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1. INTRODUCTION °§
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2. TRANSBOUNDARY DIAGNOSTIC ANALYSIS ­ THE GEF CONTEXT °§
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3. THE NATURE AND OBJECTIVES OF TRANSBOUNDARY
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3.1.The Components of Transboundary Diagnostic Analyses °§
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4. SCOPE OF THE TDA FOR THE YELLOW SEA LME °§
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4.1. Geographical Scope °§
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4.2. Disciplinary Scope °§
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Environmental Problems Relating to Pollution (Responsibilities of the RWG-P) °§
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Environmental Problems Relating to Ecosystem (Responsibilities of the RWG-E)°§
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Environmental Pr oblems Relating to Fisheries (Responsibilities of the RWG-F) °§
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Environmental Problems Relating to Biodiversity (Responsibilities of the RWG-B) °§
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Other YSLME Regional Working Group Activities °§
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5. STATUS OF THE YELLOW SEA AND ENVIRON MEN TAL ISSUES/PROBLEMS °§
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5.1. Pollution °§
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5.2. Ecosystem (primary and secondary production and benthos) °§
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5.3. Fisheries °§
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5.4. Biodiversity °§
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6. CAUSAL CHAIN ANALYSIS °§
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6.1. Pollution Problems °§
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6.2. Ecosystem Problems °§
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6.3. Fisheries Problems °§
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6.4. Biodiversity Problems °§
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7. ANALYSIS OF ROOT CAUSES °§
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7.1. Causes of Pollution Problems °§
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7.2. Causes of Ecosystem Problems °§
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7.3. Causes of Fisheries Problems °§
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7.4. Causes of Biodiversity Problems °§
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7.5. Commonalities Among Root Causes °§
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8. TRANSBOUNDARY VERSUS DOMESTIC PROBLEMS °§
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9. IDENTIFICATION AND ANALYSIS OF OPTIONS FOR INTERVENTION °§
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9.1. Identification of the Options for Intervention °§
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9.2. Analysis of the Options for Intervention °§
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10. OTHER ISSUES WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION DURING
THE PREPARATION OF THE SAP FOR THE YELLOW SEA LME °§
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11. CONCLUSIONS °§
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS °§
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REFERENCES °§
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This document presents the of marine pollution, degradation of
tr an sb ou nd ar y dia gn ostic a na lysis
c r it ic a l h a b it ats a nd o v e r - fis h ing . "
( TDA) for the Yellow Se a Large Marine
Acco rd ingly, the TD A mu st add ress all
E co syst em (YSLME ). It is a p rinc ipal
ma jor pr oble ms in the Y ellow Se a an d
o u tp ut /de live ra b le of the UND P/ GE F
determine their immediate, intermediate
Project en t i t l e d " R educing Environmen tal
and root causes. This is done as a means
Str ess in th e Ye llow Sea La rge Mar in e
of ide ntifying opt ion s for m an agem en t
Ec o sy st em " . T he T DA w a s p r ep a r e d
intervention by the riparian states acting
d uring th e p eriod Au gust to D ec emb er
in c o n ce r t an d s e ts the s tag e for th e
2 0 0 6 a nd i s b a s e d o n st u d ie s a n d
selection of interventions for inclusion in
evaluations conducted within the project
the SAP.
to September 2006.
T h e TD A p roc e ss is p re d om in a ntly a
Th e TDA is used as a b asis for focusin g
s c ie n t if ic a nd t ec h nic a l e xe rc is e .
o n e xist in g pr oblem s an d imp en d in g
Ne cessa rily, it d oes e ncr oach u p on the
th r ea ts to t he critica l e cosyste m of the
soc io- ec onom ic and po litica l ar e nas to
YSLME. It is intended to provide a sound
the extent required to undertake the root
b asis for the pr ep aratio n of a Stra tegic
cause analyses and the identification and
Action Programme (SAP) for the YSLME
an alysis of op tion s for in terven tio n. In
in the n ext p hase of p rojec t activities .
co ntra st, the form ula tion o f the SAP is
Th e project b r ie f state s: "Th e S AP will
p rim arily a socio-e conom ic an d political
iden tify p riority actions to be ta ke n by
process. It is one in which the social and
t he pa r tic ipa ting c oun tries to r est ore
p olitical advan ta ges a nd d isadvan tages
and pre se rve the YS LM E. The S AP will
o f o p t io n s fo r in t e rv e ntio n a r e fu lly
ad opt a co m pr eh ensiv e appro ach an d
c o n sid er ed a nd d e b at e d p rior t o the
will address land and sea-based sources
c o n se ns u a l ad o p t io n o f a s u it e o f

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inte r ve ntion s for inclusion in th e SAP.
I ne vit a b ly, t he SAP fo rm ula tion will
re q uir e so me de gr ee of t e ch nica l an d
s c ie n t if ic s u p po rt t o u n d e rt a k e a n
asse ssme nt of the positive a nd negative
c o n s e q ue n c es o f al l th e o p ti on s f o r
intervention. It is intended that much of
t h is i nfo rm a t io n b e pr o vid e d in t he
tec hn ical a nalysis of the e nviron me ntal
problems and options for intervention in
the TDA.

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The GEF advocates a process of recognition to the utility of TDA to
forma l a sse ssm ent of problems and
pr o jec ts in th e In t e rn at ion a l W at e rs
priorities referred to as a Transboundary
Focal Area as follows:
D iag n o s t ic An a lys is ( T D A) . I t w a s
" G EF -s up p or te d act ivit ies u nd er t he
re fer red to in t he Fir st St ud y o f G EF's
inte rn ation a l waters foc al a re a have
O ve rall Perfor ma nce (G EF 19 98) in the
c o n t r ib ut ed s ig n if ic a n t ly t o t he
following way:
implementa tion of e xistin g globa l and
"The centerpiece of the GEF strategy ....
r e gio n al ag r e e me nt s t h a t a d d r e s s
is t h e c o n ce pt o f `str a te gic jo int fa c t
protection and restoration of freshwater
f in din g ' as a m ea ns of a rr iving at a
and marine ecosystems."
consensus on what actions are needed to
" E x a m i n in g t h e r e s u lt s o f t he
e sta blish thre ats ... collabora ting states
in ter n a tio na l w a t e r s p o r t fo lio , o ne
e stab lish techn ical te am s tha t wor k to
p ar t ic u l ar o pe r a t io na l a p pr o a c h
e st ab lish a co m mon b aselin e of fa c ts
de m onst rate s c onsid e ra ble m e rits: A
and analysis of the problem in the form
s c ie n c e -b a se d
T r a n s b o un d ar y
of a transboundary dia gnostic a nalysis
Diagnostic Analysis (TDA) is conducted
( T D A) , w h i c h is t he n u s e d t o s e t
a t t h e p r e pa r a to r y s t a g e , b e fo r e a
( n a t io na l) p r io rit ie s fo r a c t io ns t o
s t r a t e g ic a c t io n p r o g r am ( S A P) i s
a ddre ss thre ats to intern ation al waters
e labo ra t ed . I t h a s sim ila ritie s t o t he
in the form of the SAP."
process embedded in enabling activities
Th e Secon d O ve ra ll Perfo rm ance Study
i n su pp o r t o f U N FCCC1 o r C BD 2 .
( O P S2 ) ( G E F 2 00 2 ) ga ve pa rt ic u lar
Furthermore, the GEF is one of very few

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f in a n c ial m e c ha n is m s a va ilab le to
m o b iliz e m u lt id o n o r s u p po r t fo r
sup p or t c om pr eh e nsive a n aly sis an d
remedying or preventing environmental
in te gra ted p lan nin g in m ultination al
threats to international waters."
water bodies. The TDA-SAP process has
OPS2 not on ly recomm en ded th at TD A
p rovided a me cha nism for the GEF to
continue to be used for th e pr epara tion
c o nt r i b u t e s u b s t a n ti a lly t o t h e i n-
of SAPs in International Waters projects
co u ntry str e ng th e ning of in st it ut io ns
b ut also re c om me nded t ha t a similar
a n d t o p r om o t e st r a t e gi c a llian ce s
mechanism be used in the new focal area
a m o n g in st it u ti o ns in dif fe re n t
o f la nd d e g r a d a t io n . T h e re l e va nt
c o u n t r ie s , t h u s
pr o m o t ing t he
recommendation is as follows:
d e ve lopm en t of ef fe ct iv e mon it or in g
sy s te ms an d im p ro ve d m an ag em ent
"The GEF should review and rationalize
capacities."
t h e nu mb e r a n d o bje c t iv e s o f
op e rat ion al pr o gr a ms in ligh t o f th e
" Th e TD A- S A P p r oc e ss is a va lua ble
le s s o ns lea r n ed i n o r d e r to e n s u r e
pa r t o f p r ojec t p r ep a rat ion t o build
c o n s is te n c y a nd a u n ifie d fo c us o n
capacity, receive scientific and technical
d e liv er in g g lo b a l e n v ir o n me n t al
in pu ts, and enc ourage pa rticipation by
benefits. Furthermore, to ensure quality
the po litica l au th or itie s inv olv ed a n d
o u t c o m e s t h at f o c u s o n g lo b a l
other important institutional actors and
e n v ir o nm e n t a l
b e n e f it s,
O P S 2
s t a k e h o ld er s . I n ad d it io n , it i s
re comm end s th at G EF mak e a spe cial
re cog nize d a s an e ssen tial proc ess for
e ffo r t t o u s e sc ien tific a na ly sis a s a
s ec u r i ng m u lt ic o u n t r y po li t ic a l
co n sta nt fou n dation fo r th e pla nn ing
a gr eem en t to focus on tra nsbou n da ry
and impleme nta tion o f new p roje cts in
environm enta l p rio rit ies. As sta ted by
all f o c a l ar e a s. T h e s c i e nc e - b as ed
the OPS1 team, "The centerp ie ce of the
Tr a nsb o un d ary D ia gn os tic A n aly s is
GEF strategy on International Waters is
(T DA ) sh ou ld continue to be the ba sis
t h e c o n c ep t o f `s t r at e g i c jo in t fa c t
for facilitating r egiona l ag reem en ts on
finding' in the form of a transboundary
a c t io n s t o ad d r e s s t h r e a t s t o
diagnostic analysis (TDA), which is then
international waters and for developing
used to set national priorities for actions
strategic action programs (SAPs). OPS2
t o a dd r e s s t hr e a t s t o in t e rn a t io na l
further re com mend s the exte nsion of a
waters in the form of a strategic action
similar approach to land d egrad ation,
pr o g r a m ( S A P ) . " T h e O P S 2 t e a m
as it is now becoming a new focal area."
u n d e r sc o r e s t h i s s ta t e me n t a n d
recommends that the science-based TDA
The Th ird O ver all Per for m anc e Stu dy
contin ue to be the ba sis for fa cilitating
(OPS3) (GEF, 2005) later observed:
country agreements on SAPs which can

