Member Type Regional Intergovernmental Organization or Regional Sea

Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA)

Contact

Mahesh Pradhan
COBSEA Coordinator, ai.
Secretariat of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), UN Environment Programme
[email protected]

Margarita Caballa
United Nations Volunteer
COBSEA Secretariat, UNEP
[email protected]

Krittika Kleesuwan
Administrative Assistant
COBSEA Secretariat, UNEP
[email protected]

The Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) is a regional intergovernmental mechanism bringing together nine countries – Cambodia, People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Viet Nam – in implementation of the Action Plan for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment and Coastal Areas of the East Asian Seas Region (East Asian Seas Action Plan, adopted in 1981 and revised in 1994). COBSEA is one of 18 Regional Seas programmes, administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and with its Secretariat hosted by Thailand.

Under Strategic Directions 2018-2022, COBSEA addresses land-based marine pollution with a focus on nutrients, sediment and wastewater as well as marine litter and microplastics; strengthens marine and coastal planning and management, with a focus on ecosystem-based management approaches including Marine Protected Areas and Marine Spatial Planning; and enhances regional governance by sharing marine environmental management experiences and policies.

Related websites:

Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia
Working with regional seas
Sea Circular website
Implementing the Strategic Action Programme for the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand

Last Updated: 1 February 2022