The 3Rd Meetings of the Management, Science and Technical Panel (MSTP-3) and Interim Commission Council (ICC-3) of the UNDP/GEF YSLME Phase II Project

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IMPLEMENTING THE STRATEGIC ACTION PROGRAMME FOR THE YELLOW SEA LARGE MARINE ECOSYSTEM: RESTORING ECOSYSTEM GOODS AND SERVICES AND CONSOLIDATION OF A LONG- TERM REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL GOVERNANCE FRAMEWORK (UNDP/GEF YSLME Phase II Project) UNDP/GEF/YS/MSTP/ICC.3/12 English only

The 3rd Meetings of the Management, Science and Technical Panel (MSTP-3) and Interim Commission Council (ICC-3) of the UNDP/GEF YSLME Phase II Project

Qingdao, PR China 12-14 March 2019

YSLME Clean Beach City Alliance

1. This document was prepared by the Secretariat.

Introduction 2. Addressing the challenges of the marine environment from marine debris is in alignment with the Target 6 of the YSLME Strategic Action Programme. Facilitated by the YSLME Phase II Project, the Chungcheongnam Do of RO Korea and Shandong Province of PR China signed an MOU agreeing to cooperate among others in marine leisure and tourism which largely relies on well maintenance of clean beaches with reduced marine debris. Meanwhile, the Weihai City of Shandong Province is selected as a city to assess the marine litter situation and develop incentive policies to support investment in reducing marine litter at their sources.

3. In light of the needs of concerted actions by local governments and the interest of local governments in RO Korea and PR China, the YSLME Phase II Project seek to establish the Clean Beach City Alliance in coastal cities of Yellow Sea as a platform to promote and facilitate the cooperation and exchanges among business, academia, schools and communities at local level in different countries and catalyse result-oriented actions in addressing marine litter issue through taking a whole-of-society approach at local levels.

Recommendation 4. The Secretariat recommends that:

The 3rd Meetings of the MSTP/ICC: i. Review the relevance, feasibility and approaches contained in the background paper to establish the Clean Beach City Alliance;

1 ii. Approve the title of the initiative as “YSLME Clean Beach City Alliance”; iii. Request the Secretariat to proceed with engaging a consultancy firm to help establish the initiative; iv. Request the Secretariat to report on the progress with establishing the initiative in the 4th Meeting of the MSTP/ICC.

2 Background Paper on Establishing the YSLME Clean Beach City Alliance

I Background

Marine debris refers to persistent, man-made or processed solid waste in marine and coastal environments. Some of the marine debris stay on the beach while others float on the surface of the sea or sink to the bottom of the sea. The amount of marine debris in the Pacific alone has reached more than 3 million square kilometers, even exceeding the land area of India. Relevant scholars have shown that marine debris has become one of the common water pollution sources through surveys of rivers, bays, islands and offshore waters around the world.

Human activities on coasts and recreational activities, marine activities such as shipping and fishing are the main sources of marine debris. Statistics show that the amount of marine debris generated by human activities is staggering. About 6.4 million tons of debris enters the ocean every year, and about 8 million pieces of garbage enters the ocean every day. About 70% of marine debris entering the sea settles to the bottom of the sea, 15% floats on the surface of the water, and 5% rests on the beach. According to statistics, plastic and polystyrene products account for 90% of floating marine debris.

Marine debris is one of the most widespread and most troubled environmental issues of marine pollution in the world. If no measures are taken, the ocean will not be able to bear the burden, and the environment in which humans and other living things depend will be greatly challenged.

Based on the YSLME Phase II project, the project will select one city as the sponsor city in China (Weihai or Haiyang, Shandong Province), RO Korea (Taean County, South Chungcheong Do) and Japan (to be determined) respectively to exchange the status quo of marine debris pollution facing the above-mentioned cities and prevention policies, explore effective measures for the prevention and control of marine debris, build a mechanism for international cooperation and exchange between among cities in the region, form a memorandum of understanding between the China-Japan-RO Korea Cities Alliance, establish a Clean Beach Alliance, effectively address the issue of marine debris pollution in the western Pacific Ocean, and prevent and mitigate international marine debris pollution.