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" I n s ti tu t io n al st r e n g th e nin g a t th e
c on sider e d by the G EF as an e ffec tive
n a tiona l a nd r eg iona l le ve l r e sult in g
a n d ap p r o p r ia t e ap p ro a c h t o t h e
partly or totally from GEF projects has
fo r mula tion o f SAPs fo r in t er na tiona l
proven useful in situations requiring an
waters areas.
immediate respon se. The Transboundary
D i a g n ost ic A naly sis /S tr a tegic A c tion
P r o g ra m ( T D A / S A P ) p r o c e s s h a s
p ro vided a m ech anism fo r th e GE F to
c o n t r ib u t e s u b st a n t iall y t o t h e in-
c ou ntry st re ngt he nin g o f in s titu tions
a n d t o p r o mo t e s tr a te g ic allian c e s
a mo n g in s ti t u t io n s in di ff e r en t
c o u nt r ie s ,
th us p r om o t in g t h e
d e v elo pm en t o f e ffe ct ive mo n ito rin g
s ys te ms a nd imp r ov e d m a na g e me nt
ca pacities. The TDA/ SAP tool is a good
m e ch an is m f or h a r mo n izin g th e I W
s c ie nt if ic ap p r o ac h w it h a po lic y
app roach , an d a p ositive b y-p roduct is
capacity building."
O PS3 fu rt he r n o t ed th a t t h e T h ir d
In t e rn at io n al Wat e r s P r ogr am Stu dy
( Mee e t al. , 2 00 5) h ad fo un d th at the
TD A ca n be an effec tive tool if it " s e t s
a p pr op riat e b ound aries, id entifies all
re leva nt stak ehold ers, con du cts stu dies
by join t fact fin ding (with out ex cluding
a ny r e l e v an t r e g io n a l e x p e r t i se ) ,
in clu d e s an a pp r op ri a te b a la n ce o f
discip lin es, ide ntifie s the soc ioeconomic
c au se s of the tr an sbou nd ar y problems
id ent ifie d , e va lua te s th e in st it ut io n al
capacity, and makes all the information
a v aila b le to t h e s ta k e h o ld e r s in a
concise and non-jargonistic manner."
The pre p aration of a TD A is th e refor e

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ATransboundary Diagnostic Analysis
(TD A) is a scientific a nd tech nic al
a sse ssm ent o f a n in te rn ation al wa te rs
are a th at ide ntifies and q ua ntifies th e
e nviron me nt al iss ue s a nd p r oblems in
t he su b jec t ar ea a nd e st a blis hes their
i mm ed iat e ,
in t e r m e d i at e
a nd
funda menta l (root) cau ses. The a nalysis
involve s an id e ntifica tion of the ca uses
a n d
im p a c t s
o f
e n vi ro n me n t al
A T D A sh o uld yield a lis t o f p r io r ity
disturbances and/or threats and assesses
issues affe cting an interna tional water s
th e scale a nd d istribution of im pacts at
ar e a, the ir c au se s a nd t h e or igins o f
n atio n al, re g iona l a nd g lo b a l leve ls ,
t h os e ca uses . Alth ou gh T DAs c an b e
predominantly in socio-economic terms.
c o n d uc t e d b y, an d w it hi n , s in g le
The identification of causes specifies the
c o u n t r i e s , th e n e ed t o id e n t i fy
p ractices, sour ces, location s an d hu ma n
transboundary effects and causes makes
a c t ivi ty
s e c t o r s
f r om
w hic h
it de sir ab le th a t t he TDA p r o c ess b e
en vir onm en tal de grad a tion a rise s o r is
c o n d u c t e d m u lt ila t er a lly w it h t h e
threatened.
p articip ation of all r ipa rian state s of a n
in t ern ation a l w a ter b o d y. Id e ally, th e
se quence of c au se s should be identified
in a hierarchica l manner from technical
p er spectives, th rough man agem en t and
s o c io - e c o no m ic p er s p e ct iv e s to t h e
p olitic al ( i.e. , policy) level. Accor din gly,

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the term `root causes' should be reserved
en vi r o n m e n t a l t h r e at s . T h e m o st
f o r t h e mo s t f un d a m e n t al i n t h i s
effective of these options for intervention
hie ra rch y of c aus es. In G EF p a rlan c e,
then constitute the ba sis of a Str ate gic
t his s e qu e n tia l ide n t ific at io n o f t h e
Act io n Pro gra mme ( SAP) th a t ca n b e
h ie ra r c h y of c a u s es is c o n c e pt ua lly
formulated and applied in a coordinated
known as a "causal chain". It is intended
manner by all riparian countries.
to facilitate the specification of potential
inte rven tio ns to eithe r re me dy cu rr e nt
e nviron me nta l p rob le ms or to obvia te
M ee (2 00 2) an d Pe rn etta (20 02) have
o ut line d , in in fo r ma l d oc um en ts, the
n atu re and c omp o ne nts o f TD As in a
This com pon ent conta ins a de finition of
m o re d e t ail ed m an ne r t h a n t h a t
th e subje ct a re a for w h ic h t he TD A is
a va ila b le fr o m c o n t e m p o r a r y G E F
c o n d u c t e d . G e ne r a lly t his is a
d o c u me nt s . Pe r n e t t a s p e c i fie d t he
ge ogra p hica l de fin ition of t h e a re a to
p rinc ipal co mp one nts of a T DA w hile
which the TDA applies. This component
Mee provided an abundance of ancillary
also defines the disciplinary scope of the
d e t a il in a n a tt e m p t to a ss is t t ho s e
T DA, w h ic h s pe c i fie s t he to p ic s o r
in volved in th e pr o ce ss at the p r o je c t
subject areas that are to be covered.
level. Both of these authors' outlines are
c on s is te nt w ith t he mor e e le me nt a ry
spec ification s contained in the report of
The second component in the conduct of
t h e Se c o nd I n t er na t io na l Wa t e r s
a TDA is th e id e ntifica t ion o f existing
P ro g ra m St u d y (Be w er s an d U it to ,
pr o b lem s. T he s e p ro b le m s re lat e to
2001). The following explanation of TDA
c o m p ro m is es in t he q u a lit y o r
com pon ents is ba sed on m ater ial fro m
abundance of resources and amenities of
t he s e s o u r c es as w el l as o th e r G E F
a specific international waters area such
do cuments. Th ese eleme nts a re gen er ic
as a freshwater course, a lake or a coastal
and apply to any TDA relating to a water
m a r in e o r r e g io na l s e a a r ea . Su c h
b od y w he th e r pr o vin cia l, n a tion a l o r
compromises can involve unsuitability of
international.
water for ir riga tion or an im al or human

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d rinkin g pu rposes, p oor qu ality of fish
fo r h u ma n co n su mp tio n, un d ue a lga l
Co m p o n en ts 4 a n d 5 c o n s tit u t e t h e
gro wth r e sult in g in oxygen d eficien cy
Cau sal Cha in An a lys is . Com po ne n t 4
a nd a dve rse effec ts on or ga nism s (e. g. ,
involves the id entifica tion of ca uses for
fish kills), an d/ or u nple asa nt o do ur s ,
e a ch of th e p r ob lem s id e n tif ie d an d
a es t he ti c e f fe c ts o r h i gh t u rb id it y
pr io rit iz e d in Co m po n e nt s 2 a nd 3 .
r edu c in g th e re cre atio n al an d to urism
T h e s e c a u s e s s ho u l d st e m fr o m t he
valu e o f an ar ea. The re a re m an y su ch
imme dia te to th e pr oxima l causes to a s
p otential proble ms and the foregoin g is
h igh a le vel of h ier ar c hy a s p o ssib le ,
not intended to constitute an exhaustive
extending up to the policy level wherever
li st . Fr eq u e nt ly, t h e `p r o b le ms ' a re
feasible. It is best explained by example.
me r ely o bse rvation s of pe culiarities or
L et u s sa y t h at on e of th e ide n t ified
effects, fo r e xamp le fre qu ent fish kills,
p rob lems is abunda nt alga l gr owth that
w it h o u t t he i mm ed ia te c a u s e b ei n g
is impeding n avigation , ca using odour s
k n o w n. T hu s, c h a r a c t e r iz a t io n o f
and interfering with the use of water for
pr oblem s m ust b e car ried ou t by those
ir riga tio n ( clo ggin g of pu mp s), a nimal
familiar with the subject area.
wa terin g and h uman c onsu mp tion. The
m ost imm ed iat e c au s e is lik e ly t o b e
excessive n utrie nt supp ly to the wa ter
T h is co n st itu te s a n evalu at ion o f th e
body. The cause of the excessive nutrient
r e la t ive s e ve r it y o f t h e pr ob lem s
supply is attributable to animal wastes or
iden tified in th e p reviou s c omp one nt .
f e rt iliz er w a s h o ff fr om a g r ic u ltu ra l
T h is a ga in m u s t b e b a s e d o n lo c a l
activities on adjacent land and excessive
knowle dge . The w ide r th e body of local
d is c h ar g e o f p o or ly tr e a te d hu ma n
k no wled ge a nd exp e rie nce in volved in
sew age. E ach of th ese se condary ca use s
t h e c o nd uc t of t h e T D A , th e m o re
will the n have causes at high er levels in
objective the specification of priorities is
the hierarchy. The excessive discharge of
likely to be. The eva lua tion of prioritie s
a n i ma l wa s t e s m ay b e d u e t o f ar m
is based on the severity of the problem in
m a na ge m e nt pr a ct ice s tha t h a ve n o t
t h e c o nt e x t o f it s e f fe c ts o n t h os e
p rovid e d s uf fic ie nt lan d to n eutr alize
d ra win g their live lih ood from the wa ter
nu tr ie n ts in a nima l w astes. E xce ss ive
a re a c o nc e rn e d, t he r e du c t io n in
fertilizer washoff can be due either to the
economic gains from the area in relation
a p p lic at ion of fe rt iliz e rs b eyon d the
to its potential (fisheries yield or tourism
a m ou nt s
ne e de d
f o r
a d eq u at e
for example) and effects on other aspects
fertilization of crop growth or the use of
of life with in the commu nities a ffe cted .
fertilize rs on land im me dia tely ad ja cen t
The end result of Component 3 should be
t o th e w ate r b ody c on c er ne d with o ut
a consensus list of prioritized `problems'.

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regard for washoff and runoff. Excessive
a lso includ e a la ck of co mplian ce with
inputs o f ina deq u ate ly tre a te d hu ma n
existing legislation and regulations.
wastes may be due to the type of practice
T h e e xa mina tio n o f t he s e q u en c e o f
carried out in the immediate area such as
causes should continue until the highest
in ad e q u a t e s e w a g e c o lle c t i on an d
possible level is reached. Usually, within
t re at me nt in fr a st ru c t u re f or a la r ge
a na tional c ontext, this is at th e fede ral
u r ba n ar ea o r t h e mo d e o f se w ag e
policy level, although some problems will
c o lle c ti o n a n d d is c h a r g e t h at i s
ar ise fr om c a uses in o the r , ge n er ally
incom pa tible with the othe r uses of the
ripar ia n, jur isdictions. Th ese shou ld be
water body concerned.
sp e c ified . In de e d, t he r e may b e r o ot
In turn, each of these causes will have a
ca uses of a glob al n at ur e, espec ially in
furth er leve l of more r em ote, but mor e
r ela tio n to th e s ymp to ms of c lim atic
f u nd am en t al, c a u s e s . T he se mig h t
c h a n g e 3 . T h e c au sa l c h ai n a n a lys is
in clu d e u n ju st if iab ly lo w p r ic e s fo r
should extend to such root causes if they
f e rt ili ze r s (e . g . , a s a r e s u lt o f f ar m
co ntr ibu te to p rob le ms id entified an d
sub sidies) , ove r-promotion of in ten sive
pr ioritized at the begin nin g of the TDA.
a gr icu lt ure for an im al h u sb an dr y an d
Most u sually, th e highest polic y le ve ls
c r o p s , i n a d eq u at e i m p o si ti o n a n d
that can be ad dressed in region al TDAs
r egulat ion o f b ou nda ry zon es betwee n
a re n atio nal le gislat ion a nd p olicies o f
a gricultura l a reas an d wate r b odie s, or
the riparian state s conce rn ed. Howeve r,
in s uff ic i en t e m p h a s is o n ad e qu a t e
in cases where some of the countries are
h u ma n s ew a ge m a n a g e m e n t in t he
party to la rger multilate ral com munity
vicinity of the water body.
ag r e em e n ts , su c h a s th a t w it h in t he
E ur o p ea n Un ion, the po lic y level w ill
The n ext le ve l o f ca use migh t in c lu d e
imme diately extend to th e mu ltila te ra l
u nreasonable a nd in cautious ince ntive s
level.
for a gr icu ltural prod uction a t the policy
le ve l, in a d eq u at e po licies r eg ar din g
protection of water bodies from adjacent
T h is c o m p o n e nt i s o n e o f gr e a te r
activities such as agriculture, inadequate
comp lexity and difficulty. The p revious
policy atten tion to sewa ge mana ge me nt
c o mp o ne n t s h o u ld h a ve p r od u ce d a
and a p redomin an ce of sector-by- sector
hi e ra rc h y o f c au se s o f p r o ble m s in
regulat ion a t the p olic y level. It migh t
d en d ritic (b ra nch ing) for m. Cau ses a t

