Headlines:
Major
intergovernmental agreements and actors
Action
programmes, strategies, and research
State
of the regional environment
GEF
Projects
in the region
Other
actors and initiatives
Major
intergovernmental agreements and actors
UN Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific, ESCAP
Within
the Water
Resources Programme under its Environment and Natural Resources
Development Division, the UN ESCAP organizes seminars and workshops
on various issues relating to water resources, including: Water
resources assessment; Integrated water resources development and
management; Protection of water resources, water quality and aquatic
ecosystems; River basin development and management; Promotion of
infrastructure development and investment for drinking water supply
and sanitation; Water pricing and promotion of private investment
in the water sector; Water demand management, water saving and economic
use of water; and Mitigation of water-related natural disasters,
particularly flood loss reduction.
Association
of Southeast Asian Nations,
ASEAN
ASEAN
was established in 1967 and has ten member countries: Brunei, Cambodia,
Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
and Viet Nam. The ASEAN Declaration states that the aims and purposes
of the Association are: to accelerate the economic growth, social
progress and cultural development in the region through joint endeavours
in the spirit of equality and partnership in order to strengthen
the foundation for a prosperous and peaceful community of Southeast
Asian nations, and to promote regional peace and stability through
abiding respect for justice and the rule of law in the relationship
among countries in the region and adherence to the principles of
the United Nations Charter. In 1995, the ASEAN Heads of States and
Government re-affirmed that "Cooperative peace and shared prosperity
shall be the fundamental goals of ASEAN." See also
UNEP
Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific,
ROAP
Working closely with the Division of Regional Co-operation and Representation
in UNEP's Nairobi-based headquarters, the Regional Office for Asia
and the Pacific (ROAP) looks to adopt global environmental policy
to regional priorities and needs. It acts as a catalyst, co-ordinator,
facilitater and mobilizer of resources. It puts particular emphasis
on building partnerships with regional and sub-regional intergovernmental
fora, other UN agencies, national governments, NGOs, the private
sector, academic and research institutions, and civil society, and
the media. See also here.
East
Asian Seas Regional Coordinating Unit
Information
on the UNEP East Asian Seas Programme can be found on the web site
of the Coordinating Unit, which is located with ROAP. The Unit is
the co-ordinating body for the East Asian Seas Action Plan (see
below).
Financial
institutions
Asian
Development Bank, ADB
The Asian Development Bank, a multilateral development finance institution,
was founded in 1966 by 31 member governments to promote the social
and economic progress of the Asia-Pacific region. It now has 58
member countries - 42 from within the region and 16 non-regional.
ADB gives special attention to the needs of the smaller or less-developed
countries, and to regional, subregional, and national projects and
programs. Promoting sustainable
development and environmental protection is a key strategic
development objective of the Bank. (See also about environment.)
To fulfill this objective, the Bank (i) reviews the environmental
impacts of its projects, programs, and policies; (ii) encourages
DMC governments and executing agencies to incorporate environmental
protection measures in their project design and implementation procedures,
and provides technical assistance for this purpose; (iii) promotes
projects and programs that will protect, rehabilitate, and enhance
the environment and the quality of life; and (iv) trains Bank and
DMC staff in, and provides documentation on, environmental aspects
of economic development. The Asian
Development Fund (ADF) is the concessional lending window of
the Bank.
Action
programmes, strategies and research
ASEAN
Strategic Plan of Action on the Environment
The Strategic Plan of Action on the Environment for 1994-1998 has
the following five objectives:
-
to
respond to specific recommendations of Agenda 21 requiring priority
action in ASEAN;
-
to introduce policy measures and promote institutional development
that encourage the integration of environmental factors in all
developmental processes both at the national and regional levels;
-
to
establish long term goals on environmental quality and work
towards harmonised environmental quality standards for the ASEAN
region;
-
to
harmonise policy directions and enhance operational and technical
cooperation on environmental matters, and undertake joint actions
to address common environmental problems; and
-
to
study the implications of AFTA on the environment and take steps
to integrate sound trade policies with sound environmental policies.
