Development
of the Marine Environment and Coastal Areas of the East
Asian Region. In 1994, Australia, Cambodia, People’s
Republic of China, Republic of Korea and Vietnam joined
the Action Plan and the 10 countries adopted a revised Action
Plan and Long-term Strategy for the 1994-2000 period.
The Action Plan is steered from Bangkok by the Coordinating
Body for the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA). The Regional Coordinating
Unit (EAS/RCU) serves as Secretariat, and is the lead UN
agency for marine environmental matters in East Asia, responsible
for coordinating the activities of governments, NGOs, UN,
and donor agencies, and individuals.
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. Recent revisions have expanded
it to include technology transfer, environmental governance,
land-based pollution, habitat degradation, treatment and
re-use of waste, and a transboundary diagnostic analysis
carried out in cooperation with the GEF South China Sea
project. The region has not yet adopted a regional convention.
Instead, the programme promotes compliance with existing
environmental treaties.
A UNEP-lead process of the revitalization of COBSEA and
the activities of EAS/RCU is now under way. The Regional
Seas programme for this extremely diverse and fragile region
faces a promising future, based on the mutual commitment,
sense of ownership and growing partnership of tis governments
and UNEP.
The North-West Pacific Action Plan
The Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP), brings together
the People’s Republic of China, Japan, the Russian
Federation, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The countries realize
that by joining forces, they can strike a balance between
the provision for human needs; use of resources and economic
development; and the protection, enhancement and sustainability
of the environment. The Plan was adopted in 1994 and entered
into force a year later. It is currently supported by four
countries, with a hope of full participation of all five.
DPRK currently has observer status.
NOWPAP focuses on the wise use, development, and management
of the coastal and marine environment. To achieve long-term
benefits for the region’s population and to protect
human health and ecological integrity for future generations,
NOWPAP incorporates six priority projects to be implemented
through a network of Regional Activity Centers (RACs) that
serve all member states. Four of these are in operation
and deal with a Data and Information Network (DIN/RAC, Beijing),
Pollution Monitoring (POM/RAC, Vladivostok), Special Monitoring
and Coastal Environmental Assessment (CEA/RAC, Toyama) and
Oil and Chemical spills preparedness and response and marine
based pollution (MER/RAC, Taejon).
UNEP, UNEP/GPA and UNEP/GEF are developing a proposal on
the formulation of a Strategic Action Plan for NOWPAP to
address pollution of the marine environment from land-based
activities. This will also focus on integrated and coordinated
management of the marine and coastal environment for the
NOWPAP area.
NOWPAP is currently engaged in the process of establishing
its Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU) that will be co-hosted
by Japan (Toyama) and the ROK (Busan). The RCU will serve
as the nerve center and command post of the Plan’s
activities.
NOWPAP will work towards the establishment of: a regional
monitoring and assessment system, a network of public outreach
and environmental education, a regional oil and chemical
spill prevention, preparedness and response contingency
plan, a Regional Strategic Plan to abate marine pollution
originating from land-based sources and activities in accordance
with the GPA approach, and regional activities and programs
aimed at the protection of the marine and coastal biodiversity;
the development into a regional platform for the implementation
of Multilateral Environmental Agreements and other global
programmes and initiatives concerning the marine and coastal
environment; and the development and implementation of programs
(for the sustainable management of living marine resources)
found on the Ecosystem Based Management approach.
*This article appeared in the July 2003 issue of Tropical
Coasts.
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