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e ach le vel ca n h ave multiple c au ses a t
h ig h e r le vel s as e xp lain e d in t he
d es c ri p t io n
o f
Co m po ne nt
3 .
Consequently, there can be branching of
The next component of the TDA process
causes as one proceeds from the lower to
is th e d iscrimin ation am ong cau se s of
the higher levels. However, at the highest
n at io n al
o r i gi n
a n d
t h os e
o f
le ve ls , t h e re fr e que n tly o cc ur s so me
tr an sb ound ar y or in creme ntal origin . In
c om mon alit y a mon g th e r o ot c a uses ,
m a ny c a se s , t he s o ur c es o f t h e
especially those of a policy nature.
f un d a me n t al ( r o o t ) c a us es w i ll b e
im m ed iate ly e v id en t a nd it will b e a
Component 5 involves the quantification
simple matter to assign them to national,
o f cau ses . It req u ir e s th at th e re lative
regional or broader origins. Inevitably, in
significa nc e o f ca uses at eac h level be
som e oth er ca se s, th ere w ill be se ve ral
q uan tified. Th us, in the exa mp le given
o r ig in s
( n at io n al,
m ult il a t er al ,
above, if excessive algal growth is due to
in t er na t io na l) o f t h e ro o t c au se s .
the over-application of fertilizers in local
P a r tit io n ing am o ng t h e s e o rig in s is
agriculture, this is the dominant cause. A
e ssen tial for det er mining th e na tio na l
secondary cause might then be excessive
an d transboun da ry con tr ibu tions. Su ch
w a s h o f f o f a n i ma l w as t e s . T h e
d is crim in atio n is o bv io usly o f d ire c t
q uantification required at Compon en t 5
r ele va nce to th e develop me n t o f GE F
is to designate relative weightings to the
p r oje c t s f or w h ic h q u an tific a tio n o f
causes at each level of hierarchy for each
tr ansb oun da ry o r in cre me nta l c a uses ,
of the problems at the base of the causal
a nd t h e r e fo r e c o s t s, is es s en t ial .
chain analysis. The dendritic diagram of
However, there are concomitant benefits
r oo t c a u se s th e r e fo r e h a s t he a d de d
to the countries concerned in addressing
fe atu r e of r ela tive weightings of ca uses
e n v ir o n m e n t a l pr o b lem s a d ve r s e ly
relating to a given problem at each level
a f fect in g the ir de velop me n t . Cle ar ly,
of branching in the hierarchy. As stated,
c au se s of n ation al pr ob lem s th at have
this is a difficult thing to do. Frequently,
o r ig ins w it hi n t h e s a m e n a t io n a l
it ma y only b e p o s sib le to p r o vid e a
ju r isdic tio n ar e tr ac ta ble t o n at ion al
semi-q uantitative rating of cau se s b ased
action alone. Transboundary causes have
o n lo ca l know le d ge as re pre se nted by
to be dealt with in a regional context and
those involved in the TDA. Nevertheless,
sometimes in a global context and in the
such sem i-q uan titative ratings a re still
a b sen ce of co op er ative ar ra ngem en ts ,
likely to constitute an effective approach
s uch a s th o se p r omo t e d b y t h e GEF ,
a s l o n g a s th e y h a v e b e e n d e riv ed
c a n n o t b e ad d re s se d b y in d iv id u a l
t h rou gh a t r an sp ar en t a nd in t e rn ally
national actions alone.
consistent process.

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potential interventions are analysed for a
va r ie t y of p ro b le ms , it is lik e ly t ha t
c r o s s t a l k 4 ( i. e . , in te r a c tio n s a mo n g
The pen ultim ate component of the TDA
potential interventions) will be identified
process is the identification and analysis
in which an intervention to deal with one
of options for in tervention to re ctify the
pr oblem has e ither positive or n e gative
id entified prior ity problem s. The cau sal
effects on others. The analysis of options
chain p r ovides th e b asis for iden tifyin g
ca n also b e a le ngthy and controver sial
such options. Options for intervention to
sta ge in a TDA bu t it is we ll w orth the
remediate the original problem will exist
inve stm en t of e ffo rt in p re p ar in g th e
a t al l le ve l s in t h e c a u s a l c h a in a s
ground wor k for the pre par ation of th e
d ep icte d in Figu r e 1. Th e highe r in the
subsequent regional or multilateral SAP.
c a us a l c h ain th a t a n int e r v e nt ion is
made, the greater will be the probability
o f e ff e c t iven es s a nd su st a ina b ilit y.
Ne ver th ele ss, o ptions for inte rve ntion
will exist at each level in the causal chain
and the e ffe ctiveness an d conseq uence s
of interventions at all levels of the causal
cha in shou ld be assessed in r ela tion to
e ach e nviron menta l problem or gro ups
of prob lem s having similar causal c hain
entries and common root causes.
Th e an alys is o f op tions w ill in c lud e a
s p ec i fi c a t io n o f t h e n a t u r e of t he
p o t e n t ia l in t e r ve n t io n , it s lik e ly
effectiveness in eradicatin g the proble m
a nd a ll the othe r cons eq u enc es of th e
intervention, both positive and negative.
The negative aspects of interventions will
inc lu d e the ir co st as well a s any oth e r
a dve rse e ff ec ts on s oc ie t y of a s oc io-
e c on om ic o r he r ita g e n at u r e. As t h e

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threats of futur e en vironmental da mage
or compromise.
Comp on en ts 1 to 7 in clusive con stitu te
the essential features of a Transboundary
I n s o me c a s e s , a TD A c a n in clud e a
D i ag no s t ic An al ys is . It s h o uld b e
s t ak e h o lde r
a n aly si s
a n d
t h e
str esse d tha t a par ticu la r TDA will no t
c o ns id e r a t io n o f in fr as t r u c t u r al
a lw a y s b e st r uc t ur e d in th e s a m e
w e a k n e ss e s. I n o t h e r c a s e s , su c h
se que nce a s that p re sen ted a bove . It is
a n a lys e s a re i n c lu d ed in t h e SA P
only essential th at the activitie s cover ed
formulation p rocess. In th e TDA for the
by these components are included in the
Yellow Sea p re sented here , th ese topics
T D A o r SA P in a n a p p r o p r ia t e an d
are inten de d to be includ ed in the SAP
co he rent ma nner . Th e T DA provide s a
p r e pa ra t io n p ro c e ss a n d ar e o n ly
basis for the subsequent formulation of a
referr ed to her e to the e xten t tha t the y
Stra te gic Ac tion Progra mme (SAP) b y
r e la t e t o th e c aus es of e nviro n me nta l
sp ec ifying th e p rio r ity p r o ble ms an d
pr ob le m s su b jec t ed t o c a u s a l c h a in
id ent ifyin g a n d a na lysin g o pt ion s fo r
analysis.
in ter vent io n. T he h ie rar ch y of c a uses
id e ntifie d in t h e TD A is e sse nt ia l fo r
maximizing the effectiveness of potential
int erve nt ion s. Th ese int er vention s a re
g en er ally b est d ir e c t e d at t h e m o r e
f un d am e n t al o f t h e c a u s e s . T his i s
e s p ec ially t r ue if th er e ar e co m m o n
h igh er -level c au se s o f more t han on e
p r o ble m . T h e a n alysis o f o p tio ns fo r
inte rve ntio n p rep ares th e gr oun d b oth
f o r a d d re s s in g p r ob le m s t h a t ar e
d om in an tly o f na tio na l o rigin a nd fo r
d e a li ng
m u lt i la t e r a l ly
w it h
tr an sbound ary cau ses with in a re gional
context. One final point is worth making.
Throughout, there has been reference to
pr o b lem s a s b e ing t h o se in vo lv in g
c o n te m p o ra r y c o m p r o mi se s t o t h e
be ne fits obtained from a water bod y. It
sho u ld b e st r esse d, as imp lie d at th e
ou tset, that a TDA c an also in clude th e
evaluation of p ro blems tha t co nst itu te

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The geographical scope of the TDA is (Huang He) when it flowed across the
that of the subject region defined for
e xposed shelf d uring lower ed se a level
the pu rpo ses o f the proje ct br ief. T he
a n d e mp ti e d s ed im e nt s in to t h e
definition in the project br ief is a s follows:
O kina w a T ro u g h. Th e S ea a nn ua lly
r ec eive s m or e t ha n 1 .6 billion to ns of
° The Ye llow Sea is the se mi-e nclos ed
sediments, mostly from the Yellow River
b ody of water b oun de d b y the Chin ese
(Hua ng He) an d Ya ng tze R ive r, wh ich
m ai n la n d t o th e w est , t h e K or ea n
h av e fo rme d lar ge d elta s. The Y ellow
Peninsula to the east, and a line running
Sea is connected to the Bo Hai Sea in the
from the north bank of the mouth of the
n orth a nd to th e East China S ea in the
Y a n gt ze Riv e r ( Ch an g J ia ng ) to th e
s o ut h, th us f or m i n g a c o n ti nu ou s
south side of J eju I sland. I t cove rs an
c i rc u la t i on s y s t e m . M a jo r r i ve r s
a r e a o f a b o ut 4 0 0 , 0 0 0 k m 2 a n d
discharging directly into the Yellow Sea
me as ur es a bout 1, 00 0 km (leng th ) by
include the Han, Yangtze, Datung, Yalu,
700 km (maximum width). The floor of
Guang, and Sheyang. °±
the Yellow Sea is a geologically unique,
p ost-g lacially su bmerged , an d shallo w
Un fo r tu na te ly, wh ile the pe nu ltimate
p o rtio n o f the cont in en ta l sh elf. T he
sentence of this definition indicates that
seafloor has an average depth of 44 m, a
th e Bo ha i Se a is not p art of the pr oject
m ax imum d e pt h o f ab ou t 100 m, an d
area, the definition in the first part of the
slopes gently from the Chinese continent
p a r a g ra p h do e s
no t s p ec i fy a
a n d m or e r ap idly f r om t h e Ko r e a n
nor th wester n bo un dar y for the pr ojec t
P en in s u la t o a n o rt h -s ou t h t re n din g
area othe r than the coa st of the People°Ø
s
seafloor valley with its axis close to the
R e p ub li c o f C hin a ( PR C) . T h ro ug h
Kore an Pe ninsula. This axis rep resents
d is c u s si o ns
w i th
t h e
P ro je c t
the path of the meandering Yellow River
M an agem en t Office (PM O), h oweve r, it

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was e sta blish ed tha t the n orth we ste rn
the subject area, should read:
b oun d ary o f th e p rojec t a re a is a line
" Th e Y ellow Se a is th e s em i- en c lose d
dr awn in a nor thea sterly d ire ction from
bo dy of wa te r bo und ed as follow s: to
Pe nglai o n th e Sha ndo ng Pen insu la to
the west by the Chinese mainland south
D a lia n a s c o r r e c t ly s t a t e d i n t h e
of Pe nglai a n d a lin e fr om Pe n gla i to
preliminary TDA (Annex E to the project
D a lia n ; to t h e e a s t b y t h e Ko r e a n
br ief) . T o t he we s t o f this lin e is the
Pen ins ula a nd J eju I sla nd an d a lin e
Bohai Sea, which lies outside the project
dr awn from Jindo I sland off the south
ar ea . A limit a lso n ee d s to b e d raw n
c oa st of t he Ko r ean m ainla nd to th e
betwee n th e nor th coast of Je ju Island
nort h co ast o f Jeju I sla nd; a nd to t he
a n d th e Ko r e a n ma in lan d. A ll the s e
south by a line ru nn ing fr om the north
b ound ar ie s to the a re a c ove re d by th e
bank of the mouth of the Yangtze River
YSLME project are depicted in Figure 2.
(Chang Jiang) to the southwestern coast
Acc ord ingly, the fir st se nte n ce o f the
of Jeju Island."
paragraph that constitutes a definition of

