The 11th NOWPAP CEARAC Focal Points Meeting (FPM) was held on 11-12 September 2013 in Toyama, Japan, and about 20 people including focal points from the NOWPAP member states, representatives of NOWPAP RCU and RACs and the North Pacific Marine Science Organization participated in the meeting.
At first, CEARAC Secretariat reported the implementation and expenditure of CEARAC activities for the 2012-2013 biennium. 2 major projects in this biennium were the research on existing marine protected areas (MPAs) in the NOWPAP region and eutrophication assessment on selected sea areas in the NOWPAP region with refined NOWPAP Common Procedure. The results of these projects will be reported in the form of reports to be published early 2014: Monitoring and Management of Marine Protected Areas in the NOWPAP region; and Application of the Refined NOWPAP Common Procedure for Eutrophication Assessment in Selected Sea Areas in the NOWPAP Region. NOWPAP-PICES Joint Training Course on Remote Sensing Data Analysis is also planned to be organized on 21-25 October 2013 at Ocean University of China in Qingdao, China. The Secretariat reported that 24 trainees out of 73 applicants had been selected by the Organizing Committee and the preparation was going on track with help from a Chinese FP, China National Environmental Monitoring Center and Ocean University of China. The 5-day-long course will contribute to capacity building to utilize remote sensing data for marine environmental conservation.
Next, the Secretariat proposed a draft workplan for CEARAC activities for the 2014-2015 biennium with three budget options. Three new projects: (1) pilot assessment on the impacts of major threats to marine biodiversity in selected sea areas of the NOWPAP region; (2) trial applications of the screening procedure of the NOWPAP Common Procedure for eutrophication assessment; and (3) case studies on seagrass and seaweed mapping in selected sea areas in the NOWPAP region were proposed as activities of CEARAC for the 2014-2015 biennium. The meeting discussed needs and feasibility of each activity and approved the CEARAC workplan including three new project proposals to be submitted to the 18th NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting (4-6 December 2013, Toyama, Japan).
