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Representatives from the Chinese government at central and local levels, international organisations, non-governmental organisations, and research institutes brainstormed via a virtual meeting to further reduce marine plastic pollution and enhance cooperation in the East Asian region.

The Northwest Action Plan (NOWPAP) was invited to introduce the experience in hosting the Regional Node of Global Partnership on Marine Litter in technical consultation of the Working Group in East Asia.

The 24th Intergovernmental Meeting of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) was postponed in early February due to the outbreak of COVID-19. However, to ensure the implementation of planned activities, the NOWPAP Member States, coordinated by the NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit, started an online discussion on the Programme of Work 2020-2021. After three rounds of consultations, the NOWPAP Member States approved the biennial Work Plan and Budget to strengthen marine and coastal environmental protection in the region.

The 2019 Expert Meeting of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan’s the Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre took place in December 2019, in Tokyo, Japan. The Japan Coast Guard hosted the meeting.

Marine scientists from China, Japan, Korea, and Russia identified conservation of biological habitats, plankton species, and environmental DNA as one of the highest priorities for the Northwest Pacific region, as well as the deciding way to protect marine biodiversity. These priorities were thoroughly discussed at a meeting held in Chiba, Japan, in November 2019.

In November 2019, in the City of Chiba, Japan, a group of marine scientists from the Northwest Pacific region agreed on a roadmap to develop the Regional Action Plan on Marine and Coastal Marine Biodiversity.

At the Chiba meeting, the experts reviewed previous work on marine and coastal biodiversity and identified gaps in the current knowledge, particularly, in the following areas:

In November 2019, in the City of Chiba, Japan, a group of marine scientists from the Northwest Pacific region agreed on a roadmap to develop the Regional Action Plan on Marine and Coastal Marine Biodiversity.

At the Chiba meeting, the experts reviewed previous work on marine and coastal biodiversity and identified gaps in the current knowledge, particularly, in the following areas:

· status, trends and future potential of the marine and coastal ecosystem services

· geographical scope and health of major marine and coastal habitats

As the country with the biggest population and the second-largest world economy, China plays a significant role in addressing marine litter.

Writer: Ning Liu,  Editor: Anna Manikowska D.G., Reviewer: Yegor Volovik, Nancy Groves As a part of a capacity-building programme, representatives from government authorities, research institutions and non-governmental organizations from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Peru, the Philippines, the Russian Federation, Timor-Leste, Singapore, and the Republic of Korea participated in a training workshop on marine debris in Busan, Korea, in October 2019. This workshop was organized by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's Marine Envi

Writer: Ning Liu, Editor: Anna Manikowska D.G., Reviewer: Yegor Volovik, Nancy Groves   The global production of plastics has increased between 1950 and 2017 at an average of 9 percent per year, reaching about 350 million tons in 2017. Natural weathering processes convert larger plastic products into much smaller pieces of plastics, micro- and nanoplastics.

Chinese volunteers team up to clean up beach in Dalian Representatives of the government agencies and research institutes from China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, as well as participants from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the Trilateral Cooperation Secretariat, and non-governmental organizations teamed up with volunteers from China to clean up the Bangchui Beach in Dalian, China, on 25 September 2019. The campaign organized by the Northwest Pacific Action Plan and the Trilateral Environmental Ministers Meeting among China, Japan, and Korea, in cooperation with

 Policymakers and experts from the Northwest Pacific region gathered in Dalian, China, in September 2019 to discuss how to improve waste management to address marine litter at source.

The Northwest Pacific Action Plan, the Trilateral Environmental Ministers Meeting with China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea, joined by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, jointly organized the marine litter management workshop in Dalian in September 2019.  The theme of the meeting was "Improvement of waste management to reduce marine litter into the oceans."

The Northwest Pacific region features a high diversity of marine and coastal species ranging from boreal to subtropical.

In August 2019 in Dalian, China, Chinese environmental protection volunteers, from elementary students to senior citizens, exchanged views on marine environmental protection and biodiversity conservation with experts at the 17th Focal Points Meeting of Data and Information Networking Regional Activity Center of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan. A representative from the Dalian Environmental Protection Volunteer Association introduced beach clean-up activities in the past decade.