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T h e hy d r o gr a ph ic p r o p e rt ie s a nd
stronger currents are observed.
circulation of the Yellow Sea are created
In summer, the circulation of the Yellow
p re dom ina nt ly b y win te r c oo lin g an d
Se a c om p r is es s o u t h w ar d f lo w in g
sum me r h e atin g, fre sh wate r d ischa rge
Ch ine s e c o a s t a l w at e r , no r t h w a r d
from river s and, argu ably, the in flow of
f lo w in g Ye llo w Se a W a r m Cu r r e n t
w arm s aline wa ter s in a b ra nc h o f t he
influ ence d b y the Kurosh io to the e a st,
Kuroshio5 . Wind-forcing and freshwater
a n d th e no rth ea stw a r d m ove m e nt o f
ru noff ar e also in flue nce d by the co ld
w a te r from th e East Ch in a Se a with a
a nd d ry n orth erly winte r mon soon and
central cyclonic gyre6 (See Figure 3 after
t he w a rm h um id s o ut he r ly su mm er
Su, 1998). In winter, the central cyclonic
monsoon.
gyr e is not as p ro n ou nc e d b ut , a pa r t
The ma jor wa ter masse s of th e Yellow
from th e so uthwa rd c oa sta l flow along
Sea ar e th e Yellow Sea Cold Water , the
t h e K o r e a n P e n ins ul a , t h e o v e r all
Yellow Sea W a rm Cur re n t Wa te r an d
c ir c u latio n o f th e Yellow Se a re ma ins
Ya ngtz e River m ixed wate r. Yellow Sea
e s se n t ia lly c yc lo n ic . T h is c ir cu lat io n
Co ld Wat e r is fo rm ed d u ring w int e r
pattern is reflected in the water velocities
co olin g an d o ccup ie s th e lowe r layer of
across a zonal transect at 36oN shown in
t h e b as in . T his w a t e r m as s s u r viv e s
Figure 4 (after Qiao, 2006).
throughout the summer. The Yellow Sea
Wa rm Current Water is rela tively saline
a nd flo w s n o r t h w es tw ar d b et w e e n
Sokotr a Rock and Je ju I sland, into Jeju
Strait an d th e ea ste rn Ye llow Sea. T he
p red omina nt dir ec tion of ou tflow fr om
t he Yan gtz e is to t he so ut h c onsisten t
w ith ge o st rop hy b u t, in th e su mm e r ,
Yan gt z e R ive r mix e d w at e r e xt e n ds
n or the as twar d to war d Je ju Islan d and
lowe rs th e salinity of th e waters to the
west of Jeju Island. Current speeds in the
eastern part of the Yellow Sea are usually
less than 0.2 knots except for areas near
t o H u ks a nd o a nd J eju I slan d s wh er e

---

---

T h e f lo o r o f t h e Ye llo w Sea i s a
Pe nin su la. Ho we ver , t h es e inp u ts a re
g e o lo g ic a lly u niq u e, po s t - gla c ia lly
p rob a bly dw ar fed by the p or tion of the
su b merged a nd sha llow po rtion o f t he
c a . 5 0 0 m illio n t o nn es p er ye a r o f
co ntine ntal shelf. The sed iments of the
a lluvial sed im ent t ha t is disc har ged by
Y ell ow Se a a r e mo s t ly t e r rig e n o u s ,
the Ch an gjian g tha t e nter s the Ye llow
c a rr ied by r ive rs an d w in d s fro m th e
Sea. Terrigenous sediment is distributed
surrounding land s. Th e a nnual inp ut of
b y tidal c ur re nts, lo n gsh ore c ur re nts ,
fine- gr aine d de tritus to th e Bo ha i Se a
waves and the Yellow Sea Warm Current.
w as , u ntil r ece n tly, ap p r ox im at e ly 1
F in e s ed im e n t is d e p o s it e d w h e r e
billion tonnes per year. Over 90% of this
current and wave actions are lowest. As a
s e d im en t lo a d h a s b e e n d e li ve r e d
r esult, fin e- grained sur ficial sed ime nts
h istorically by the Y ellow River but this
ar e fou nd in t he c ent ral r e gio n of the
h as al r ea dy b e e n r e d u c e d a n d is
Yellow Sea, on the Chinese coast and on
pr e dic ted to fa ll to a bout 3 00 million
t he so u thwe st an d s ou th er n co asts of
tonnes by 2019 as a result of engineering
Korea. Sandy sedimentary facies exist in
works on the Yellow River. Excluding the
the eastern central portion of the Yellow
Ch ang jian g (Ya ngt ze River ), a bo ut 50
Se a a nd ce n tra l an d no rth e rn co astal
m ill io n to n n e s o f s e d im en t a re
a re as of the Korea n Pen insu la as shown
d isc ha rg ed by r ive r s d i r e c t ly t o t h e
in Figure 5 taken from the Chinese PDF-
Ye l lo w S e a p r o p e r , in c lu d in g a
B national report (YSLME 1999).
c onsider ab le am ou nt of coa rse-gra in ed
material from rivers draining the Korean

---

---

T h e d is cip lina ry s co p e of t h e TD A is
t he p roje ct . The se c ove r the top ics of
defin ed by the proje ct br ief in terms of
p o llut ion , b io d ive rsit y, fis he rie s a nd
t he o bje ctive s a nd com po nent s of th e
e cosyste m d yna mics. Collective ly, th ese
Y SL M E pr oj ec t . T h e s c ie n t if ic a n d
g ro u p s c o ve r a l l th e pr o jec t a n d
technical scope of the project is reflected
objectives summarized in Table 1 of the
b y the re spo nsib ilities of the Regio nal
P r o j ec t D o c um e n t . T his t a b le is
Workin g G rou ps esta blished in rela tion
reproduced be low in a slightly a mended
to e ach o f th e te chnical co mpon ents of
form.
A. Stock Assessment
I Develop Regional
B. Carrying Capacity in Fisheries and Mariculture
Strategies for
C. Mariculture Production
Sustainable
Management of
D. Disease in Mariculture
Fisheries and
E. Regional Fisheries Agreements and National Laws
Mariculture
F. Fisheries Management Plan
A. Habitat Conservation
II Propose and
B. Vulnerable Species
Implement Effective
C. Genetic Diversity
Regional Initiatives
D. Introduced Species
for Biodiversity
E. Biodiversity Regulations
Protection
F. Regional Biodiversity Assessment & Regional Biodiversity
Action Plan
A. Stressors to Ecosystem
III Propose and
B. Carrying Capacity of Ecosystem
Implement Actions
C. Contaminant Inputs
to Reduce Stress to
D. Contaminant Levels
the Ecosystem,
E. Harmful Algal Blooms and Emerging Disease
Improve Water
F. Hot Spot Analysis
Quality and Protect
G. Emergency Planning and Preparedness
Human Health
H. Legal and Regulatory
I. Fate and Transport Analysis to Facilitate SAP Analysis

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The disciplinary scope of the TDA can be
yi e lds f iv e t o p ic s , e a c h o f w h ic h is
furthe r defin ed in te rm s of the p rimary
a ssign e d to a p roject regio na l workin g
e n vi r o n m e n t a l ma na ge m e nt is s u e s
group (RWG) as follows:
a d dr es s e d i n t he p r o je c t f o r w h ic h
1. Su s t a in a b le
M an ag em en t
o f
ap p ro p ria t e int e rv e nt io n s a re to b e
Fisheries and Mariculture ­RWG on
in c lud e d in th e SAP. T h e se p r ima ry
Fisheries (RWG-F);
issues are:
2. Biod iver sity Pr ote ct ion ­ RWG o n
1. Sus t ai n a b le
M an a g e m e n t
o f
Biodiversity (RWG-B);
Fisheries and Mariculture;
3. E c o s ys t e m ­ Ec o s ys t em R WG
2. Biodiversity Protection;
(RWG-E);
3. R e d u c t io n s i n S tr e s s o n t h e
4. P o llu t io n ­ R W G o n P o llu t io n
Eco system , I mprovem en t of Wate r
(RWG-P); and
Q u a lit y a n d t h e P r o t e c t io n o f
5. I ns t it ut io n al De vel o p me nt an d
Human Health; and
Ca p ac ity- Bu ildin g ­ In ve st me nt
4. I n s ti tu ti on al D e ve lo p m e nt a n d
RWG (RWG-I).
Capacity-Building.
The Region al Sc ie ntific and Te chn ical
The YSLME project planned to complete
Pa nel (RSTP) is r espon sible fo r cr oss-
"regional syntheses" to outline the status
disciplinary issues.
and cir c um sta nc e s p e rtainin g to f ou r
to pics: (i) sustain ab le man agem en t o f
f is h e r ie s
a n d
m ar ic u lt u re ;
( ii)
biodiversity protection; (iii) stress on the
e c o s y st e m , w a t e r q u ali ty a nd t h e
pr ot e ct io n of h u m a n h e alt h ; an d (iv)
in stitutional de ve lopme nt and cap acity-
bu ilding. The plan ned con tent of the se
syntheses is shown in Box 1.
The organization of project activities has,
ho w e ve r , b e e n b ro k e n d o w n in t o a
sligh tly re vised se t of components each
of which has been assigned to a Regional
Wo rkin g G ro up ( RW G) . T he p r im ar y
varianc e from th e p lan ne d st ructur e is
th e sp litting of the th ird topic in Box 1
into two sub-activities dealing separately
with pollution an d the ecosystem . This

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Th is synthesis cove rs the following topics: stock assessment, ca rr ying capacity in
fish e rie s a nd m ar icu ltu re , m ar ic u ltu ra l pro duc tion, d ise ases in m ar icu ltu re ,
regional fisheries agreements, national laws and fisheries management.
Th is synthe sis ad dr esse s the followin g topics: h ab ita t con servation , vulner ab le
species, genetic diversity, introduced species, biodiversity regulations and regional
b iod iversity assessme nt. Th e re gional synthesis (Wetland s In tern ation al 20 06)
p r ovid es asse ssme nts o f h abita ts a nd the ir status, the sta tus of prote cte d an d
vulnerable species, habitats of global significance, biodiversity conservation issues
and biodiversity conservation actions in the region.
This synthesis addresses the following topics: stressors of the ecosystem, carrying
capacity of th e e cosystem, conta minant inputs, con tamina nt le vels, contamin an t
fate and transport, harmful algal blooms and emerging disease, hot-spot analysis,
emergency planning and preparedness and related legal and regulatory issues.
Th is synthe sis cove rs th e fo llo wing top ics : st ak eholder involvem en t, r e gio na l
co ord ination, na tiona l institu tion s, finan cial instr um en ts, data and informa tion
management and public awareness and participation.
By Sep t e m b e r 20 0 6 , d ra ft r e gi on al
a na lysis. Ta ble 2 sum mar izes r eleva nt
asse ssments of the circu mstances in the
subje ct a reas an d also sh ow s wh ich of
r egion s pert ainin g to e ach of th e fou r
the RWGs have an interest in the subject
technical components of the project had
a n d w hic h sp e c if ic R W G ha s be e n
been completed in the form of "regional
d e s ig n a te d a s h a vin g t h e le ad
synthe ses". Th is TDA is con cre tely built
responsibility.
u po n t he s e r eg io n a l sy n t h e se s t h a t
provide both the foundation and the bulk
of the informa tion required to complete
the pr in cipal e lem en ts of the diagnostic

