The First International Workshop on Marine Litter in the Northwest Pacific Region was held on November 14-15, 2005 in Toyama, Japan.
31 experts were gathered from NOWPAP Members (China, Japan, Korea, and Russian) and United Nations Environmental Program. Around 70 general audiences participated in this workshop.
1. Objectives
(1) exchange information on situation and activities about marine litter (i.e. monitoring methods, prevention, management, publicity and so on)
(2) construct the close relationship among researchers and organizations in the NOWPAP Region.
2. Participating Organizations
(1) Sponsors
・ Ministry of the Environment of Japan
・ Northwest Pacific Region Environmental Cooperation Center (NPEC)
(2) Supporters
Toyama Prefecture, Toyama City, NOWPAP RCU, Japanese Association for Coastal Zone Studies (JACZS), Japan Driftological Society, Japan Society of Waste Management Experts (JSWME)
3. Program
(1) Keynote Speech by Dr. Ellik ADLER (Regional Seas Programme Coordinator and Senior Programme Officer, Regional Seas Programme, UNEP)
(2) Special Lectures by Dr. Jeung Sook PARK (Scientific Affairs Officer, NOWPAP RCU (Busan Office)) and Dr. Haruyuki KANEHIRO (Professor, Tokyo University of Marine Science & Technology)
(3) Status Reports on Marine Litter from NOWPAP Members (Presented by National Focal Points of the NOWPAP Marine Litter Initiatives)
(4) Session 1 Simulation Model and Monitoring of Marine Litter Distribution in the Northwest Pacific Region and its related areas
(5) Session 2 Policy and Management for Marine Litter in NOWPAP Members
(6) Session 3 Miscellaneous Topics concerning Marine Litter
(7) Summary of the Workshop
One keynote speech and two special lectures were made to tell the situation of marine litter problems around the world and the needs of appropriate management policies and public awareness. After the lectures, National Focal Points explained situation of marine litter in each country.
In session 1, 3 presentations about ocean currents carrying marine litter and 6 presentations about monitoring marine litter were made. In session 2, 6 presentations were made about management and policy for marine litter. In session 3, 9 experts presented various topics related to marine litter including ghost fishing, NGO’s activities, and so on.
4. Result of the workshop
Through the workshop, participants acknowledged the importance of (1) development of cooperative monitoring system based on the existing monitoring activities about marine litter in the NOWPAP Region, (2) establishment better waste management system to prevent litter from land and sea, (3) enhancement of scientific research activities concerning marine litter in the NOWPAP Region, (4) formulation of solid cooperation and partnerships among NGOs, the industry, the scientific community, other stakeholders and relevant organizations (international, foreign, domestic) for using their knowledge and experience effectively. (5) efforts to solve this trans-boundary problem in cooperation with NOWPAP MALITA, as the preparatory step towards the development of a regional strategy/policy on the sustainable management of marine litter.
It was concluded that this workshop became a first step to consider marine litter as a common international problem among NOWPAP Members and reached at goals of this workshop, which are to exchange information on marine litter among NOWPAP Members and to construct a network among organizations and researcher related to marine litter. The experts in the workshop agreed to use the results of this workshop for further development of activities to solve marine litter problem in the NOWPAP Region.
