10. The overall goal of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan is: The wise use, development and management of the coastal and marine environment so as to obtain the utmost long-term benefits for the human populations of the region, while protecting human health, ecological integrity and the region's sustainability for future generations.

11. The meeting also adopted three subsidiary and complementary goals as follows:

The control, halting and prevention of any further degradation and deterioration of the coastal and marine environment and its resources;
The recovery and rehabilitation of coastal and marine environments that have been degraded and which still have the potential for such a recovery;
The long-term sustainability of coastal and marine environmental quality and resources as assets for the present and future human populations of the region.

2.2 Objectives

12. The key to a successful strategy for applying remedies where needed, and protecting what is still of good quality, lies in wise management. This must be preceded by a clear understanding of the environment and resources that are to be managed. Resource information needs to be organized in a useable and accessible format. Then there is a need to plan for management. The strategy for wise management of the Northwest Pacific coastal and marine environment should therefore consist of 5 main elements:

monitoring and assessment of the environmental condition

creation of an efficient and effective information base

integrated coastal area planning

integrated coastal area management

establishment of a collaborative and cooperative framework

13. The above 5 elements provide an excellent framework for the development of the 5 Objectives through which NOWPAP States can achieve their adopted Goals. These Objectives will be pursued through activities or tasks which, in turn, will generate specific project proposals. Therefore, after analyzing the objectives selected by other regional seas, giving effect to the discussion at the Second Meeting of Experts and National Focal Points on the Development of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan, and guided by the Overall Goal and three Subsidiary Goals adopted for NOWPAP above, the Objectives proposed for the Northwest Pacific Action Plan for the short- and medium-term are:

To assess regional marine environmental conditions by coordinating and integrating monitoring and data-gathering systems on a regional basis, making the best use of the expertise and facilities available within the region on a consistent and collective basis;
To collate and record environmental data and information to form a comprehensive database and information management system which will serve as a repository of all relevant available data, act as the sound basis for decision-making, and serve as a source of information and education for specialists, administrators, and others;
To develop and adopt a harmonious approach towards coastal and marine environmental planning on an integrated basis and in a pre-emptive, predictive and precautionary manner;
To develop and adopt a harmonious approach towards the integrated management of the coastal and marine environment and its resources, in a manner which combines protection, restoration, conservation and sustainable use;
To develop and adopt effective measures for mutual support in emergencies, collaboration in the management of contiguous bodies of water, and cooperation in the protection of common resources as well as in the prevention of coastal and marine pollution.