Despite
the impacts of the recent economic crisis on the natural resources
and environmental conditions, the ASEAN Environment Ministers
at their Fifth Informal Meeting in April 2000 discussed the
importance of keeping their commitment to environmental protection
and sustainable development. Hence, to move forward towards
the future goals and directions that the ASEAN leaders expressed
in ASEAN Vision 2020 and the Hanoi Plan of Action
(adopted in 1997 and 1998 respectively) the Ministers adopted
the ASEAN
Strategic Plan of Action on the Environment (SPAE) for 1999-2004.
It consists of the key activities to be implemented by ASOEN
(ASEAN Senior Officials on the Environment) and its subsidiary
bodies over the next five years, including the areas of coastal
and marine environment, nature conservation and biodiversity,
multilateral environmental agreements, management of land
and forest fires and haze, and other environmental activities.
Partnership
in Environmental Management for for the Seas of East Asia,
PEMSEA
A GEF project, focusing on "building partnerships within
and among governments of the region, as well as across public
and private sectors of the economy. The goal is to reduce
or remove barriers to effective environmental management,
including inadequate or inappropriate policies, disparate
institutional and technical capabilities and limited investment
in environmental facilities and services". PEMSEA is
"based on two management frameworks developed and tested
in an earlier GEF Project: Integrated coastal management,
addressing land-water interactions and the impacts of human
activity in coastal areas; and risk assessment/risk management,
applying to subregional sea areas and the impacts of human
activities on marine ecosystems." PEMSEA web resources
include Virtual
ICM; a Legal
Information Database Reference Catalogue; and a Directory
of Research and Management Institutions in Southeast Asia.
and a database of Good
Practices. See also the PEMSEA
Updates, a free online newsletter.
UNEP
Regional Seas Programme
The
Regional Seas Programme was initiated in 1974 as a global
programme implemented through regional components. The Regional
Seas Programme is UNEP's main framework in the field of the
coastal and marine environment. It includes 14 regions and
three partner seas, involves more than 140 coastal states,
and focuses on sustainable development of coastal and marine
areas. Each regional action
plan is formulated according to the needs and priorities
of the region as perceived by the Governments concerned. Regional
conventions are in place for several areas. See a map
of all regional seas, and go to more information on the Black
Sea, Wider Caribbean, Mediterranean,
East Asian Seas, South Asian Seas, Eastern Africa, Kuwait
Region, North West Pacific, Red Sea And Gulf of Aden, South
East Pacific, North East Pacific, South
Pacific, Upper
South West Atlantic, and West
and Central Africa. The UNEP Regional Seas web site also contains
information on What's
at stake, Major
threats, and Actions.
East
Asian Seas Action Plan
On the initiative of the five States of the East Asian
region — Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore
and Thailand — the Governing Council of UNEP in 1977
decided that "steps are urgently needed to formulate and establish
a scientific programme involving research, prevention and
control of marine pollution and monitoring " for a regional
action plan in East Asia. An Action Plan for the Protection
and Sustainable Development of the Marine Environment and
Coastal Areas of the East Asian Region was adopted in 1981,
with a decision making body, the Coordinating Body on the
Seas of East Asia (COBSEA). A revised Action Plan and
a Long-term Strategy for the COBSEA for the 1994-2000 period
were developed in 1994 and Australia, Cambodia, China, Korea
and Vietnam joined the Action Plan. A
new East Asian Seas Action Plan — "Leading
the EAS Action Plan to the 21st Century" —
has been elaborated for the period 2000-2009.
State
of the regional environment
GEO
2000 State of the Environment: Asia and the Pacific
Global
Enviroment Outlook 2000. GEO is:
-
a global environmental assessment process, the GEO Process,
that is cross-sectoral and participatory. It incorporates regional
views and perceptions, and builds consensus on priority issues
and actions through dialogue among policy-makers and scientists
at regional and global levels.
- GEO
outputs, in printed and electronic formats, including the GEO
Report series. This series makes periodic reviews of the state
of the world's environment, and provides guidance for decision-making
processes such as the formulation of environmental policies,
action planning and resource allocation. Other outputs include
technical reports, a
web site and a publication for young people.
