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OVERVTEW tr TI-E EAST ASIAN SEAS ACTIOI.I PLAN
Karem Snidvonga
Secretary General
National Environment Board of Thailand
and COBSEA Coordinator
ABSTRACT
This paper presents an overview of the Easf Asian Seas Action plan. lt
describes its historical background, and discusses its principal components as well
as the instiLutional and financial anangements for the 'implementation of the
action plan. Lastly, it identifies administrative delay, financial problems and legal
difficulties as problems involved in the implementation of the action plan.
HTSTORTCAL BACKGROUhT)
As a focal point fon environmental action and co-ordination within the United Nations
System, the United Nations Environrnent programme (UNEp) realized Lhat environmental aclion
should encomPass a comprehensi ve approach to environmental problems dealinq not only with
the consequences but also wilh the causes of environmental degradation. The Governing
Council of Lhe United Nations fnvironment Programme has designafed',Oceans', as a priorify
area for environmental action, in which it will focus efforts to fulfil its catalytic role. li
also recognized that environmental pnoblems of the oceans are global in scope and must be
dealt with in an inlegrated way. Il thus launched its Regional Seas Programme in 1974, as a
reqional approach seemed a more realistic way to solve the problems. hction plans were to
be formulated for each region. The regional approach allowed UNEp to focus on specific
problems of high prioriLy to the States of each region. The UNEP Governing Council has
identif ied the following ten areas as components of the Regional Seas programmes the
Mediterranean, the Kuwait Action Plan Region, The Widen Caritbean, the West and Central
African Region, the East African Region, the East Asian Seas, the Red Sea and Gulf of
Aden, the South-West Pacific, the South-East Pacific and the South-West Atlantic.
The fast Asian Region was recognized by the UNEP Governing Council in 1975 as
rrconcentration area, for the establishment of a regional seas prograrnme in Asia with a
scientific prognamme involving research, prevention and control oi marine pollution, and
monitoring. During the same year an internaLional workshop m marine polluiion was convened
in Penang by IOC, FAOrs Indo-Pacific Fishery Commission (tpFC) and UNEp. The workshop
proposed that the region should be divided into six zubregions for the purposes of the Lh,lEp
Regional Seas Programme. The East Asian Seas (EAS) was one of the pioposed zubregions,
covering the area of the five member countries of the Association of South East Asian
Nations (ASEAN)n A few years later (1979), a draft regional aetion plan for the East Asian
Seas was prepaned by UNEP and was submitted to the Governnents of the Region for
consideration. Several nreetings were held with the assistance of thlEP to consider arid revise
the draft action plan as follows:
+ TfE Association of south East Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established in 1967 for the
technical collaboration among its five member counbries on the attainment of peace, progress
and prosperity of the region. The five membens are: Indonesia, Malaysia, pniiippines,
Singapore and Thailand.