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Decline in commercially important
x
x
X
fishery species
Mariculture
x
x
X
Introduced species incl. mariculture
and ballast water
X
x
x
Species loss
X
x
x
Changes in biodiversity
X
x
x
Benthic habitat modification incl.
X
x
x
x
beach erosion
Coastal habitat change and destruction
X
x
x
Ecosystem structure & productivity
x
X
x
Water quality (rivers, lakes and sea)
x
x
x
X
Eutrophication
x
x
x
X
Risks to human health
X
The regional working groups are charged
of the responsible RWG.
with the identification of e nvironmental
p rob lems, the c har ac ter ization of th ese
problems, including the estimation of the
scale of adverse effects, and the conduct
Th e follow ing top ic s or proble ms ha ve
o f c a u s a l c ha in a na lys e s f o r e a c h
be en iden tifie d as th e re sp onsibility o f
p ro b lem in t h eir r e sp e c t iv e a re a s o f
t h e R e g io n al W o r k in g G r o u p o n
responsibility as depicted in Table 2.
Pollution:
Eac h of the Regiona l Wor king Grou p s
Eu trop hica tion, inclu ding the follow in g
h a s id e n ti fie d a v ar ie t y o f s p e c if ic
sub-topics:
en vir onme n t al p r o ble ms w ithin th e ir
· Nitrogen enrichment;
ar e as of r e sp o nsib ilit y and the s e a re
· Phosphorus enrichment;
ide n tified a nd ch a r act er ise d in RWG
· Silicate depletion;
me etin g an d syn th esis r epo r ts. The se
· Changed Si:N:P ratios;
pr o b lem s a re s u m m a r iz e d in t h e
following sub-sections under the heading
· Oxygen depletion; and

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· Phytoplankton blooms including red
O v e r- e xp lo it at ion of ta rge t w ild f ish
tides.
species;
Co n ta min a t io n a n d it s e f fec t s ( i. e. ,
Unsustainable mariculture;
pollu tion), includ ing th e following sub-
topics:
R is k s t o h u m an h ea lt h t h ro u g h t he
· Faecal contamination;
c o n su m pt io n o f m a ric u lt ur e a n d
· Heavy metal contamination;
aquaculture7 products; and
· POPs contamination;
En vir o nm en t al c o nt a m ina tio n f r o m
· PAH contamination; and
ma ricu lture an d aqu aculture, inc lud ing
· Marine litter.
the following sub-topics:
· Acidification of marine sediments;
Increased risks to human health
· Nutrient releases;
(a) th rou gh sea fo od con t am in ation ;
and
· P h ar ma c eu tic al re sidu e r ele as es;
and
(b) through exposures to ontaminated
water.
· Bac te r io log ic a l c on t am in at ion o f
marine sediments.
Th e following to pics or p ro ble ms ha ve
Th e fo llowing to pics or proble ms have
b een id en tified as the resp onsib ility of
b een id en tified as the resp onsib ility of
t h e R e gi o n a l W or k in g G r o u p o n
t h e Re gi o n a l Wo r k in g G r o u p o n
Ecosystem:
Biodiversity:
· Changes in ecosyste m prod uc tivity
· R ed u ct ion s in be n th ic ha bit a t in
a t p r ima r y a nd s e c on da ry le ve ls
t e r m s o f ar ea , q u al it y a n d / o r
only; and
structure;
· Preservation of cold water habitat in
· Ch an g e s i n b e n t h ic h a b it a t
the central Yellow Sea.
structure;
· Lo ss o f coa s tal w etla nd s a nd b ir d
habitat
· Cover age o f p rotected a reas in the
land coastal zone;
Th e following to pics or p ro ble ms ha ve
b een id en tified as the resp onsib ility of
· Coverage of protected marine areas;
t h e R e gi o n a l W or k in g G r o u p o n
· Loss of biodiversity; and
Fisheries:

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· Effects on biodiversity caused by the
Republic of China (PRC) and Republic of
introduction of xenobiotic species.
Kor ea (RO K)) . T his wo rk is at a mor e
a dva n c e d s t a g e o f d e ve lo p m e n t .
Alth ou gh th e c omb ine d as sess m en t o f
th e gover na nce r egime in the area h as
Th er e is on e o th e r Regiona l Wo r kin g
not yet been completed, the two national
Group under the YSLME project. This is
re p o rt s ( YSL ME 20 06 a, b ) p r o vi d e
the Investment Regional Working Group
suf ficien t ba ck gr o u nd to b e used fo r
that is responsible for examining ways of
examining the context within which root
obtainin g inve stm en ts for r eme d iation
cau ses id entifie d th rough c au sal c ha in
a ct iv it ie s in th e Ye llo w Se a a r e a in
a n a lys e s n e e d t o b e e va lu a t ed .
pre paration for the de ve lopm en t of th e
Ac c o r d in g ly, t he se r e p o r t s w il l b e
YSLM E St r ate gic Act io n Pr o gr am me .
pertin e nt to, a nd will b e u se d fo r , th e
T he r e ar e tw o p re p a r at ive ac t ivitie s
analysis of options for intervention later
be ing conduc ted by this wo rking gro up
in this TDA.
that d eserve mentio n h er e as they b ear
u pon the quantification of bene fits an d
d etrime nt ( i.e., adverse effects) an d on
the fr a me w ork for go ve rn an c e in th e
Yellow Sea.
F ir s t , t h e w o r k o n va lu a t io n o f
e nvir onm en ta l goods an d servic es is in
it s e a r ly s t ag es an d w ill n o t be
sufficie ntly advanced to be u sed for the
p ur po se s of inc lu din g in th e TD A th e
c o s t s o f a d ve r s e e f f e c t s o n t he
e n vi r o n m e n t
a s s o c ia te d
w it h
co n te mpo ra ry p rob lems in th e Ye llow
Sea. Nevertheless this work should stand
the project in good ste ad r egard in g the
e s t im a t io n of c o s ts a n d b e n e fit s o f
poten tial in terven tions for in clusion in
the SAP.
Se c o nd , t he I n v e s tm en t R W G h a s
un de r tak en st ud ie s of the gove r na nce
regimes in the two coun trie s cur re ntly
in vo lv e d i n t h e p r o je c t ( P e o p le ' s

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The following sub-sections 5.1 to 5.4 project (i.e., commonalities among the
itemise the environmental problems
is s u e s c o n s ide r ed b y t h e ind iv id ua l
i n ea c h o f t h e s c ien t if ic p ro je c t
R e g io n a l
W o r k i ng
G ro up s) .
components. In large part, the following
Nevertheless, for consistency and clarity
su mm aries lea ding to the id entification
o f pr e s en ta t io n , th e d is c ip li n a r y
of environmental problems in the Yellow
br ea kdown de ve loped unde r the pr oject
Sea ar e take n fr o m the four syn the se s
h as l ar ge ly b ee n p re se rv ed in t h e
d o cu me nt s p re p ar ed by t h e Re gion al
following su mma ry of th e sta tu s of the
W o r ki ng G r o u p s
o n
P ol lu t io n ,
Y ellow Se a a n d th e id e nt ific a tio n o f
E co syste m, Biod iversity a nd Fishe rie s
environmental problems.
( YSL M E 2 0 0 6 c , d , e , f) . T h e r e is
ine vita bly consid er ab le crossta lk among
t h e n a t ur al s ci en c e ele me n ts o f t h e
T h e R e g io n a l W o rk i n g G ro u p o n
n ext sec tion of t h is r ep or t u nd e r the
Pollution first established the nature and
h ea din g " p o llu ti o n is s u e s " . It is
p r ior itie s am on g t h e en vir on m en tal
necessary, however, to define the nature
con cerns with in its sp he re of r eference .
and ad ve rse e ffects and /or threa ts posed
T h es e iss u es, t h eir n a tu r e a nd t he ir
b y th e pe rc e iv e d p ro b le m s lis t ed in
relative priorities are shown in Table 3.
Table 3.
This se t of e nvir onm en ta l prob lem s is
subjected to causal chain analysis in the

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Category of Environmental
Problems
1
Nitrogen (N) enrichment
Immediate Cause
1/1
Phosphorus (P) enrichment
Immediate Cause
Low
Silicate (Si) depletion
Immediate Cause
1/2
Changed Si:N:P ratios
Immediate Cause
1/2
Oxygen depletion
Consequence
N/A
Phytoplankton blooms
Consequence
N/A
including red tides
Category of Environmental
2
Problems
Faecal contamination
Environmental Problem
2/1
Heavy metal contamination
Environmental Problem
2/5
POPs9 contamination
Environmental Problem
2/4
PAH 10 contamination
Environmental Problem
2/2
Marine litter
Environmental Problem
2/3
Category of Environmental
3
Problems
- through seafood contamination
Environmental Problem
3/2
- through exposures to
Environmental Problem
3/1
contaminated water
E utro p h ic a tio n co nst it utes e nh an ced
p rima ry a nd /o r sec o nd ar y bio log ic a l
pro duction a nd r esults p rima rily fro m
T h e ad ve r s e e f fe c t s a ss o c iat e d w it h
th e inc r ea s ed availab ilit y o f disso lve d
eu tr o ph ic at io n a re e xc e ss iv e a lg al
inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus. This
blooms that decrease water transparency
can arise as a result of increased delivery
and give rise to h igh con cen tration s o f
of nutrients in river flows or by the direct
organ ic ma tte r in su r fac e w ate rs ofte n
disch ar ge of n utr ien t rich waste water a t
referred to as "red tides". While it might
the coast.
a p pe a r th a t i nc r e as e d p r im a r y
pr od uc tion wo u ld be b en eficia l t o the
Yellow Sea system , it r esults in re duc ed
diver sity am ong a lgal and zoopla nk ton

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spe cies an d some of th e dominant algae
ma tter can d escend below the e uphotic
m ay b e h ar mful to h ighe r o r gan is ms
z o n e b efo re d e ca yin g. T his, in t ur n ,
such a s fish. This is ofte n compound ed
p laces an incr ea sed dem an d for oxygen
b y substan tial re duc tion s in d issolved
t o s u s ta in th e d e c ay o f t h e o r ga n i c
s ili c a t e t h a t i s e s s e n t ia l f o r t he
material th ere by re du cing th e levels of
production of silicious organisms such as
diss olve d o xyge n availa ble to s us ta in
d ia t o m s .
As
d is s o lve d
s il ic at e
living a erobic organ isms in de eper waters.
co ncen tratio ns d ecrease the re will b e a
Tem por al trend s in disso lved nitro ge n,
t en d en c y fo r p rim a ry o r ga nism s n o t
phosphate and silicate in the Yellow Sea
d epe nde nt up on th is n utr ien t, such a s
d in oflage llates, to p re domina te . Amon g
are depicted in Figure 6 as reproduced in
the dinoflagellates, some organisms have
YSL ME ( 20 06 c ). This figu re sho w s a
eithe r toxic or other pr opertie s, su ch as
tr en d of incr ea sing dissolved inorganic
foa ming, th at can give rise to h ar mful
n it ro g en ( D I N ) a nd c o r r e s p o n din g
e ffec ts on higher organ isms, in clud ing
d ec lin e s in t h e c o n c en tr at io n s o f
huma ns, and c au se foam in g on bea che s
phosphate and silicate in the Yellow Sea
respectively. Irrespective of the nature of
resulting in an increasing N/P ratio and
th e organisms in volved in a lgal bloom s,
reduced silicate that would be consonant
u nle s s th e e xc e ss o rg an ic ma tt e r is
w ith co nd itions under which b loom s of
utilized in the euphotic zone (the surface
din o flage lla te s wo u ld be expe c te d t o
layer bounded by the limit to which solar
become more frequent.
energy, or light, penetrates), the organic
(As reproduced in YSLME 2006c)