II International and regional contexts

1. Europe and North America

Up to now, the development process of marine debris pollution and its management is mainly summarized as follows: i. The types of marine debris vary from simple to complex ones, with the number rapidly increasing. From the early degradable and decaying organic matter and

3 common inorganic materials to the waste plastic products that is currently widely concerned, marine debris has brought increasingly serious problems to the marine environment and coastal economic development, and presented increasingly serious challenges to management. ii. Marine debris first appears in several points (coastal cities), then gradually expands to coastal zones and various oceans and seas. Due to the accumulation of marine debris and ocean circulation, the world’s existing five ocean gyres are all troubled with the accumulation of marine debris. In particular, the plastic-based “Great Pacific Garbage Patch” formed near the west coast of the United States is the most famous, with an area of 138 × 104 km2. iii. Marine debris management is leveling up, from initial local treatment to national treatment and to current international cooperation and control. At present, more than 20 international conventions, agreements and action plans on the control of marine debris pollution have been signed and developed, such as the United Nations Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter (London Convention), International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL), Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal and so on.

2. East Asia (China, Japan, and RO Korea)

China, Japan and RO Korea are both signatories to the London Convention, the UNCLOS, the MARPOL and the Basel Convention.

In 1994, four countries along the Pacific Northwest (China, Russia, Japan, and RO Korea) jointly adopted the Action Plan for the Protection, Management, and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Northwest Pacific Region (Northwest Pacific Action Plan), with the subproject of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan, the “MALITA” as the international document directly related to marine debris in the waters near China, Japan and RO Korea, which was established in November 2005 and adopted by the eleventh intergovernmental meeting of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan. In 2005, the first Northwest Pacific Action Plan Marine Debris Seminar was held in Incheon, RO Korea, to discuss the sources of marine debris and countermeasures for pollution prevention and determine the implementation of marine debris project phase II (“RAP MALI”) at the twelfth intergovernmental meeting.

Up to now, the regional cooperation on marine environment in Northeast Asia has achieved certain results, and several bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms have been established. The multilateral cooperation mainly includes the environmental cooperation mechanisms based on exchanges and dialogues such as the China-Japan-RO Korea Environment Ministers Meeting, the Asia-Pacific Regional Environmental Conference, and the Northeast Asia Environmental Cooperation Conference. The 2010 China-Japan-ROK Trilateral Summit adopted the Outlook for China-Japan-ROK Cooperation,

4 which proposed to strengthen regional marine environmental protection, raise national awareness of marine debris control, and reaffirm the importance of implementing the Regional Action Plan under the framework of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan to prevent marine debris. In 2013, the State Oceanic Administration (China) and the China-Japan-ROK Cooperation Secretariat reached an agreement on cooperation, based on which the two sides would jointly explore the establishment of a ministerial-level conference mechanism for ocean cooperation and a platform for various working levels to exchange opinions and cooperate with each other, and prioritize maritime cooperation as an important area for cooperation between China, Japan and RO Korea; and on top of that, strengthen cooperation between China, Japan and RO Korea on marine environmental protection, marine and coastal zone management, ocean observation and monitoring, maritime law enforcement, scientific research and other fields.

2.1 China

In the multilateral cooperation between China, Japan and RO Korea, China has been actively promoting international cooperation on issues related to marine debris, including relying on the NOWPAP mechanism to deal with disputes over marine debris in China, Japan and RO Korea, conduct joint research, obtain intergovernmental consensus, and organize beach cleaning activities from time to time.

In response to the pollution prevention and control of marine debris, China has successively promulgated and formulated a number of laws and regulations, including the Law on the Prevention and Control of Pollution Caused by Solid Waste, the Regulations of the People's Republic of China on the Control over Dumping Wastes into the Sea Waters, and the Regulations on the Prevention and Control of Marine Pollution Caused by Land- Based Sources. In addition, the Water Pollution Control Action Plan that is being implemented in China is also covering the disposal of municipal solid waste with a harsh stance; the implementation of these policies and regulations will greatly reduce the input of land-based sources to the sea. In general, the management of marine debris in China involves several government bodies at different levels (such as ecology and environment, fisheries, etc), whereas there is no clear definition and specific regulations related to marine debris, and it is impossible to make sustained and effective financial input.

