NATURE CONSERVATION PROGRAMME IN NORTH-EAST ASIA
Nature Conservation was identified in the First Meeting of Senior Officials (SOM-1) held in 1993 as one of the major areas of environmental cooperation in North-East Asia.
At SOM-7( 54 kb) held in Beijing, China in 2001, Secretariat proposed the North-East Asia Nature Conservation Programme with the intention of initiating activities in this area.
Subsequently, an Expert Group Meeting on Environmental Cooperation in North-East Asia was convened in the Republic of Korea in December 2001, which discussed, among others, the proposed nature conservation programme. Guided by the decision of SOM-7, the Experts Group suggested to the secretariat to prepare a document which besides providing a rationale and background on the on-going efforts in nature conservation at the national and subregional level in North-East Asia, should also explore preliminary ideas on activities where subregional cooperative efforts could be beneficial. A document (ENR/PSO/ECNA(8)/1) (51 kb) was prepared accordingly and submitted to SOM-8.
SOM-8, held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia in 20 June 2002, elicited strong support for work on nature conservation emphasizing the involvement of stakeholders and suggested to focus actions in the areas of capacity building, exchange of information and expertise, data base management, scientific research and use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The Meeting also recommended establishing the working group of national focal points on nature conservation whose task would be to identify priority areas for development of projects in nature conservation, to initiate exchange of information, to grasp issues and problems and to bring issues to the attention of governments for cooperative action.
Based on the acknowledgement that limited resources may be available to support the anticipated activities of the programme, the Meeting recommended that synergies should be developed with ongoing nature conservation initiatives in the sub-region to avoid duplication. As a result, a “Working Group of National Focal Points on Nature Conservation” was set up and a programme of activities in nature conservation in North-East Asia developed.
From 21-22, July 2003 the 1st Working Group Meeting (25 kb) was held in Bangkok, Thailand. It drew up inventories with regard to status of nature (Biodiversity) conservation in North-East Asia; issues and threats to nature conservation in the sub-region; policy frameworks for nature conservation; prospects and potential for sub-regional cooperation in North-East Asia; suggested areas of cooperation and issues for consideration under the title of Status of Nature Conservation and Priority Areas for the Development of Joint Activities in North-East Asia (51 kb). It has made recommendations on the terms of reference of the Working Group on nature conservation, priority areas for action and follow-up activities by NEASPEC.
SOM-9, held in Moscow 2-4 March 2004, endorsed the Terms of Reference and Recommendations of the Meeting of the Nature Conservation Group (21 kb), convened by the Secretariat in July 2003 in Bangkok at the request of SOM-8. Considering the priorities under nature conservation, the Meeting recommended to undertake activities under two priorities during the first phase, i.e. conservation and recovery of large mammals and threatened species; and conservation, monitoring and cooperative research on important migratory species. The other priorities were to be considered in the later phase. The Meeting also recommended that the approaches to be followed in the implementation of activities under the above two priorities should as far as possible be based on the protection of the natural habitats and development of nature reserves.
Meanwhile, importance was laid on information provision to the Secretariat on completed and on-going activities in the above two priority areas. The Secretariat was suggested to collate this information and convene meetings of the Working Group of the Nature Conservation for the formulation of an appropriate project proposal for the consideration of SOM-10.
Following the recommendations of SOM-9 (33 kb), the secretariat initiated a survey on on-going activities in the above mentioned areas in the NEASEPC member states. A questionnaire was prepared and distributed to the national focal point in Nature Conservation. The responses from the experts were then systematized, structured in a data format for easy reference and further analyzed by resource persons.
To share and discuss the analysis and further identify the needs for common activities in nature conservation in the sub-region, UNESCAP organized the 3rd Working Group Meeting (46 kb) on Nature Conservation in North-East Asia from 30 September to 1 October 2004, in Bangkok, Thailand. The Meeting was attended by senior officials and experts dealing with nature conservation and wildlife management from China, Mongolia, Japan, Republic of Korea and the Russian Federation. It was also attended by a representative of the Regional Office of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The meeting was co-facilitated by resource persons funded from the NEASPEC core fund and from the Japanese Government. The meeting identified a number of gaps and needs and recommended some major steps and activities to build up capacities and strengthen sub-regional cooperation in nature conservation.
The Meeting described the needs of such cooperation on the levels of decision-making process; sub-regional strategy for nature conservation and action plans for protecting threatened species agreed by SOM-9 (33 kb), including pilot projects based on economic tools and participatory approach of local communities; scientific basis for problem identification by developing and employing a harmonized system for data collection, gathering, analysis and management; information exchange and promotion of country good practice through a sub-regional expert network
The Secretariat was advised to develop the project proposal in close consultation with members of the Working Group on Nature Conservation in order to submit the concept to SOM-10.
SOM-10 (64 kb), held in Naha, Japan on 26 November 2004 approved the project proposal and the proposed budget in principle and requested that the Secretariat report to SOM-11 (124 kb) on the progress of the implementation of the project and disbursement of the funds. Economization of the project management cost was underlined. A detailed implementation mechanism and plan were to be developed at the inception meeting of the project.
As scheduled, the Inception Meeting(four files) was held in Chuncheon ROK from 18-21 July 2005. The meeting consisted of two components: a) discussion sessions on the approach and plan of the project on 18-19 July; b) study tours to the Demilitarized of Kangwon Province, ROK and Kumkang Moutain, DPRK’s nature reserve on 20-21 July. The Meeting reviewed the past progression of the project and has come to the agreements on the target species selection; approach-setting and partnership identification; working modalities; creation and the focus of database, pilot project; stakeholder participation and public awareness building; designation of national collaborative centers.
