Marine protected areas (MPAs) are designated with long-term aims to conserve ecosystems and support livelihoods in the coastal areas. As such, MPAs should play critical roles in combating climate change and enhancing resilience in the ocean and coastal areas, and there needs further discussions to understand the impacts of climate change and MPAs’ roles to address them in North-East Asia.
The 3rd Steering Committee Meeting of the North-East Asian Marine Protected Areas Network (NEAMPAN) will be organized virtually at 15:00-17:00 (GMT+9) on 23 April 2021. Following the adoption of the NEASPEC Strategic Plan 2021-2025 and guidance of the 24th Senior Officials Meeting (2020) of NEASPEC, the SC-3 is expected to discuss NEAMPAN activities in 2021 and beyond.
NEAMPAN workshop was organized virtually on 15 July 2021 under the theme of “Sharing experiences and challenges in sustainable management of MPAs.”
This workshop (1) presented findings from the NEAMPAN study “Management plans, monitoring and assessment of MPAs”and (2) shared experiences and lessons learned from sustainable management of MPAs; and simultaneous interpretation (Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Russian) will be provided.
NEASPEC has implemented the project, “Strengthening the Subregional Cooperation through Knowledge Sharing on Sustainable Management of Marine Protected Areas”, which is the first study project of the North-East Asia Marine Protected Areas Network (NEAMPAN).
Launched in 2013 with aim to build a social or human network among Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as well as to share the experiences and challenges in managing MPAs in the subregion, North-East Asia Marine Protected Areas Network (NEAMPAN) started its first project, “Strengthening the subregional cooperation through knowledge sharing on sustainable management of MPAs” focusing on management strategies and monitoring/assessment of the designated NEAMPAN sites.
Located in one of the tidal flats of the Han River estuary in Yellow Sea, Gangwha Island has one of the major wetlands of the Republic of Korea (ROK), including Gangwha Maehwamareum habitat designated as Wetlands of International Importance (Ramsar Sites). Given the importance of tidal flats, ROK government and Gangwha County are considering to register the critical areas of Gangwha Island as Marine Protected Areas (MPA).
UNESCAP East and North-East Asia Office, the Secretariat of North-East Asian Marine Protected Areas Network (NEAMPAN), in collaboration with Suncheon City, will organize the NEAMPAN workshop “Sharing Experiences in MPA management” and its 2nd Steering Committee Meeting on 15-16 June 2015 in Suncheon, Republic of Korea (ROK).