Maritime experts and policymakers gathered in Seoul, the Republic of Korea, in August 2019 to brainstorm on future directions of regional cooperation to address oil, hazardous noxious substance, and marine pollution. Due to the fast economic growth and the corresponding increase of maritime traffic in the region, several oil and hazardous noxious substance spill incidents occurred in the Northwest Pacific region.

In the 17th Focal Points Meeting of Data and Information Networking Regional Activity Centre of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan held in Dalian, China, on 22–23 August 2019, marine scientists and government administrators agreed to survey the species assigned to the category of endangered in the Northwest Pacific region. In 2014 and 2015, scientists confirmed that 69 species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature red list are present in the Northwest Pacific region. They expanded the research to 143 species in 2016 and 2017.

Over 150 representatives from academia, governmental agencies, international organizations, industry, and non-governmental organizations met in Tokyo, Japan, in August 2019 to brainstorm on how to achieve the objectives of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The UN Decade declared by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2017 endeavors to provide countries full support to achieve the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals through the ocean science.

In August 2019, the Korea Association for UN Environment initiated a two-day 2019 Beat Plastic Pollution: Save the Sea—Clean-up Marine Litter Camp. The Camp involved 30 university students and gave a rare opportunity to participate in marine litter clean-up activities and acquire specific knowledge about marine litter. The students came from 17 different Korean universities, among them: the Pusan National University, the Pukyong National University, the Catholic University of Korea, the Korea Maritime & Ocean University, and the Yonsei University.  Dr.

In August 2019, the Korea Association for UN Environment initiated the two-day 2019 Beat Plastic Pollution: Save the Sea—Clean-up Marine Litter Camp. The intention of the camp was to give 30 university students the opportunity to participate in marine litter cleanup activities and learn about marine litter. The students came from 17 different Korean universities: Pusan National University, Pukyuong National University, the Catholic University of Korea, Korea Maritime & Ocean University and Yonsei University.

The Yellow Sea is a vast, shallow, and highly productive sea between mainland China and the Korean Peninsula. It covers an area of 400,000 km2 populated by 600 million people predominantly living in its coastal areas. The Yellow Sea is one of the most heavily exploited marine ecosystems in the world.

The Northwest Pacific Action Plan engaged with Our Sea of East Asia Network, a Korea based non-governmental organization, in analyzing policies and identifying gaps to address marine litter in the Northwest Pacific region in July 2019 in Tongyeong, Republic of Korea. The Northwest Pacific Action Plan member states adopted a Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter in 2008. The plan, until now, has successfully facilitated information exchange and regional cooperation on fighting marine litter in the region.

The Northwest Pacific Action Plan was invited to the First Operational Satellite Oceanography Symposium held in June 2019 in Maryland, United States to introduce the Northwest Pacific Action Plan Eutrophication Assessment Tool (NEAT) and its applicability on a global scale. The Symposium was organized by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Center for Weather and Climate Prediction. Some 150 experts on satellite oceanographic data, products and applications attended the meeting.

The Northwest Pacific Action Plan was invited to the 24th Intergovernmental Meeting of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia to share its experiences on addressing marine environmental protection through institutional strengthening. The meeting took place in June 2019 in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. Participants discussed the establishment and operation of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia’s regional activity centres to enhance its abilities to protect the marine environment.

Experts from the People’s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and international organizations gathered in Busan, Republic of Korea on 4-5 June 2019 to explore ways to address marine pollution in the Yellow Sea. They compared the baseline survey research on marine litter, reviewed related legislation and regulation, and discussed measures to address marine litter in the Yellow Sea.  Their findings were largely positive.

International and regional environmental organizations, governments and academia gathered in May 2019 to identify the best practices and experiences, gaps and obstacles in the delivery the voluntary commitments to the 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference. The Meeting of the Communities of Ocean Action “From Commitments to Action: Implementing SDG14” was organized by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs in Incheon, Republic of Korea. In the opening session, Liu Zhenmin, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, said, “The next few years must be one of action and accel