In 2016, in order to implement the results of the seventh round of China-US Strategic and Economic Dialogue in 2015 and President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States, and strengthen Sino-US cooperation and exchange, Weihai City and New York City became sister cities for marine debris prevention and shared the advanced management concepts, technologies and experience of both parties in the prevention and control of marine debris. The monitoring results of marine debris in Weihai City in the previous period showed that the distribution density of marine debris in Weihai urban area was low, the average density of floating waste on the sea surface was 2.06 kg/km2; the average density of waste on the beaches was 1989 kg/km2, and the average density of waste in ocean floor was 2.51 kg / km2. The type of waste is mainly plastic, followed by polyethylene foam. At present, Weihai

5 City has effectively maintained a normalized state of marine debris prevention and control by forming a stronger leadership, improving relevant systems, strengthening waste control, focusing on publicity, increasing supervision, and strengthening surveillance and monitoring.

2.2 Japan

The current laws of Japan on environmental protection and waste control include the Law on the Prevention and Control of Marine Pollution and Water Pollution Control Law, which constitute a relatively complete legal and regulatory system and lay a solid legal foundation for the control of marine debris pollution in Japan.

2.3 RO Korea

At present, RO Korea participates in the Northwest Pacific Regional Marine Environmental Governance through the special cooperation mechanisms of the NOWPAP and the YSLME. In June 2018, the Northwest Pacific Action Plan and the China-Japan-Korea Environment Ministers Meeting on Marine Debris Management were held in Busan, RO Korea to exchange experiences on marine debris control and management in countries in the Northwest Pacific region, discuss on fishing tackle disposal in fisheries and aquaculture, and marine debris management cases in the Northwest Pacific region, which have promoted the process of marine debris management in the region.

III Increasing roles of local governments in East Asia in addressing marine debris

In the NOWPAP region, international beach clean-up activities are organized each year hosted by the interested local governments of NOWPAP countries. In YSLME, the Chungnam province of RO Korea and Shandong province of PR China signed an MOU agreeing to cooperate among others in marine leisure and tourism which largely relies on well maintenance of clean beaches with reduced marine debris. Under the YSLME Phase II Project, the Weihai City of Shandong Province is also selected as a demonstration site for marine litter reduction. Other cities in Shandong Province such as Haiyang also expressed interest in participating in the initiative to forge a partnership to respond to marine debris as a part of overarching program to develop into an environment-friendly coastal city.

Ecosystem-based management of the YSLME requires joint actions in catalyzing partnerships development and supporting the implementation of policies aimed at reducing marine litter and marine plastics while benefiting communities and sea-based economies in particular tourism in coastal areas. Local governments are and should be the primary players in reducing marine litter through legislation and establishment of comprehensive policy framework. These enabling conditions will provide a conducive platform to engage business, academia, NGOs, youth and other stakeholders to take joint actions within their respective areas of expertise.

IV Approach to Establishing the Clean Beach City Alliance

6 In light of the needs of concerted actions by local governments and the interest of local governments in RO Korea, Japan and PR China, the YSLME Phase II Project seek to establish the Clean Beach City Alliance in coastal cities of Yellow Sea as a platform to promote and facilitate the cooperation and exchanges among business, academia, schools and communities at local level in different countries and catalyse result-oriented actions in addressing marine litter issue through taking a whole-of-society approach at local levels.

To establish the alliance, the Secretariat seeks to outsource the following tasks aimed at launching the alliance within the project timeframe:

1. To assist in selecting one city in China (Weihai, Shandong Province), RO Korea (Taean City, Chungcheongnam Do) and Japan (to be determined) respectively as partners to understand the status quo of management and control of marine debris pollution and prevention measures and policies in the selected cities, and lay the foundation for cooperation. 2. To build a mechanism for international cooperation and exchange between China, Japan and RO Korea, and propose a model for the operation of the alliance, including organizing annual forums on prevention and control of marine debris pollution by cities in rotation, and jointly explore ways to solve the issues of marine debris pollution in the YSLME and modes for participation by business, youth, NGOs, governments, etc. 3. On the basis of consultation, a memorandum of understanding on the China- Japan-Korea Cities Alliance. 4. To initiate the alliance in which city mayors will participate, sign MOUs, and launch an international cities alliance of clean beaches. 5. In close cooperation with the East Asia Marine Cooperation Platform and NOWPAP through the YSLME platform as well as the host city, to organize a series of exchange events for selected target groups to agree on their specific missions to be achieved through the alliance, back to back with the signing ceremony of MOU.