Among the 64 large marine ecosystems in the world
ocean, the Yellow Sea has been one of the most significantly affected by
human development. Today the Yellow Sea faces serious environmental
problems, many of a transboundary nature, that arise from anthropogenic
causes.
The Yellow Sea is a
semi-enclosed body of water bounded by the Chinese mainland to the west, the
Korea Peninsula to the east, and a line running from the north bank of the
mouth of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) to the south side of Cheju Island,
Korea. It covers an area of about 400,000 km2 and measures about 1,000 km
(length) by 700 km (maximum width) and is characterized as a shallow (the
seafloor has an average depth of 44 m with maximum of 100m)
continental-shelf sea. It is bordered with the Bohai Sea to the North and to
the East China Sea in the south, forming a linked circulation system.
A large number of people live in the basins that drain into the Yellow Sea,
and the people of the large, urban areas (such as Qingdao, Tianjin, Dalian,
Shanghai, Seoul/Inchon, and Pyongyang-Nampo) fringing the coast and
watershed areas of the Yellow Sea are dependent on the Yellow Sea as a
source of marine resources for human nutrition, economic development,
recreation, and tourism. As a result, the Yellow Sea receives industrial and
agricultural wastes from many of these activities, and is one of the most
intensively exploited areas in the world.
The Yellow Sea is an important global resource and is a waterbody that supports substantial populations of fish, invertebrates, marine mammals, and seabirds. Many of these resources are threatened by both land and sea-based sources of pollution and loss of biomass, biodiversity, and habitat resulting from extensive economic development in the coastal zone, and by the unsustainable exploitation of natural resources. Significant changes in the structure of biodiversity have resulted from extensive fisheries and habitat modification and it is realized that there is an urgent need for the sustainable management of this globally-significant body of water.
The project development phase undertook the preliminary activities that were necessary to prepare a FULL project proposal for formulation of a Strategic Action Programme (SAP) for the Yellow Sea. These activities included consultations, consensus building efforts, public participation, preliminary incremental issue identification, and problem definition and analysis. Based on the results of these preliminary activities, a full-scale SAP will be developed that would identify priority actions to be taken by the participating countries to restore and preserve the Yellow Sea. This comprehensive action plan is now known as the Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) Project initiated in the year 2005 with the establishment of the Project Management Office in Ansan, Korea and appointment of Project Manager and Chief Technical Advisor, Mr. Yihang Jiang.
Funding for the YSLME Project, in the most part, comes from the Global Environment Facility (GEF), although there are significant contributions from the countries (China, Korea) themselves, and other multilateral and bilateral institutions. The GEF philosophy calls for a comprehensive approach to international waters and resource management, an approach that is “…cross-sectoral, integrates ecological and development needs, and is based on holistic analyses of the carrying capacity of the water environment…” The YSLME Project is intended to play a catalytic role in assisting groups of countries to make changes in various sectors (agriculture, industry, etc) so that the particular waterbody and its drainage basin can sustainably support human activities and the health of the Yellow Sea, and will help the countries use the technical, economic, financial, regulatory, and institutional measures that are necessary to achieve this goal.
The YSLME Project’s Mission Statement is “To protect, conserve and manage the Yellow Sea through sustainable use of its waters and watershed, by reducing development stress and promoting sustainable exploitation of its resources” and the overall objective is for “Ecosystem-based, environmentally-sustainable management and use of the YSLME and its watershed by reducing development stress and promoting sustainable exploitation of the ecosystem from a densely populated, heavily urbanized, and industrialized semi-enclosed shelf sea”. Longer-term objectives are to achieve global environmental benefit by helping countries work collaboratively in achieving changes in sectoral policies and activities so that transboundary environmental issues that cause degradation in shared water bodies can be resolved and integrating the use of sound land and water resource management strategies as a result of changes in sectoral policies and activities to promote sustainable development.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICE
FOR THE PROJECT IS OPERATIONAL IN ANSAN, KOREA
With generous support of the Korea Ocean Research
and Development Institute (KORDI), the Project Management Office (PMO) for
the project has started its operation since September 2004. A host agreement
was signed by the President of KORDI, Dr. Sang-Kyung Byun, and the Project
Manager, Mr. Yihang Jiang.
The PMO will provide a coordination and management structure for the development and implementation of the Yellow Sea LME Project in accordance with the rules and procedures of UNDP/GEF, based on directions provided by the Project Steering Committee. The PMO is also responsible for facilitating regional integration and synthesis.
Location: UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea Project PMO,
Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute 1270 Sa-dong Sangnok-gu,
Ansan-si, Gyeonggi-do, 426-744, R.Korea
The
PMO has 8 members at present with the post of Environment Economist soon to
be filled. For more detailed information, please see:
http://www.yslme.org/Introduction/PMO.htm
NATIONAL AND REGIONAL IMPLEMENTATION
In each country, National Focal Points (NFP) and
National Project Co-ordinators (NPC) were appointed. The NFP for China is
the State Oceanic Administration (SOA), with the Director General of SOA
acting as NPC. For Republic of Korea, the NFP is the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade (MOFAT). The NPC for Korea is a senior scientist emeritus
from the Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute.
The NPCs are responsible for overseeing project
implementation at the national level. The NPCs will co-ordinate the work of
the various national institutions implementing the Project. They will also
ensure that the Inter-ministerial Committee Functions encompass a wide range
of stakeholders and agencies.
At the regional level, Regional Working Groups (RWG)
have been established for the Fisheries, Biodiversity, Pollution, Ecosystem,
and Investment components. The RWGs are responsible for developing work
plans, regional coordination within area of competency, relevant regional
recommendation development, technical guidance and strategy within area of
competency, assistance in development of the Transboundary Diagnostic
Analysis, and assistance in development and implementation of the Yellow Sea
National Action Plans and Strategic Action Programme.
UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea
Project PMO - KORDI, Ansan, ROK.
T: 82-31-400-7829
F: 82-31-400-7826 E: info@yslme.org