Asia and Pacific

The East Asian Seas Regional Coordinating Unit (EAS/RCU) is the Secretariat for the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), comprised of ten countries (Australia, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, R. Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam).

It acts as the lead agency of the United Nations for marine environmental matters in East Asia, coordinating the activities of governments, UN and donor agencies, and communities in caring for the marine environment.

This includes 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.

The unit works closely with the UNEP/GPA (Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities), and the International Coral Reef Action Network. Further information is available from http://www.cobsea.org

The Indo-west Pacific has long been recognised as the global centre of shallow water marine biological diversity and the South China Sea, which is located at the center of this marine biogeographic realm, therefore represents an area of globally significant marine biodiversity.

Numerous actions are taking place at the national and regional levels to address the environmental problems that have resulted from the rapid pace of development and industrialisation, which has occurred over the last decade.

This significant GEF project (32 million US$), implemented by UNEP, represents the first attempt to develop regionally co-ordinated programmes of action designed to reverse environmental degradation particularly in the area of coastal habitat degradation and loss, halt land-based pollution and address the issue of fisheries over-exploitation. Further information is available from www.unepscs.org

In Europe, the Pan European Biological and Landscape Diversity Strategy (PEBLDS) process, with UNEP’s Regional Office for Europe, based in Geneva, and the Council of Europe forming the joint secretariat, provides a framework for addressing biodiversity concerns in the Economic Commission for Europe region, with particular emphasis on implementing the CBD. Under the programme Streamlining European 2010 Biodiversity Indicators, six expert groups have been formed to assess key trends related to achieving the 2010 target.

Within the West Asia region, a regional strategy for the protection of coastal reefs has been proposed and protocols on the protection of biodiversity and the establishment of Protected Areas in the ROPME and PERSGA Sea Areas are being developed. More >>