Desk Review on Nutrient Pollution as a Regional and Transboundary Challenge in the east Asian Seas Region - 2021

The Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), one of the UNEP-administered Regional Seas Programme, commissioned a desk review from January to March 2021, to compile information on: • Sources, sinks, fate and transport, and impacts of pollution, focusing on N and P; • National and regional nutrient reduction commitments, targets, measures, as well as gaps in governance; and • Existing monitoring and assessment programmes in COBSEA countries. The information helped to provide a list of suggested regional responses to address better nutrient management and implement pollution control measures that would meet the objectives of “COBSEA’s Strategic Directions 2018-2022”. COBSEA’s Strategic Directions has a component that focuses on land-based pollution with the purpose to “prevent and reduce eutrophication and sedimentation and their impact on the marine and coastal environment.”