Progress report for
Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA)
Achievement at a glance
COBSEA Strategic Directions 2018-2022 were adopted at the Second Extraordinary Intergovernmental Meeting of COBSEA, held in Bangkok, Thailand 25-26 April 2018. The Strategic Directions set out substantive priorities for COBSEAs work, focusing on land-based pollution including marine litter, nutrients and waste water, as well as ecosystem-based coastal and marine planning and management. COBSEA will also be leveraged as an intergovernmental policy mechanism in support of delivering ocean-related Sustainable Development Goals.<br>
<br>The COBSEA Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter 2008 remains the only intergovernmentally adopted framework for addressing marine litter in the region, which includes several of the worlds largest contributors of marine litter. A draft revision has been prepared, to take into account recent global policy development and to ensure the plan is fit-for-purpose. At the COBSEA Second Extraordinary Intergovernmental Meeting in April 2018, countries agreed on steps towards finalization of the revised Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter.
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<br>COBSEA and UN Environment have launched a regional project entitled "Reducing marine litter by addressing the management of the plastic value chain in Southeast Asia". Supported by Sida through a USD 6.5M grant and running from 2018 to 2022, the project will reduce marine litter from land-based sources in the region, in line with the COBSEA Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter. This multi-stakeholder initiative will, inter alia, identify and scale up market-based solutions and appropriate regulatory and fiscal incentives; strengthen the science basis for decision making; increase public awareness and promote consumer behavioural change; and facilitate regional networking, coordination and stakeholder engagement. The project directly delivers on Sustainable Development Goal 14 target 1 and Sustainable Development Goal 12 target 5.
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