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The topic contaminants and their effects
b io lo g ic a l e ff e c t s a s a f u n c t io n o f
c o ve r s co n t am in at io n o f th e ma r in e
exposure (or dose) are shown by a dose-
e n vi ro n me nt
b y
su b s t an c es
o f
r espon se cu rve th at tak e s th e gene ra l
anthr op oge nic ( hum an a nd ind ust ria l)
form shown in Box 2.
o r igi n
t h at
en t e r
t h e
m a r in e
Th e list of e nviron menta l prob le ms in
en vi r o n m e n t la r ge ly t h r o u g h t he
th is c a tego ry ide ntified b y the RWG- P
d ispo sal of h o useh o ld a n d ind u s tr ia l
c o m pr i se f a ec a l s u b st a nc e s, he av y
wa st e s t o r ive rs an d t h e se a. So m e
m et als , pe r sis te nt o rgan ic pollu ta nts
c o n ta m ina nt s , e sp ec ia lly t h e m or e
(i. e . , POP s a s d e fi ne d u n d e r t he
v ol at ile s ub s t a nc es su c h as so m e
Sto ckho lm Con ven tio n (UN EP, 2 001 )),
h yd roca rbon s, ca n also ente r by wa y of
po ly c yc li c a ro m a ti c h ydr o c ar b o ns
a tmo sp heric tran sport an d w et and dry
(P AH s ) an d m a rin e lit t e r . F a e c al
de p o s it io n.
Th e
p r e se n c e
o f
p a t h o ge ns a r e c o n ta in ed in hu ma n
contaminants in the marine environment
w a st e s
th a t
e nt e r t h e m a rin e
p er se doe s not ne cessa rily give rise to
environ ment prima rily thr ough sewage
adverse effects. Such contaminants have
d isch ar ge s. M or b id ity in hu ma ns c an
be en p rese nt through out the h um an era
arise when exposures to faecal pathogens
and it is only w he n the y a re pre sent at
occur, either through direct contact with
su fficie ntly h igh conc en tra tions in the
contaminated wa ter or the con su mp tion
ma rine en vir onme nt th at th ey give r ise
of contaminated seafood. Such morbidity
to adver se effects. N itro gen is one su ch
include s st om ach ailmen t s co m mon ly
co nta mina nt th at was discu ssed in th e
experienced by tourists. However, it can
p r ev io us
s e c t io n .
At
n o r m a l
also include much more serious ailments
c o n c e nt r a t io n s , th is s u b s t a n c e i s
such a s typh oid and d yse nte ry tha t ca n
e sse n tial for life; it is only wh en it is
b e fa ta l. T h us , t h e pr e se n ce o f s u c h
pr esent at e xcessive concentr ation s th at
substances in coastal wa ters constitutes
ad ve r s e ef fe c t s e n s u e su ch as th os e
a hazard to human health that can result
described above. Such a situation applies
in re d uce d tou ris m op po rtu n itie s an d
to most b io logic ally e ssentia l elem ent s
in c om e a s w e ll a s r e du c e d v a lu e o f
a nd c o m po u n ds . F or n o n - e s s e n ti a l
seafood.
ele me n t s a n d co m po u n ds, th er e will
generally be a threshold for the onset of
a dver s e e ffect s u nle ss th e che mical is
ass um ed t o h ave sto ch as tic effe c ts in
w hic h th e p ro ba bilit y o f an e ffec t is
p rop ortional t o e xpo sur e or dose. Fo r
che mic als not giving rise to sto ch astic
eff e ct s, th e c ha n ges in t he n at u r e o f

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I n th is dia gr a m,
no effect is evident
wh en the q uan tity
of dose is between
z e r o
a n d
t h e
'threshold'. This is
b e c au se
so m e
b i o c h e m ic a l o r
p h y s i o l o g i c a l
d ef en c e sy s te m
w i th in t he b o d y
h elps pre ve nt an y
a d v e r se
ef fe c t
from occurring. In fact, many organisms show a benefit from exposure to some
chemica ls a t very low dose s. This re sult may come fr om a 'ch alle nge ' to th e
or ga nism fr om the ch emical to whic h it r esp ond s positively, o r m ay resu lt
b ecau se th e c he mica l ma y be im portan t for its life' s fun ctions ( end ogen ous
chemical). At the "threshold" line in the above diagram, the defence system is
fully utilised or saturated and may be starting to become overwhelmed, leading
to the beginning of adverse health effects.
Co n t am in at io n
o f
th e
ma r ine
industrial discharge. However, currently,
e nvironment with some h ea vy m eta ls is
the metals of most concern are lead (Pb),
o f c o n c e rn p r im a r ily b ec a us e o f
copper (Cu) and mercury (Hg) primarily
i nc r e as e d r is k s t o hu ma n he alt h .
d e ri ve d f ro m ag gr eg at e in du s t r ial
However, there are relatively few metals
activities. The primary human exposures
f o r w h ic h t he p rim a ry p a th w a y o f
to le ad h ave h isto ric a lly b e en d e rive d
e x p o su re is lik ely to b e t hr o u gh t h e
fr om le ad ed fue l comb ustion an d lea d-
m ar ine e nviron ment. T he r e ha ve b een
b a s e d pa in ts . Blo o d le a d le ve l s a r e
exceptions to this generality in the past,
u su a ll y a ss e ss e d f or h u m a n h e alt h
m o s t no t a b ly t h e ap pe a ra nc e o f
p ro t e c t io n p ur po s es , e sp ec ia lly in
Minim ata dise ase in Japan in the 1960s
c hildr e n and pr egna nt w ome n, an d in
t h a t w a s c a u se d b y m e r c ur y ( H g)
most jurisdictions controls on lead, such
c o n t am in at io n a s so c i at ed w i th a n
as the transition to lead-free paints a nd

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le a d - fre e ga so line , h a ve r es ulte d in
min imiz ed o r e limina te d an d hu m a n
r ed u c e d ex po s ur e s . Wh ile me rc u r y
e xp osu res to the se su bsta nce s thr ou gh
con tam ination con tinue s to b e an issue
s e a fo o d c o ns u m p t io n n ee d t o be
o f p u b li c h e a lt h c o n c e rn , i t i s o n ly
mon itor ed to ensure ad eq uate levels of
o cc asion ally on e tha t is co nn ec ted to
p ublic he alth protectio n. In lar ge p ar t,
marine p athwa ys of expo sur e. In the se
measur es to re duce the release of POPs
cases, prima ry concern is r ela ted to th e
to the en viro nmen t w ill b e c overe d b y
consu mption of long-lived fish su ch as
the N atio nal Ac tion Plans p re pare d b y
sw o rd fish th a t h ave high fat ty t is su e
Contr ac tin g Par t ies t o the Sto ck ho lm
concentrations of mercury in methylated
Con ve n tio n tha t in clude th e PRC an d
f o rm .
Co nc e r n s
o ve r
c o p pe r
ROK (and, incidentally, the DPRK).
con tamina tion diffe r from th ose of lead
an d me rc u ry. Cop p er is an e s se nt ia l
ele m e nt b ut c an , in so m e ar ea s , of f
T a i w an f o r e xa m p le, b e fo u n d in
ma r ke dly e levat e d co n c en tr at ion s in
s ea fo o d s du e to m e t a l m in in g a n d
refin ing ac tivities. In gen era l, howe ver,
conce rns abou t cop per r ela te p rimarily
to th e p ote ntia l fo r a dver se e ffects o n
biological productivity.
Co n ta m ina t io n
o f
t h e
m a rin e
e nviro nme nt with th e 12 classe s of so-
ca lled "Pe rsis tent Or gan ic Pollut ant s"
( P O P s ) (s ee Bo x 3 ) c o ve r e d b y t he
St o c k h o lm Co n v e n t io n d o e s n o t
gen e ra lly e ntail seve re local dam age or
threat. The concerns regarding POPs are
global exposures to these substances that
involve increased health risks to humans
a nd / o r an im al s. N e ve r t h ele s s , t he
in c o r p or a ti o n o f t h e s e p e rs is t en t
l i p o p h y l l i c1 1 substances in sea food s is a
m att er o f co n c er n. Ac co r d in gly, t h e
d i ss e m in at io n o f P O Ps n e e ds t o b e

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Aldrin
Chlordane
Dieldrin
Endrin
Heptachlor
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB)
Mirex
Toxaphene
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
1,1,1-Trichloro-2,2-bis(4-Chlorophenyl)ethane (DDT)
Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF)
Hexachlorobenzene (HCB)
Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs)
Con tamin atio n by p olyc yclic aro matic
The final environmental issue in the list
hydrocarbons (PAHs), by comparison, is
identified by the RWG-P is marine litter.
likely to be a more localized issue. PAHs
T h i s is an o th e r g lo b a l p r o b le m o n
ar e d er ive d p rima rily fro m p et ro le u m
ac co u nt of t h e diver sity of s ou rce s of
r e f in e ry o p e r a ti o n s , bu r n ing a nd
floating, stranded and submerged debris
in cine ra tion of s olid was te s an d fr om
in t h e g lo ba l o c e an . M a r in e lit t e r
m et a llu rgical r e fining a ct ivitie s. Th is
in t e r fe r es w it h a m en it ie s , s u c h a s
c la s s o f c o m p o u nd s is o f c o nc e r n
b eache s; ma ny cou ntr ies have to spe nd
p rim a ril y f r o m t he p e r s pe c t iv es o f
lar ge a mounts of effort an d expen ditu re
h u man a nd a nima l he alth be ca use t he
o n cle anin g t o r en de r b e ac h es fit fo r
su b sta nce s ca n be mu tagen ic ( caus in g
re c rea tion al act ivitie s ( See Figur e 7) .
h er ed ita ry muta tions) and carcinoge nic
Both floatin g a nd subme rge d litter ca n
(causing cancer).
ca use da mage to fishing gear an d boats

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th rou gh the foulin g of e quipme nt an d
dam age a nd costs in the Yellow Sea on
propellers. In rare cases, even structural
which to confirm the priority assignment
d a m a ge t o sm all a nd m ed i um s iz e d
by the RWG-P.
c oa st a l a n d r ec r ea t io n al ves se ls c an
occur.
U n fo rt u n a te ly, th er e is n o c o n c re t e
in fo r ma t ion re ga rd in g su c h for ms o f

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A t i ts t h ir d m e e t in g, t h e Re gio n a l
iden tify e nvir onm en tal prob lem s with in
W o r ki n g G r o u p o n th e Ec o s ys t e m
its area of responsibility. These problems
Com po ne n t u nd e rto ok an e xe r cise t o
are itemized in Table 4.
Change in biomass or abundance
Environmental Problem
3
Change in species composition
Environmental Problem
2
Increased frequency of
Environmental Problem
1
harmful algal blooms (HABs)
Loss of benthic habitat
Referred to
Environmental Problem
in coastal areas
RWG-B
Th is se t of e nvironmen tal pr ob le ms is
c o n se q ue nc e s o f s uc h c h a n ge s in
subjected to causal chain analysis in the
comm unity comp osition ar e cha nges in
ne xt main sec tion of th is r epo rt u nde r
t h e f oo d w eb a nd thr ea t s to th e fo od
the heading " ecosystem problems". The
supp lies for living ma rin e re source s at
following text provide s a d escrip tion of
h igh er tr op hic levels. The d e creases in
the n atu re and adve rse effe ct s an d/ or
p h yto plan k ton > 77 m in th e Ch in e se
threats posed by the perceived problems
are a of th e Yellow Se a cou ld also r esult
listed in Table 4.
in a reduced capacity for carbon fixation
in th e re gion a nd a c ha nge in c arb on
U nd er the h eading "chang e in biomass
flu xe s ove r a la rge ar ea . Similar ly, such
o r a b u nd an c e " t he R WG - E h as firs t
r ed uc tions could a lso r esult in r e du ced
listed "Increase in zooplankton > 330 m
p r o du c tion o f dim e th yl s u lph ide t ha t
zo oplank ton in the Ko rean a re a of the
p la y s a s ig n ifi c an t r o le in c lo u d
Y e llo w S e a " an d "D e c r ea s e in
for mation, thu s h aving an in flue nce on
zooplankton > 505 m an d p hytopla nkton
b o t h r eg io n a l a n d g lo b a l c lim at i c
> 77 m in the Chinese area of the Yellow
conditions. Under the same category the
S e a ". The c on c er n he r e is th a t th ese
RWG-E has also defined a "Shift in peak
c h a n g e s , a lt h o u g h inc o h e re nt , a r e
in se a s o n al pa t t e r n o f z o op lan k to n
e vide nce of c hanges in th e comp osition
bioma ss ab und ance in th e Kor ean area
of both phytopla nkton a nd zoopla nkton
of the Yellow Sea". Th is r eflects sim ila r
c o mm un ities in t he Y ello w Se a. The
e vid e nce of zo op lan kt on ic co mmun ity

