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EARTH SUMMIT+5 Special Session of the General Assembly to Review and Appraise the Implementation of Agenda 21 New York, 23-27 June 1997 REGIONAL SUCCESS STORIES |
| Regional Programme for the Prevention of Marine Pollution in the East Asian Seas | ||
| Location | East Asian region. (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Poeple's Republic of China, Democratic Poeple's Republic of Korea, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and negotiations are on the way for Japan). | |
| Responsible organization(s) | International Maritime Organization (executing agency), UNDP (implementing agency) GEF (funding agency). | |
| Description | The project's strategy is two-pronged, namely: * to identify opportunities for public/private sector partnership at the local level, including joint ventures and privatization programmes, where the benefits of marine pollution preventive and mitigative activities are most obvious and have direct value to the local users of the coastal environment; * to promote policies and programmes of central governments which can be employed to enhance national capabilities for attracting investments by the private sector (national, regional and international) in the environmental industry of East Asia. A consultation process with stakeholders in the public and private sectors, academia and NGOs at the local, national, sub-regional and international levels was undertaken to develop, strengthen and sustain activities and programmes which were established during the project. All outputs from the consultation process were applied to both short-term and longer-term activities, by mapping out the manner in which collective objectives/targets will be achieved and establishing the roles and responsibilities of the various authorities, users and beneficiaries in progressing toward stated objectives. Two strategic management plans have been developed. |
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| Issues addressed | Capacity building. | |
| Objectives | To support the efforts of the participating East Asian governments in the prevention, control and management of marine pollution, at both national and sub-regional levels on long term and self-reliant basis. | |
| Results achieved | * Three documents: Environmental Profile of the Malacca
Straits (1995); Analysis of the State of the Marine Environment in the
Straits of Malacca and Singapore (1996); and Marine Pollution: Developments
since UNCLOS III and the Prospects for Regional Cooperation (1995). * Consultations with different Stakeholders produced: i. The Strategic Environmetal Management Plan for Batangas Bay Region (1996), adopted by the Batangas Bay Council which was created under a Provincial government ordinanace to coordinate the management of the environment, natural resources and various uses of Btangas Bay. ii. A Strategy and Work Plan for the Malacca Straits Demonstration Project (1995) and iii. Voluntary Agreements on Industrial Waste Management and Ship and Port Waste Management in Batangas Bay, with 16 industries/commercial enterprises in the coastal area, five coastal municipalities, four national agencies, and the Provincial Government of Batangas. * Environmental profiles have been completed for project demonstration sites. The profiles focus on "measurable" indicators of potential environmental stress and environmental quality. * The project concentrated on collecting, collating and analysing secondary data. The monitoring component of the project, which is designed to generate primary data at selected sites throughout the region (and establish a data-sharing and information exchange network), just started. |
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| Lessons learned | The Programme's strategy is proving to be effective. A number of countries have already indicated their desire to develop similar demonstration sites. By replicating sites throughout the region, the capacity to develop and manage the coastal area of East Asia, over time, will be self-sustaining. In addition, there is considerable interest outside the region, notably in East Africa and South Asia, to undertake similar programmes. Sub-regionally, the mechanisms being developed and employed in the management of marine pollution in the Malacca Straits has also received attention from other sub-regional sea areas in East Asia. Several Countries are suggesting an extension of the programme to other subregions. | |
| Financing | GEF funding US$ 8 million. | |
| Contact | Dr. Chua Thia-Eng, Programme Manager, Regional Programme for the Prevention and Management of Marine Pollution in the East Asian Seas P.o.Box 2502 Metro Manila, Philippines Tel./Fax: + 632-9269712 Email: imo@cyber.cyb-live.com |
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Last updated 1 November 1997