Palawan, Philippines — The government of Philippines has chosen as its fifth Wetland of International Importance the extremely interesting Puerto Princesa Subterranean River National Park (22,202 hectares, 10º10'00"N 118º55'00"E), which is already a UNESCO World Heritage Site and Man and Biosphere (MAB) Biosphere Reserve.

 

 

Quezon City, Philippines — The Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM) headed by its Vice President, Dr. Kim Hyun-Jong met with PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) technical staff to review and discuss the progress in the implementation of the research project on "Monitoring and Analysis of Waters in the East Asian Seas relating to Climate Change" on 3 September 2012 at the PEMSEA Office Building.

 

 

 

Jeju, RO Korea— The 17th NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting (IGM) was held in Jeju (Korea) on 1-2 November 2012. All NOWPAP member states (PR China, Japan, RO Korea and Russia) were represented, as well as NOWPAP Regional Activity Centers (RACs) and four major partners (PEMSEA, PICES, WESTPAC and YSLME).

 

 

Chengdu, PR China — Invited as an observer, NOWPAP representative attended the 17th Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) of the North-East Asian Sub-regional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC) held on 20-21 December 2012 in Chengdu, PR China.

 

As all NOWPAP member states are also members of NEASPEC, NOWPAP has been watching closely the developments of NEASPEC in order to find issues of mutual interest for cooperative activities and to avoid any possible duplicated efforts in the region.

 

 

Toyama, Japan — NOWPAP and NEASPEC jointly organized the Workshop on Marine Biodiversity Conservation and Marine Protected Areas in the Northwest Pacific on 13-14 March 2013 in Toyama, Japan.

 

The workshop brought together focal points and experts from both NOWPAP and NEASPEC member states of People's Republic of China, Japan, Republic of Korea and Russian Federation as well as representatives from international organizations: Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) and IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (IOC WESTPAC).

Moscow, Russia — The North Pacific Regional Workshop to Facilitate the Description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) was convened by the Convention of Biological Diversity Secretariat in Moscow, Russia, from 25 February to 1 March 2013 in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Action Plan for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Northwest Pacific Region (NOWPAP), the North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES), and the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western

 

Laguna, Philippines — The expression "a picture is worth a thousand words" may be an old cliché, but the great power of a photograph to inspire people or move them into action is not.

 

The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and GIZ invite professional and budding photographers to take a shot and make a difference by joining Zooming in on Biodiversity and Climate Change, an ASEAN-wide photography contest.

 

 

Champack, Southern Lao PDR — More than 300 stakeholders from key government agencies, schools and environmental organizations gathered in the Paksong District for the first celebration of the International World Water Day (WWD) in Southern Lao PDR.

 

 

Quezon City, Philippines — To start its year-long anniversary celebrations, PEMSEA dedicated the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) library to Dr. Chua Thia-Eng and launched the PEMSEA History Wall at the PEMSEA Office Building in Quezon City, Philippines, last 4 April 2013.

 

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was led by EAS Partnership Council Chair, Dr. Chua Thia-Eng and other members of the Executive Committee including Council Co-Chair, Ambassador Mary Seet-Cheng; Technical Session Chair, Mr. Hiroshi Terashima; and Technical Session Co-Chair, Prof. Chul-Hwan Koh.