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changes that could have an adverse effect
effects on other marine organisms are in
on the food su pplies for high er troph ic
the dinoflagellate class of phytoplankton.
level organisms. It must be remembered
T hu s, it is lik e ly t ha t the shif t f r o m
th a t p hyto p lan kt on an d zo op lan k to n
d iato m s to fla gella te s is a res ponse to
constitute the foun dation for the entir e
much re duce d silicate con centration s in
marine food web that ultimately provides
relation to the other nu trients. This has
the basis for the sustenance of all marine
occurred elsewhere, in the eastern North
sp ecie s, including com me rcial wild fish
Sea for e xample , an d ha s oc casion ally
and other exploited sp ecies. Chan ge s in
given rise to a preponderance of foaming
primary and secondary production, both
algae that caused aesthetic problems for
in ter ms of the r ates of pr odu ction an d
beach users.
sp ecie s d ivers it y, w ill in evitab ly h ave
c on s e q ue nc e s at high e r le vels in t he
m a r in e o r ga n is m c o mm un it y b u t
co nte mp or ar y know ledge of fo od we b
dyna m ics d oe s n ot allo w for r e lia b le
prediction of the consequences at higher
trophic levels.
U nd e r t he he ad ing "Cha nge in sp ec ie s
c o m p o s i t i o n " th e RW G - E h as list ed
" Cha n ge in d o m in a n t g r o u ps o f
zooplankton (Korea)", "Changed ratio of
d ia t o ms to din o flag e lla te s ( Ch in a) ",
" J el ly f is h b lo o m s" an d " Ch a n g e in
b e n t h ic s p ec ie s c o m p o s it io n an d
T h e c h a n ge in b e nt h ic sp e c ies
dominant species ". The first two of these
composition an d th e dominan t ben thos
issues are of concern because they reflect
in p ar ts o f t he Y ello w Se a s ign ify a
changes in fo od we b dynam ics th at can
r ed uction in be nth ic biodive rsity. Su ch
affect organisms at higher trophic levels.
c h a n g e s wil l b e a re sp o n s e b o t h to
The c h an ge in p hyto p lan k to n sp ec ie s
ch ange s in the fo od web d yna mic s a nd
from d ia tom s to din oflagella tes co uld
th e comp osition of bo ttom se dime n ts.
e ith er be a co rr e sp ond ing res po ns e to
Th e c oncer n h ere is tha t suc h c han ges
ch ange s in pred ation or, mor e like ly, a
w ill r e d uc e t he a va ila b ilit y of b o t h
r esp onse to an a bunda nc e of d issolved
ben th ic an d demersal fishin g re sou rces in
n itrogen a nd p hospho rus accom panie d
the Yellow Sea but cu rr en tly th er e exist
b y d isso lved silica te imp ove rish me nt.
insufficient data to q uan tify such losses.
The concern here is that the majority of
toxic algae and those that cause adverse

---

W h ile t he a p pe ar a n c e o f t h e va rio u s
habitat in coastal areas, especially on the
problems listed above may occur in both
Ch ine s e sid e of the Y ello w Se a . T his
n at io n a l an d in t e r n a t io n al wa t e r s ,
re su lts from th e ma ssive e xpa nsion of
concern s a bout change s in p rima ry and
mar icultu r e an d from the sub stantially
s e co nda r y pr od uct ion in ar e as o f the
increased discharges of wastes to coastal
Ye l lo w
Sea
a re
i nt r ins ic a lly
areas. This issue is, however , addr essed
t r an sb o u nd ar y
b ec a us e
o f
t he
u nd er h abita t issue s in th e b iodiver sity
oceanographic continuity of the system.
section, 5.4.
F in ally , t h e R W G- E h a s in d ic at e d a
c onc ern r egar din g the lo ss of b en th ic

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T h e Re gi o n a l W o rk in g G r o up o n
freshwater farming of organisms). Based
Fisheries (RWG-F) has the responsibility
on th e regiona l synt he sis for fish eries
o f ad dr e ssing b o th c a ptur e fish e ries,
(YSLME 2006e) , the proble ms listed in
m a r ic ul tu r e ( i. e . , s ea fa r m in g o f
Table 5 have been identified.
orga nism s) and inla nd aquacultu re (i.e.,
Declin e in lan d in gs of man y trad itio na l
co m mer cia ll y-i m p o rt an t s p ec ies an d
Environmental problem
1
in cr eased lan d in g o f lo w valu e sp ecies
and threat
(including changes in dominant species)
Unsustainable maricultural practices
Environmental problem and threat
2
The following text provides a description
t h e Ye llo w Se a i s p r o v id e d b y t h e
of the nature and adverse effects and/or
in c re a s ing s c a le of ca ptur e f ish e r ie s
threats posed by the perceived problems
la n d in g s in Ch i n a a n d Ko r ea a s a
listed in Table 5.
proportion of the global total as shown in
Figure 9.
A context for a discussion of fisheries in

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The first problem listed in Table 5 is "the
initial fra mework for th e analysis of the
decline in landin gs o f m an y tra dition al
s t at u s o f t he Y ello w Se a fi sh er y is
c o m me rc ially-im por t an t sp ec ie s a nd
p rovide d by the r egional ca tch sta tistics
increased landings of low value species".
for China an d Kor ea shown in Tables 6
This trend is believed to relate directly to
and 7 respectively (YSLME 2006e) 13 .
c o n c e r n s a b o ut ov e r f ish in g a n d t he
e ffects of overexp loitation of fish stocks
in t he Y ello w Se a . T h e r e h a ve b e e n
c on cer ns abou t the ove re xploit ation of
w ild fish st oc k s in th e Ye llo w Sea f or
sever al year s. The issue h as been ra ised
in s e ve ra l a ss e ssm en ts in c lud in g th e
preliminary TDA conducted in the PDF-
B stage of the Y SLM E p rojec t a nd th e
Global I nter na tiona l Water s Assessment
o f th e Ye llo w Se a ( GI W A 20 0 5 ). Th e

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a b u n d an c e o f t h i s s p e c ie s an d t he
e xp a n d ed fis hin g e f fo r t . T h e an nu a l
la nd i ng o f a n c h ov y in c r e a s e d fr o m
20,000 tons in 198 9 to 640,0 00 tonnes
in 1996. More than 1 million tonnes were
ca ught in 1997 a nd 1 998 , ma king it th e
high est la nd ing sin gle species fisher y in
Chin a. How ever , the se ca tche s gr ea tly
e x c e e d ed t h e 0 . 6 m illio n t o n ne s
In the early 1970s, the main target of the
m a x im u m s u s t a i n a b le yi e ld ( M SY)
pe lagic fis h e rie s w a s Pa cific h e rr in g
(GIWA, 20 05) a nd , b a se d on a cou st ic
(Clupea palla si) w ith th e pea k catch of
s u r ve y s , re c ru it me n t h as s h a r p ly
18 0,00 0 ton ne s in 1 972. Th e c atc h ha s
declined to about 0.2-0.3 million tonnes.
d ecr ea sed contin u ously sin ce t hen a nd
The d omin an t Ch in e se an c ho vy catc h
o ve r f is h i n g o f t h is s p ec ie s h a s
and biomass trends are shown in Figure
und oub ted ly contr ibute d to the d ec lin e
10 (YSLME 2006e).
in this fishe ry with climatic ch an ge also
playing a role.
An nu al la n d in g s o f a nc h o vy h a ve
in c re a s ed d u e t o t h e in c r e a s e d

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The trends in Figure 10 tend to confirm
I nc lu de d a s a p aren thetic c lause under
that overfishing has depleted the stock of
the first problem listed by the RWG-F is
J ap an e se an c hov y in t he Y ellow Sea .
"Ch ange s in domina nt specie s". Th is is
However, in respect to the other marine
a lso b e lie ved to re fle c t a r e s po nse t o
c aptur e fisheries, th e situatio n a pp ear s
overexploita tion of the domin ant stocks
rou gh ly sta ble d espite some shor t-term
as a result of increased fishing effort. The
f lu c tua t ion s th at ma y re f le c t n atu r al
s p e c ie s d ive r s it y o f t h e m ig ra t o r y
recruitment cycles and climatic changes.
r eso ur ce s s ee ms le ss th an th at o f th e
T h e Y e llo w Se a o v e r a ll r e m a in s a
lo c a lly r es id e n t r e s o u r c es b ut th eir
p r oduct ive fish er ies ar ea yielding o ve r
biomasses are much more abundant. The
2.3 million tonnes, or over 2 tonnes per
commercial catches in the Yellow Sea are
km 2, of wild fish durin g the most r ecen t
m a inly o f migr a to ry sp e cie s a n d this
years. This productivity can be compared
in t rin sica lly ma k es t h e na tu re o f th e
wit h a p pr oxima te ly 6 tonn e s pe r km2
issue a transboundary one.
obtained through capture fisheries in the
T he o th e r e c o n o m ic a lly im p o r t an t
N o r t h Sea t h a t h a s c o m p a r a b le
spe cies in the Ye llow Se a a nd the Boh ai
b a t hy me t r y
a n d
t h e
yie ld
o f
Se a
a re
s m a ll
ye llo w
c r o a k er
approximately 1,000,000 tonnes over an
L a r i mi c ht hy s po ly a c t is , la r g eh e ad
area of 2.5 million km2 or 0.4 tonnes per
ha irta il Trichiur us lepturus a nd flesh y
km2 in the Mediterranean Sea that has a
p r a wn Fe n ne r op en a eu s c hin en sis. A
far larger bathymetric range.
d r am a tic ch an ge h as o cc ur re d in th e
fishery for pelagic fish with the growth in
t h e J a pa n e s e a nc h o vy E n g r a u l i s
japonicus fishery in the Yellow Sea.
I n the Korean fisher y du ring the 19 90s,
anchovy was the most dominant species,
r ep r esen ting 3 7.5 % o f th e to ta l cat ch
followe d by largehe ad hairtail a t 23.8 %,
acete s a t 1 4.4%, small ye llow croake r at
9 .2%, squ id at 8.5%, c hu b m ack ere l a t
4.7%, fleshy prawn at 1.0% and Spa nish

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mackerel at 0.7%. In the 2000s, anchovy
w as again the m o st dom in an t spe cies,
re p re se ntin g 61 . 6% of t he tot al c atc h
fo llow e d b y ac et e s a t 10 .0%, squ id a t
8.6%, la rgeh ea d ha irta il at 7.9 %, sma ll
yellow croaker at 5.5%, chub mackerel at
4 . 6 %, Spa nish m ac ke r e l a t 1 . 3 % an d
fleshy p raw n at 0.7%. Th us, in K or ea ,
th er e ha s be en a sh ift in the d omin an t
species b etween the 198 0s and the fir st
decade of 2000.
Th e c atc h r atio o f la rgeh e ad h airt ail,
w hic h w a s t h e la r ge st in t h e 19 80 s,
decreased gradually after 1990 while the
catch ratio of anchovy became the largest
over the same period. In China, the catch
o f an cho vy incr ea s e d m a ssive ly fr o m
zero prior to 1989 to more than 1 million
ton nes by 200 1. Similarly, the ca tch of
sma ll yellow croa k e r rose from a bo u t
1 5,000 tonne s per year in the 19 80s to
more than 150,000 tonnes per year after
19 99 . Th e c at ches of a c etes, lar ge head
h a ir t ail , Sp an is h m ac k e r el , c h u b
ma cker el, fle shy pr awn an d sq uid h ave
been re latively stable. The sma ll Pa cific
salmon ca tch e nd ed in 2 000 wh ile th e
s an d la n c e ca tc h h a s g on e fr o m z e r o
b efore 2 00 2 t o 1 95 ,00 0 an d 17 9, 0 0 0
tonnes in 2003 and 2004 respectively.

