Busan, Republic of Korea, 24-25 June 2026 - NOWPAP participated in the NEAMPAN Workshop on Marine and Coastal Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) in North-East Asia, hosted by the North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC), Korea Maritime & Ocean University (KMOU), and the Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM), in partnership with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of the Republic of Korea.
The workshop brought together government representatives, regional and international organizations, experts, researchers, and practitioners to exchange knowledge and experiences on marine and coastal OECMs in support of Target 3 of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM GBF).
The workshop covered the global and regional context of marine and coastal OECMs, national policies and practices in North-East Asia, experiences from other regions, practical case studies, youth perspectives, and opportunities for future subregional cooperation. Participants also exchanged views on strengthening technical collaboration and knowledge-sharing through the North-East Asian Marine Protected Areas Network (NEAMPAN).
The workshop also provided valuable opportunities to engage with representatives from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), ESCAP, IUCN, FAO, KOEM, the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI), academia, and other regional partners.
NOWPAP was represented at the workshop by Ms. Yan Chan, Ms. Hyojin Kim from the Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU), and Dr. Anatoly Kachur, Director of the Pollution Monitoring Regional Activity Centre (POMRAC). On the margins of the workshop, the NOWPAP RCU held a bilateral meeting with Dr. Kachur to discuss priorities for NOWPAP’s and POMRAC’s activities, including possible technical issues and future plans under the new Programme of Work (PoW). The exchange also provided an opportunity to strengthen coordination between the RCU and POMRAC in advancing regional marine environmental cooperation.
The workshop further enabled NOWPAP to strengthen professional networks with regional experts and institutions, including Korea Maritime & Ocean University, the Korea Maritime Institute, the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, KOEM, and other organizations working on marine biodiversity conservation and area-based management. These exchanges will contribute to enhanced collaboration and support future regional initiatives under NOWPAP.
By participating in the workshop, NOWPAP reaffirmed its commitment to promoting regional dialogue, science-policy cooperation, and knowledge-sharing to support the conservation and sustainable management of marine and coastal ecosystems in the Northwest Pacific.
