On 6-8 March 2008, the 6th Focal Points Meeting of CEARAC (Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Center of NOWPAP) has been held in Toyama, Japan. In conjunction with the Focal Points Meeting (FPM), the First Coastal Environmental Assessment Workshop was organized on 7 March.
During the FPM, the future CEARAC activities in 2008-2009 biennium were discussed. Meeting participants adopted the CEARAC work plan and budget and agreed that the main CEARAC activities will be as follows (all these activities will be undertaken in close communication and collaboration with global and regional partners such as UNESCO-IOC, PICES, IOC-WESTPAC, NEAR-GOOS, YSLME and others):
- Implementing HAB (Harmful Algal Blooms) case studies in NOWPAP member states;
- Developing HAB integrated website, compiling and linking all recent results from NOWPAP and related projects and organizations;
- Preparing educational materials for utilization of remote sensing data for marine environment monitoring;
- Organizing 2nd training course on remote sensing data analysis (jointly with partners);
- Developing procedures for assessment of eutrophication status, including evaluation of land based sources of nutrients, for the NOWPAP region;
- Implementing NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI).
In early September 2008, in conjunction with another regional workshop (details of which will be confirmed later), CEARAC is planning to bring together experts of its Working Groups on HAB and Remote Sensing applications to discuss the progress of implementation of CEARAC activities.
Implementation of NOWPAP contributes to the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) in the Northwest Pacific region.