GEF
Projects in the region
Projects
under implementation
UNDP
- GEF - International waters:
Building
Partnerships for the Environmental Protection and Management of
the East Asian Seas
The objective of the project is to assist the riparian countries
of the East Asian Seas to collectively protect and manage their
heavily stressed coastal and marine environments through intergovernmental
and intersectoral partnerships. These countries include the Republic
of Korea which for the first time is a GEF recipient. Building upon
the methodologies, approaches, typologies, networks and lessons
learned from the pilot phase, the project would enhance and complement
national and international efforts by removing or lowering critical
barriers regarding policy, investment, capacity, which are having
negative effects on the management of the coastal/marine environment
in the region. Together with several waterbody-based projects in
the area, these projects constitute GEF's programmatic approach
to these coastal and marine waters with globally significant ecosystems
that are experiencing severe degradation.
UNDP
- GEF - International waters:
Prevention
and Management of Marine Pollution in the East Asian Seas
Development of policies and plans to control marine pollution from
land-based and sea-based sources, upgrading of national and regional
infrastructures and technical skills, and establishment of financing
instruments for project sustainability. Project will include selection
of demonstration sites, establishment of regional monitoring and
information network, and involvement of regional association of
marine legal experts to improve capacity to implement relevant conventions.
World
Bank - GEF - Biodiversity:
Coral
Reef Rehabilitation and Management Project (COREMAP), Indonesia
Supported by a multi-donor group, COREMAP will establish a coral
reef management system in priority areas in 5 eastern Indonesian
provinces. Strengthen coral reef management through improving management
capacity and inter-agency coordination; capacity-building to prepare
and implement strategies, plans and policies targetting coral reef
rehabilitation and management; establishing coral reef management
and information networks; increasing public awareness and participation
in coral reef management. The PDF phase is supporting the regional
task forces preparing the project, and social assessments at priority
sites.
Other
actors, initiatives and resources
International
Centre for Living Aquatic Resources Management,
ICLARM
An international research organization "devoted
to improving the productivity, management and conservation of aquatic
resources for the benefit of users and consumers in developing countries".
ICLARM is one of the research centres of CGIAR,
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. ICLARM,
in collaboration with the the Food and Agriculture Organization
of the United Nations (FAO) and other partners, and with support
from the European Commission, has developed
FishBase, a global information
system on fishes for research scientists, fisheries managers, zoologists
and many more. FishBase contains full information on 23,500 species.
ICLARM has also developed similar systems on coral reefs and their
resources (ReefBase)
and management of fish stocks in Asia (TrawlBase).
International
Coral Reef Initiative, ICRI
An
environmental partnership that brings stakeholders together with
the objective of sustainable use and conservation of coral reefs
for future generations. ICRI is an informal mechanism that allows
representatives of over 80 developing countries with coral reefs
to sit in equal partnership with major donor countries and development
banks, international environmental and development agencies, scientific
associations, the private sector and NGOs to decide on the best
strategies to conserve the world's coral reef resources.
Coral
Health and Monitoring Programme,
NOOA
The mission of the NOOA Coral Health and Monitoring Program is to
provide services to help improve and sustain coral reef health throughout
the world. Long term goals:Establish an international network of
coral reef researchers for the purpose of sharing knowledge and
information on coral health and monitoring.Provide near real-time
data products derived from satellite images and monitoring stations
at coral reef areas. Provide a data repository for historical data
collected from coral reef areas. Add to the general fund of coral
reef knowledge.See also Global
Coral Reef Monitoring Network, GCRMN.
The
Indonesian Seas - a Large Marine Ecosystem (LME)
A
Large Marine Ecosystem,
LME,
is a "region of ocean space encompassing coastal areas from
river basins and estuaries to the seaward boundary of continental
shelves and the seaward margins of coastal current systems. It is
a relatively large region characterized by distinct bathymetry,
hydrography, productivity, and trophically dependent populations."
See also Rhode Island University map
of LMEs.
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