The Fourth Intergovernmental Meeting (Beijing, China, April 1999) decided to establish four Regional Activity Centres (RACs) for the implementation of the Action Plan. The RACs play a central role in coordinating regional activities in specific fields of priority through a network of national institutions designated by the NOWPAP Members.

Data and Information Network Regional Activity Centre (DINRAC)
The Data and Information Network Regional Activity Centre (DINRAC) coordinates regional activities relevant to, in particular, the priority project, NOWPAP/1: Establishment of a Comprehensive Database and Information Management System. For specific components of the NOWPAP/1 programme, DINRAC cooperates with NOWPAP RCU (UNEP as interim secretariat until the establishment of the RCU) and Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) for establishment of a comprehensive database and regional information management system, upon approval by the Intergovernmental Meeting. Based on the NOWPAP/1 Phase II programme, DINRAC is engaged in, inter alia, maintenance of regional homepage for the regional information network, maintenance of inventory information database, training activities on data and information management, under the direction of the DINRAC Focal Points Meeting and its Expert Meeting. DINRAC is located in the Information Centre (IC) of the State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA) in Beijing, the People's Republic of China

Pollution Monitoring Regional Activity Centre (POMRAC)
The Pollution Monitoring Regional Activity Centre (POMRAC) coordinates regional activities relevant to, in particular, the priority project, NOWPAP/3: Establishment of a Collaborative, Regional Monitoring Programme. Particularly POMRAC focuses on the area of atmospheric deposition and rivers and direct inputs. For specific components of the NOWPAP/3 programme, POMRAC cooperates with NOWPAP RCU (before its establishment, UNEP), Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), CEARAC and other regional activity centres for establishment of a collaborative, regional monitoring programme, upon approval of the proposed by the Intergovernmental Meeting. Based on the NOWPAP/3 Phase II programme, POMRAC is engaged in, inter alia, development of regional monitoring programme, development and implementation of monitoring data quality and analytical control methods, training courses relevant to monitoring methodologies and data quality and analytical control under the direction of the POMRAC Focal Points Meeting and its Working Groups. POMRAC is located in the Pacific Geographical Institute (PGI), Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (FEB-RAS), Vladivostok, Russian Federation.

Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre (MERRAC)
The Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre (MERRAC) coordinates regional activities relevant to, in particular, the priority project, NOWPAP/4: Development of Effective Measures for Regional Cooperation in Marine Pollution Preparedness and Response. Under NOWPAP/4, MERRAC Focal Points Meeting (original title was the NOWPAP Forum on Marine Pollution Preparedness and Response, renamed before its fifth Meeting) has been periodically held since 1997, and MERRAC coordinates the initial and subsequent tasks of the Meeting. Under the MERRAC Focal Points Meeting, initial development of NOWPAP Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan and a regional Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is being carried out. Once such a regional contingency plan and MOU has been developed and concluded, MERRAC will carry out tasks to implement such a cooperative framework. Close cooperation is maintained with International Maritime Organization (IMO) as well as NOWPAP RCU (before its establishment, UNEP) MERRAC is located in the Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineering (KRISO) / Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI) in Daejeon, Republic of Korea

Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre (CEARAC)
The Special Monitoring & Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre (CEARAC) is one of the four Regional Activity Centres (RACs) to coordinate activities relevant to specific components of the Action Plan for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Northwest Pacific Region (NOWPAP) which was adopted in the First NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM) (Seoul, September 1994). NOWPAP is one of the Regional Seas Programme of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Four countries-Japan, People's Republic of China, Republic of Korea, and Russian Federation- participate the Programme.
CEARAC was founded in 1999 and is hosted by the Northwest Pacific Region Environmental Cooperation Center (NPEC), which was established in 1998 at Toyama, Japan, under the auspices of the Ministry of the Environment. Finalization of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with UNEP was made in July 2002, which provides the overall framework for cooperation between UNEP and NPEC.
Following the Resolution of the 7th IGM (Vladivostok, Russia, March 2002), which allows NOWPAP to evolve toward a RAC-based rather than an Activity-based structure, the CEARAC Focal Points Meeting (FPM) was established in order to promote smooth and effective implementation of special monitoring and assessment of the marine and coastal environment. The First CEARAC FPM (Toyama, Japan, February 2003) approved the establishment of two Working Groups of experts (WG) under CEARAC; WG3 on monitoring and assessment of Harmful Algal Blooms (HAB) and WG4 on Remote Sensing of the marine and coastal environment.