Since the Inception Meeting, the secretariat has followed up with national focal points to designate national collaborating centers which would assume the role of providing required national inputs for the database, a subregional conservation strategy and action plan for target species. The nominated centers include Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), China, National Institute of Environmental Research in the Republic of Korea, Japan Wildlife Research Center in Japan, and Irbis Mongolia in Mongolia. The nomination of a Russian centre was pending but would be completed soon for the timely preparation of the subsequent expert group meeting.
Japan Wildlife Research Center has been compiling existing national, regional and global strategies on target species conservation. The Center has developed a draft structure of sub-regional strategy and action plan based on the outcomes of Working Group and the Inception Meeting and submitted it to SOM-11 [Item 5 (b)]
SOM-11, held from 25 to 26 October, 2005, apart from recognition and appreciation of the solid progress under nature conservation project, stressed the importance of maintaining the components of the initial activity plan on database management and exchange visits, in the revised activity plan.
An Expert Group Meeting (64 kb) was organized in Nanjing China in 19-21 December 2005. The meeting had three main topics: conservation strategy, database and pilot projects. A plenary session and group exercise were organized for each topic so as to bring about a common understanding of the project’s approach among experts of different species groups, and tangible outcomes from the meeting. The Meeting identified major components of conservation strategy for target species; agreed upon the mechanism of web-based data-sharing using the current NEASPEC website operated by National Institute of Environmental Research of the Republic of Korea; agreed on the procedure of project implementation and the substantial roles of collaborating national centers in providing major inputs for the agreed structures of strategy and database, and in implementing the pilot projects and undertaking other related national activities. The follow-up of this Meeting is to submit a subregional conservation strategy, and the activity and financial report of the project to SOM-12 of NEASPEC to be held in November 2006.
The 12th SOM, which was held in 22-23 March 2007 in Beijing, China, adopted the NEASPEC Resolution on Nature Conservation Programme which endorses the Conservation Strategy; called upon the NEASPEC member countries to work towards the implementation of proposed subregional and national actions in the Strategy; and requested UNESCAP to facilitate developing further joint activities. In this regard, UNESCAP had consulted with the Russian Federation to include a project on nature conservation in transboundary areas into the UNESCAP programme to be funded by the Government of the Russian Federation from 2009, and reported the preliminary result of the consultation to the 13th SOM in 2008.
The 13th SOM welcomed the preliminary result and recommended to seek for a possibility to formulate the proposed activity as a full NEASPEC project with comprehensive participation by NEASPEC member countries. The full project proposal was developed and approved during the 14th SOM, which was held in April 2009.
The Review Meeting of Nature Conservation Project
The Review Meeting of Nature Conservation Project was jointly organized by the UNESCAP and Irbis Mongolia on 19-20 October in Hustain National Park, Mongolia. The discussion and outcome of the meeting are as follows.
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Expert Group Meeting on Nature Conservation Project
An Expert Group Meeting on Nature Conservation was hosted by Chinese national collaborating center of the project—Nanjing Institute of Environmental Science, and attended by national experts from China, Japan, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea and Russia. In addition, experts from key NGOs and networks working for the conservation of the target species of the project attended the meeting as resource persons or observers.
The meeting focused on three issues: conservation strategy, database and pilot projects. A plenary session and group exercise were organized for each topic so as for experts of different species groups to achieve a common understanding on the approaches to adopt. Moreover, the Meeting identified major components of conservation strategy for target species; agreed upon the mechanism of web-based data-sharing using the current NEASPEC website operated by National Institute of Environmental Research of the Republic of Korea; agreed on the procedure of project implementation and the substantial roles of collaborating national centers in providing major inputs for the agreed structures of strategy and database, and in implementing the pilot projects and undertaking other related national activities. The follow-up of this Meeting is to submit a subregional conservation strategy, and the activity and financial report of the project to SOM-12 of NEASPEC to be held in November 2006.
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Inception Meeting of Nature Conservation Project
From 18 to 21, July 2005, government officials and experts of feline animals from China, Japan, Mongolia, the Republic of Korea and Russia were gathered at Chunhcheon, ROK, to attend the Inception Meeting of Project on Framework for a Nature Conservation Programme in North-East Asia.
The project aims to develop a strategy and action plan for nature conservation in the North-East Asia subregion. Such joint action by NEASPEC countries is in dire need, as their individual capacities in nature conservation vary greatly, and there exists no common system and terminology to categorize species threats and habitats.
The Meeting reviewed previous sub-regional nature conservation projects, and focused on how to arrange a project framework which could have concrete impact and visibility.
Based on the significance of the species and the principle of common interest, the Meeting finalized six species as targets of the Nature Conservation Project. Among the chosen are three species of feline animals, namely the Snow leopard, the Amur leopard and the Amur tiger, and three species of migratory birds: the White-naped Crane, the Black-faced Spoonbill, and the Hooded Crane. Delegates agreed to undertake practical and action-oriented activities as pilot projects in order to develop a project focusing on the development of a subregional strategy and action plan. Project activities would be based on information compiled into a database, which would be the responsibility of the designated collaboration centers in each project country.
The Secretariat proposed a revised project budget and activity components at the 11th Senior Officials Meeting of NEASPEC held in late October 2005.
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