Review of the Status of Implementation of Marine/Coastal Pollution-related Multilateral Environmental Agreements in East Asian Seas Region

The main objectives of this review were: To review the national implementation status of the MEAs among the COBSEA member countries with specific emphasis on institutional, financial and legal arrangements; To identify the obstacles affecting the effective implementation of the various MEAs; and, To identify capacity building needs at national and regional levels. Five MEAs (four conventions and one non-legally binding agreement) were selected to represent the main marine pollution-related MEAs. The five MEAs that were selected for this review are: International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78); Convention on Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention); International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC); International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments (BWM); and Global Programme of Action on the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA). Among the COBSEA member countries, the People’s Republic of China (China) was identified as the lead country for this activity. The State Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) of China nominated the South China Institute of Environmental Sciences (SCIES) as the implementing agency in dealing with matters related to this review.