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NEASPEC 23rd Senior Officials Meeting

09 October 2019 - 10 October 2019
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
SOM-23

The 23rd Senior Officials Meeting of the North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC) was hosted by the Government of Mongolia on 9-10 October 2019 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The Meeting commended the contribution of NEASPEC to deepening practical cooperation among member States, promoting science-policy linkages and serving as a key platform for information and experience sharing among stakeholders and between member States. The Meeting also underlined the linkage with and contribution of NEASPEC to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the ESCAP Regional Roadmap for Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific. 

With regard to NEASPEC five programmes, the Meeting came to the following decisions:

  • Transboundary Air Pollution: Operationalize the North-East Asia Clean Air Partnership (NEACAP) through adopting the Rules of Procedure for its Science and Policy Committee, and mandating it to identify priorities work areas and workplans;
  • Nature Conservation: Implement three new projects funded by the Russian Federation;
  • Marine Protected Areas: Utilize the study on the sustainable management of MPAs, as a reference for cooperation among the NEAMPAN sites, and welcomed offer by China to host a NEAMPAN workshop.    
  • Low Carbon City: Expand the scope of the North-East Asian Low Carbon City Platform to four new cities proposed by the Government of Mongolia (2 cities) and the Russian Federation (2 cities), respectively;
  • Desertification and Land Degradation: Undertake a study or hold an expert group meeting and develop a proposal on new areas of work on interlinkage of DLD with other sectors including climate change for the consideration of the next SOM
  • New Strategic Plan: Carry out an evaluation on the implementation of the NEASPEC Strategic Plan 2016-2020 to inform the process of developing the new strategic plan for 2021-2025
09 Oct 2019
1. Opening Session
  • Opening remarks by Mr. Ganbold Baasanjav, Head of UNESCAP East and North-East Asia Office
  • Welcoming remarks by the host government
2. Election of officers 3. Adoption of agenda
4. Issues related to sustainable development in North-East Asia

Statements by delegations of the member States, UN and international organizations

5. Review of program planning and implementation

a) Transboundary Air Pollution

b) Nature Conservation in Transboundary Areas

c) Marine Protected Areas

d) Low Carbon Cities

e) Desertification and Land Degradation

Short presentations to be made by the Secretariat and partner institutions for each programme area, followed by interventions from delegations of member States

Lunch
5. Review of program planning and implementation (Cont’d)
Coffee Break
5. Review of program planning and implementation (Cont’d)
10 Oct 2019
6. New NEASPEC programmes and activities

Member States, UN and international organizations are invited to present proposals for new activities (proposals are circulated at least two weeks prior to the meeting). 

7. Review of the Core Fund

The session will review the status of the Core Fund and other project funds, where applicable, and discuss budget plans. Member governments are invited to announce intended cash and/or in-kind contributions for 2019-2020.

8. Plan for the NEASPEC Strategic Plan 2021-2025

The session will review the implementation of the current NEASPEC Strategic Plan 2016 – 2020 and discuss the preparation of new plan for the next five years. 

9. & 10. Venue, date, provisional agenda of SOM-24, and Other Issues
Coffee break (preparation of meeting report by the Secretariat)
11. Adoption of the conclusions and recommendations of the Meeting/ Closing Session
11. Adoption of the conclusions and recommendations of the Meeting/ Closing Session