Regional Pollution Monitoring Guidelines Will Soon be Available

Many pollutants in the Yellow Sea are transboundary and may flow from one coastal area to the other, may start its life on-land and persist in the sea, or may be introduced from ship traffic. As pollutants can affect the ecosystem health of the entire Yellow Sea, it is necessary to have a basin-wide monitoring programme to better understand the nature of pollutants present in the sea.

A consultant has been drafting regional guidelines for pollution monitoring. The final product will be available in February 2006, and will include:

• areas in the Yellow Sea where a regional monitoring programme could be established;
• suggestions for parameters to be monitored;
• collaboration with current national monitoring programmes; and
• recommendations for future regional monitoring activities.