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Home:About COBSEA
About COBSEA |
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Action Plan for the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Marine and Coastal Areas of the East Asian Region (1994).
(read..., pdf file, 244KB)
Action Plan for the Protection and Development of the Marine and Coastal Areas of the East Asian Region (1983).
(read..., pdf file, 1.47MB) |
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East Asia's astonishing variety of political, economic and social systems is matched by its environment: ship-crowded straits, island groups, wide gulfs, shallow estuaries - and some of the most heavily populated countries in the world where millions rely on seafood for much of their protein. The threats to the coastal and marine environment in the region seem just as varied, and include erosion and siltation from land development, logging and mining, blast fishing in coral reefs, cutting and conversion of mangroves, overfishing, unimpeded development and disposal of untreated wastes.
The Action Plan for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment and Coastal Areas of the East Asian Seas Region (the East Asian Seas Action Plan) was approved in 1981 stimulated by concerns on the effects and sources of marine pollution. Initially, the action plan involved five countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand). In 1994, it was revised to involve another five countries (Australia, Cambodia, People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea and Vietnam) and up to this date the action plan still has ten member countries. The main components of East Asian Seas Action Plan are assessment of the effects of human activities on the marine environment, control of coastal pollution, protection of mangroves, seagrasses and coral reefs, and waste management.
Among the Regional Seas Programmes, East Asia has steered a unique course. There is no regional convention; instead the programme promotes compliance with existing environmental treaties and is based on member country goodwill.
East Asian Seas Action Plan is steered by the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) that is consisting of the ten member countries. The COBSEA Secretariat is in fact the lead agency of the United Nations for marine environmental matters in East Asia, responsible for co-ordinating the activities of governments, NGOs, UN and donor agencies, and individuals in caring for the region's marine environment.
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