The web platform of the Regional Node provides stakeholders in the East Asian Seas region with access to knowledge, resources and networking services on marine litter and plastic pollution for informed action.
International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) and Workshop
·International Coastal Cleanup in Primorsky Kray, Russia 2009
·International Coastal Cleanup and Training Workshop in Vladivostok, Russian 2008
·International Coastal Cleanup in Dalian, China 2008
·International Coastal Cleanup in Vladivostok, Russia 2007
·International Coastal Cleanup in Busan, Korea 2007
·International Coastal Cleanup in Rizhao, China 2007
·The 2nd Workshop on Marine Litter in Toyama, Japan 2007
·The 1st NOWPAP International Coastal Cleanup in Sakata, Japan 2006
·The 1st NOWPAP Workshop on Marine Litter in Incheon, Korea 2006
·The 1st International Workshop on Marine Litter in Toyama, Japan 2005
A regular International Coastal Cleanup action was held in Primorsky Kray on September 26, 2009. This year ICC campaign has been extended. Actions were carried out in Shchitovaya Bay (Ussuriysky Gulf), in Olga Bay (Olginsky District, Primorsky Kray), at the head of the Amursky Gulf – on the north-western coast (Tavrichanka settlement, Nadezhdinsk District, Primorsky Kray) and in Uglovoy Bay (Prokhladnoye settlement, Nadezhdinsk District, Primorsky Kray), in Emar Bay (Ussuriysky Gulf), and on Volna Beach (Nakhodka Bay).
The action's principal organizers were Sea Protection Institute, Maritime State University named after Admiral G.I. Nevelskoy and Regional Coordination Unit of the North-West Pacific Action Plan (POMRAC NOWPAP), that held actions in Shchitovaya Bay and Olga Bay; Primorsky Kray Administration (actions in Emar Bay and Nakhodka Bay), as well as Defenders and Conservators social environmentalist movement (actions in the Amursky Gulf).
The action is primarily targeted at improving the quality of the Primorsky Kray marine coastal zone, as well as at perfecting regional mechanisms for finding solutions to the marine litter issue within the Russian sector of NOWPAP through the involvement of the public, research and administrative agencies concerned.
ICC participants in Shchitovaya Bay (Vladivostok, Ussuriysky Gulf)
ICC participants in Olga Bay (Primorsky Kray)
More introduction and statistics on the activity seethe Activity Report, the monitoring data seethe datasheets.
The NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI) is being implemented since March 2008, after its approval by the four NOWPAP member states. The 2008 NOWPAP International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) and Training Workshop were held in Vladivostok, Russian Federation on 26-28 September, as one of RAP MALI activities. Representatives of the member states and the Regional Activity Centres (RACs) of NOWPAP and its partners such as COBSEA (Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia), YSLME (Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem) and Ocean Conservancy (which initiated the ICC campaigns in 1986) attended the events. In addition, Russian students, NGOs, media representatives and general public also participated.
At the training workshop on 26 September, 12 presentations were given to share national case studies on the ICC campaigns and related activities in the NOWPAP region as well as beyond the region (e.g., East Asian countries). The global vision of the ICC campaign as a year around movement was presented by the representative of Ocean Conservancy. An on-site training for ICC beach cleanup was conducted in Schitovaya Bay, Vladivostok on 27 September. Fifty participants collected approximately 40 kg of marine litter. After the on-site training, there was a small group meeting to exchange views on the annual ICC campaign in the NOWPAP region as part of outreach strategies to address marine litter issues. The meeting encouraged China and Russia to continue their efforts to organize national ICC campaigns after they have recently joined this kind of activity through the NOWPAP projects on marine litter implemented over last three years.
A working meeting was held on 28 September, back-to-back with the workshop and on-site training of ICC, to discuss the current progress on the implementation of RAP MALI. Further activitiesto be carried out in the 2008-2009 biennium were also discussed in-depth.
International Coastal Cleanup in Dalian, 2008
As one of the activities of the NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter, an International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) campaign was held in Dalian, People's Republic of China on 11 September 2008. This event brought several hundred volunteers from local governmental agencies, industries, universities and non-governmental organizations together with international participants representing Japan, Ocean Conservancy and NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit. As a direct result of the activity, over one hundred kilogram of marine litter has been collected on a swimming beach and more from the adjacent seabed where scuba divers were involved. Immediate prior to the ICC, a domestic meeting on marine litter was organized by the Ministry of Environmental Protection to build up awareness on the issue and share experiences among relevant governmental authorities such as Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Safety Administration and State Oceanic Administration in tackling the problem nationwide. Right after the ICC, an international marine litter prevention and control workshop was also organized for the similar purpose. It is the first time that Ocean Conservancy, the initiator of the ICC campaign worldwide, has sent a senior vice president to China to participate and promote the ICC in China. Similar ICC activities are being organized in Shanghai and other parts of China.
