Adoption of Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP)
The Plan of Action for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment in the Northwest Pacific Region (121-143°E, 33-52°N) (NOWPAP) was adopted by Japan, China, Korea and Russia in September 1994 as one of the Regional Seas Action Plans of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
Designation as a NOWPAP Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Activity Centre
At the 4th NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting, the Northwest Pacific Environmental Cooperation Center (NPEC) was designated as a NOWPAP Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Activity Centre (CEARAC).
Installment of the Marine Environmental Watch System
The Ministry of the Environment of Japan has established the Marine Watch System at the Toyama Prefectural Environmental Science Research Center to receive and process satellite remote sensing date, and NPEC was in charge of operating the system.
The 1st meeting of NOWPAP Working Group 4
NOWPAP Working Group 4 (WG4) was established to implement activities rerated remote sensing of the marine and coastal environment and the first meeting was held in Vladivostok, Russia served by NOWPAP Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Activity Centre (CEARAC) as the secretariat. The meeting was attended by experts in remote sensing of marine environment selected from NOWPAP member states, and the first discussions were held on the use of NOWPAP and marine environmental remote sensing technology.
For more detailed information, please visit the CEARAC website.
Start providing Sea Surface Temperature(SST) data
We have received and processed observation data from the AVHRR sensor onboard the NOAA meteorological satellite, and have started to provide Sea Surface Temperature (SST) data on the Marine Environmental Watch System website.
The 3rd International Workshop on Marine RS in the Northwest Pacific Region
NPEC organized the 3rd international workshop on Marine RS in the Northwest Pacific Region in Peking University in Beijing, China. Experts of relevant countries including NOWPAP member states made presentations to introduce activities on Marine RS in each country.
The 2nd Meeting of NOWPAP Working Group 4
The 2nd Meeting of NOWPAP Working Group 4 was held in Beijing, China. The meeting reviewed the progress of National Reports summarized the status of the Marine Environment Remote Sensing in NOWPAP member states and discussed the integrated report that further summarized the national reports.
For more detailed information, please visit the CEARAC website.
Start providing chlorophyll-a concentration data on the Marine Environmental Watch System website
We obtained the MODIS sea color sensor data from NASA Aqua satellite received by JAXA Earth Observation Center via the Internet, created a satellite chlorophyll-a concentration data set for the NOWPAP region, and started to distribute the data on the Marine Environmental Watch System website.
National Reports of Ocean Remote Sensing in the NOWPAP Region and Integrate Report on Ocean Remote Sensing for the NOWPAP Region
Each of the NOWPAP member states made reports on their use of ocean remote sensing ( China / Japan / Korea / Russia), and based on these reports, CEARAC prepared and published the integrated report for the NOWPAP region.
The 3rd Meeting of NOWPAP Working Group 4
The 3rd Meeting of NOWPAP Working Group 4 was held jointly with the meeting of NOWPAP Working Group 3 in Toyama, Japan. The meeting discussed Mid to long term strategy to promote CEARAC activities.
For more detailed information, please visit the CEARAC website.
The 4th International Workshop on Remote Sensing of the Marine Environment in the Northwest Pacific Region
The 4th International Workshop on Remote Sensing of the Marine Environment in the Northwest Pacific Region was co-organized by NPEC and Pukyong National University in Busan, Korea. It was proposed that experts from Working Group 3 (Red Tide/Harmful Algae) and Working Group 4 (Ocean Remote Sensing) should jointly work on eutrophication status assessment.
The 1st NOWPAP training course on Remote sensing data analysis
The 1st NEAR-GOOS – NOWPAP joint training course on remote sensing data analysis was held at Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
For more details, please visit the CEARAC website.
Eutrophication Monitoring Guidelines by Remote Sensing for the NOWPAP Region
“Eutrophication Monitoring Guidelines by Remote Sensing for the NOWPAP Region” has been developed.
The guidelines are aimed at coastal managers in local governments and professional researchers to translate satellite remote sensing into information and tools that are useful for monitoring of eutrophication, one of the most severe and widespread environmental problems in the NOWPAP region.
YSLME Ocean Color Project
In the project of the Global Environment Fund (GEF), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Yellow Sea Regional Marine Ecosystem (YSLME), a project on sea color remote sensing was initiated. This was the starting point for the development of algorithms based on the characteristics of the Yellow Sea, with researchers in sea color remote sensing from Japan, China, and Korea sharing observation data from each country.
The 2nd NOWPAP training course on Remote sensing data analysis
The 2nd NOWPAP training course on Remote sensing data analysis was held at Cheju National University, Jeju, Korea.
For more detailed information, please visit the CEARAC website.
Integrated Report on Eutrophication Assessment in Selected Sea Areas in the NOWPAP Region
Integrated Report on Eutrophication Assessment in Selected Sea Areas in the NOWPAP Region has been developed.
The eutrophication status in selected sea areas in the NOWPAP region was assessed through case studies using the NOWPAP Common Procedures (2009), and the validity of the procedures was evaluated.
Integrated Report on Ocean Remote Sensing for the NOWPAP Region: Towards Assessment of the Marine and Coastal Environment
“Integrated Report on Ocean Remote Sensing for the NOWPAP Region: Towards Assessment of the Marine and Coastal Environment” has been published.
The 2005 Integrated Report was updated by adding the latest information on remote sensing (RS) technology in NOWPAP member states.
Application of the NOWPAP Common Procedure for Eutrophication Assessment in Selected Sea Areas in the NOWPAP Region
“Application of the NOWPAP Common Procedure for Eutrophication Assessment in Selected Sea Areas in the NOWPAP Region” was published.
This report introduces re-assessment of the eutrophication status in some selected sea areas in the NOWPAP region, using the NOWPAP Common Procedure 2013 Revised Edition (see Annex C), which includes two steps: Screening procedure to detect evidence of eutrophication with the minimum required parameters and Comprehensive procedure to assess the eutrophication status in detail.
Feasibility study towards assessment of seagrass distribution in the NOWPAP region
“Feasibility study towards assessment of seagrass distribution in the NOWPAP region” has been developed (CEARAC Project).
After applying “A manual for seagrass and seaweed beds distribution mapping with satellite images” (2015) to case studies in the selected sea areas in each NOWPAP member state, the feasibility of assessing seagrass distribution in the entire NOWPAP region was investigated by collecting information and conducting literature review in each member state.
This report includes a summary of the case studies.