Oita, Japan — The Water Environment Partnership in Asia (WEPA: an initiative of the Japanese Ministry of the Environment) is now calling for papers for the 2nd International WEPA Forum to be held 3-4 December in Beppu, Oita, Japan.The Forum aims to promote water environment governance by promoting dialogue among various stakeholders in East and Southeast Asia.

Qingdao, PR China — The 2nd Global Conference on Large Marine Ecosystems, to be held on 11-13 September at Qingdao, PR China, will focus on assessment and management methodologies for ecosystem-based approaches to the recovery and sustainability of marine resources, and methodologies for analyzing changing states of LMEs, and LMEs at risk from climate change.

Nagasaki, Japan — NOWPAP Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre (CEARAC) organized the first NEAR-GOOS-NOWPAP Joint Training Course on Remote Sensing Data Analysis at Nagasaki University, Japan on 3-7 September, jointly with the International Oceanographic Commission Regional Secretariat for the Western Pacific (IOC/WESTPAC).Twenty-three trainees, composed of postgraduate students and professional researchers from eight different countries, learned the status of ocean remote sensing techniques and applications of remote sensing data for monitoring a

Busan, RO Korea — The Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU) hosted and organized the second Workshop of the Yellow Sea Partnership (YSP) on 1 October in Busan, Republic of Korea.The workshop was attended by representatives of YSP members including United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) NOWPAP, United Nations Development Programme/Global Environment Facility (UNDP/GEF) Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) Project, Birds Korea, European Union-China Biodiversity Project, the Nature Conservancy (PR China) and the Yellow Sea Eco-region Support Project.

RO Korea — NOWPAP shares some of the milestones it has achieved in the last quarter of 2007, including the conclusion of the 12th Intergovernmental Meeting participated in by partner organizations, the finalization of the NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter, and its contribution in the fight against the recent oil spill in the Republic of Korea.Joining Hands in Fighting the Oil Spill in RO KoreaPR China, Japan and Russia joined hands in fighting the worst oil spill incident in Korean history after by activating the Northwest Pacific Action Plan's Regional Oil Spill Contingency Plan

Busan, RO Korea — An International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) campaign was organized on 29 September in Busan, RO Korea, with kind sponsorship of the Korean Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries (MOMAF).Participants in the campaign and an associated workshop were from the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) and Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) countries (namely, China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and Malaysia), the COBSEA secretariat and the United Nations Development Programme/Global Environment Facility (UNDP/GEF) Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecos

Stung Hav District, Cambodia — It has been a busy year for the Stung Hav fishery community as the people seek to find the balance between sustainable livelihood and fishery resource management and protection. For an offsite fishing community which has limited access to basic services, infrastructures and opportunities, searching for the balance is not easy, especially if the "challenges" side appears heavier.

Quezon City, Philippines — PEMSEA welcomes Mr. Do Manh Thang, who is from the Danang Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) Project Management Office (PMO) in Viet Nam. Mr. Thang joins PEMSEA as part of its Professional Upgrading Program.During his internship from 22 October to 31 December, Mr. Thang will be exposed to various programs and activities of PEMSEA including State of the Coasts (SOC) reporting, the Integrated Information Management System for Coastal and Marine Environments (IIMS) and good practices of ICM sites in the Philippines.Mr.