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T h e s e c o nd m o s t im po r ta nt is s u e
un d er st a nd ing of the co nse q ue n ces" .
iden tified by the RWG -F is th e "Rap id
M ar icultur e in Ch ina ha s a long history
expansion of mariculture (in some areas
a nd d a t es b a ck t o t he So n g D yn a s ty
b y a fa c t o r 7) w it h o u t a d e q ua t e
abou t 1 ,000 ye ars ago when a seawe ed

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called glueweed, Gloiopeltis furcata, was
p r o p o r t io n o f g lo b al p ro d u c ti o n as
ha r ve st e d b y a sim ple r oc k - clea n in g
shown in Figure 13.
meth od in Jinmen nea r Xia men, Fu jia n
Pro vin c e . T h e g r ow th in c u ltu rin g o f
aquatic organisms for food production in
the r e gio n is r eflec te d in th e sc ale o f
c o m b in e d m a r ic u lt ur e an d in lan d
aq u ac u lt ur e in China a nd K ore a as a
Over the period 1995 to 1997, Yellow Sea
p ro du ction for the yea rs 19 95 to 2 004
m a r ic u l tu r a l p r o du c t io n inc r ea s e d
a n d t h e an nu al br e ak d o w n am o n g
rap idly from 400 thousa nd tonn es/year
f inf is h, c r u s t a c ea n s, m o llu s c s a n d
to ju st le ss th an 4 m illion t onn e s/pe r
seaweeds is shown in Table 8 (Note: the
ye ar . S u b s e qu e n t ly, t h e r e h a s b e e n
nu mb e rs ar e ta ken d ire c tly fr om t he
contin ue d, but less spe cta cular, gr owth
Fis h e r ie s Syn th e sis Rep or t ( YSLM E
to o ver 6 m illion to nn e s in 2 004 . The
2 0 0 6 e ) w it h o ut re g a rd t o t h e
gr o ss an nu al Y ellow Se a mar ic ultu r e
significance of the figures).

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As c a n be see n fr om Tab le 8, the growt h of
ma ricu ltur e h as o cc ur re d fo r a ll clas ses o f
produc t but sh ellfish a nd sea weed s repr esen t
t h e do m ina nt p r o p o r t io n s o f t h e g r o s s
p ro du ction . Th is inc re ased prod u ctio n ne eds
f irst to be e x amin ed in t h e c o ntex t o f t h e
increased m ar in e ar ea de voted to maricu lture
to examine if, and how, farming densities have
changed.
U nfo rtu n ate ly, th e ne cess ar y bre ak do w n o f
Ch ine se n ation al statistics fo r the Ye llow Se a
coast has not been made available. However, if
th e nationa l sta tistics a re u se d as a gu ide t o
f a r m d e n s it ie s, t h e se sh o w t h at t he a r e a
de vot ed to m a ricu ltu re h as in c re a se d fro m
4 00, 00 0 h a to 1 ,0 00,0 00 h a ove r th e sa me
period. If th e low p rod uc tion year of 19 95 is
excluded, the total mariculture production from
th e Ye llow Se a in Ch ina h as inc r ea se d by a
fa ctor of 2 .25, which is slightly less th an t he
inc re ase in a rea de voted to ma riculture . This
s u gges ts t ha t th e fa rm d en s ity o f c u ltur e d
o r ga ni sm s h a s p r o b a b ly no t c h a n g e d
sub stan tially. Thu s, an y pro blem assoc iate d
with excessive maricultural production is likely
either due to the increased coastal area devoted
to mariculture or to the increased proximity of

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fa rm s. In the for mer case , th e con cer n
re lated to t he tr ansmission o f disea se
wo uld re late to t he ca pa city o f coasta l
amon g farms. How eve r, in bo th c a ses,
a r ea s , b a s e d o n th e ir flu s h in g
th e p roblem w ou ld be a d om estic one.
c h a r ac t e r is t ic s a nd t h e e f fe c ts o n
Th e only ca se in which th ese prob lems
s e di me nt in - fa u n a a nd e pif au na o f
c o u ld b e c o me t r a n s b o u nd ar y is i f
in cre ased organic matter sed imenta tion,
diseases were spread to widely dispersed
to accom modate in creased mar icu lture.
or migratory wildfish.
In the latter case, the conce rn would be
T he Re gi o na l W o r k in g G ro u p o n
stretch es of tid al flats se pa ra ted b y the
Bio d ive rs it y
(R WG - B )
h a s
t he
r o c k y r e g io n s o f t h e Sha n d o ng a n d
responsibility of addressing changes and
Liao ning Pe n in s u las a n d no r th- w e st
threats to biodiversity in the Yellow Sea,
Liaodong Wan. In addition, deltas occur
in clud ing h ab itat ch an ge . Ba se d on the
at the mouths of the Changjiang, Huang
r e g io n a l s yn t h es is fo r b io d ive rs it y
He, Luan He and Liao He. The west coast
(YSLM E 200 6f) , the problems listed in
of the ROK con sists of ext ensive tida l
T ab le 9 h av e b e e n id e nt if ie d . T h e
flats in broad estuaries in the north and
follo wing te xt pr ovide s a d escrip tion of
sur rou nding isla nds in th e sou th we st.
th e na ture a nd a dve rse e ffe cts a nd /o r
The south coast has deep bays with large
t hr ea ts po s ed b y t h e p er c e iv e d
m ud f la ts . T h e m ain t ida l f la t
biodiversity problems listed in this table.
distribu tion, with re giona l areas in km2
and average tidal ranges for a number of
T he f irs t p ro b le m li st e d is "Co as t al
coastal areas of the Yellow Sea, is shown
h a b it a t lo s s an d de gr ad a t io n" . T h e
in Figure 14 (after Barter, 2002).
Ch ine se c o a s t c o n t a in s ex t e n si ve
Habitat loss and degradation
Biodiversity issue
1
Pollution
Biodiversity issue
2
Changes in river discharge
Biodiversity issue
3
Overexploitation of marine and
coastal living resources
Biodiversity issue
4
Introduction of xenobiotic (alien) species
Biodiversity issue
5
Decline of endemic species
Biodiversity issue
6

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Areas in km2 and tidal ranges in metres
Th e tota l ar e a o f in tertid al fla ts in t he
on wards an d the mu dflats th en become
Yellow Sea , inc lud in g the Ch an g jian g
a va ila b le t o s h o r e b i r d s d u rin g t h e
Estuary and the south coast of the ROK,
nor thwa rd m igra tion per iod. The tot al
is about 20,000 km 2. This includes 1,350
area of the marshlands has decreased by
k m2 in n um er ous ba ys an d e stua rie s
ap pro xim ate ly 30% du rin g the last 3 0
ar o u nd th e Sha nd o n g Pen insu la . Th e
y e a r s . T h e c o n s e q u e n c e h as b e en
in ter tid al a reas of th e nor ther n Y ellow
reduced habitat for indigenous waterfowl
Se a a re fro ze n d ur ing winte r an d ar e
and migratory birds.
u n like ly to sup po rt sh ore bird s a t tha t
H ea vy e ros io n h a s o cc u rr e d to a bo ut
t im e o f t h e ye a r . Ai r a n d wa t e r
tw o-thir ds of the san dy foresh ores due
temp era tu re s r ise qu ickly fro m Mar ch
primarily to sand mining of beaches and

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e xte n sive a g ric ultu ra l activities alo n g
Subst an tial c h an ges ha ve o cc urr e d in
c o a st a l pla ins . Sa nd a nd gr a v e l
sp ecies c ompo sition and abu nd an ce o f
substrates used to be important habitats
b e n t hic o r g a n is m s i n t h e m u dd y
for an end anger ed spe cies, th e lan cele t
foreshores, for example in the Changkou
( Br an c hiosto ma be lch e rii) . Curr e ntly,
area. The benthos used to have about 170
lan c elet s c o uld n o t b e fo un d in su c h
species in the 1950s but this was reduced
h ab itats tha t a re losin g the ir ec ologica l
to some 70 spec ies in the 1 98 0s an d to
funct ion . Specie s com mu nity struc ture
only a few in 1990s that were resistant to
an d a bu n d an c e of t h e aq u atic life in
t he c h a n ge d e n vi ro n me nt . T h e
these san dy shores have grea tly altered.
in tro d u ct ion o f S p a r t i n a h a d g re a tly
Species, such as Nereidae, that were also
altered the ecology of the system, further
pr eviously fou nd in th ese ha bita ts, have
reducing the biodiversity.
no w b ec om e ra re a nd , co n se q ue nt ly,
An example of foreshore development is
b io d ive r s it y h a s b e e n si gn if ic an t ly
s h o w n in F igu r e 15. T his sh ow s t h e
reduced.
extension of agriculture on the foreshore
of Ch ongmin D ao on the sou th sid e o f
the Ch an gjiang est uary b e twee n 19 90
and 2004.

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From the perspective of biodiversity, the
w i ll h a v e be e n r e c la im e d fo r la nd
m a in e f fec t of ha b it at lo s s is on the
develo pme nt pur pose s with in the n ext
composition of assemblages of organism
d ec a d e. T his w ill h a ve a mo st se ver e
communities in tidal mudflats, especially
e ff e c t o n t id a l f lat c o m m u n i ti e s o f
be n t hic o r ga n is m s , w a t e r b ird s a n d
or gan isms, inclu din g wa terfow l, in t he
reduced resting and feeding grounds for
re gion a nd will muc h re duce t he a re as
migrato ry birds. At lea st 4 0 site s h ave
s ui ta b le fo r r e s t in g a n d fe ed i ng o f
been identified as globally, or potentially
migratory birds.
globally, significant for waterbirds on the
Another exam ple of h abitat lo ss is th e
Ye llow Sea coa st. The west co ast of the
r e du ction in the n u mb er of lagoons on
Re pub lic o f Kor ea h as a r ather highe r
t he b o r d er of t h e Ye llo w Se a . T h e
d e nsity of glob a lly significa nt site s for
number of lagoons in Shandong Province
m igra tory wa terbirds tha n the Ch inese
h as b ee n red uc ed from the origin al 29 ,
coast of the Yellow Sea.
30 years ago, to only 3 or 4 today. During
the last 30 years, more than 30% of the
la goo n s in t he e dge o f the Y ellow Se a
h ave bee n los t. The p ro duc tion of se a
c u c u m b er s a ro u n d Yu eh u La k e in
Sh an g d o ng Pr o vi n c e us e d to b e
thousands of kilograms per year but has
n ow b ee n re du ced to tens of kilogra ms
p e r ye ar . Suc h a la rge de cr ea se in the
Approximately 880,000 ha of Yellow Sea
p ro d u c tio n o f se a cu c u m be r s c an b e
mudflat areas have been reclaimed. This
a t tr ib u t e d t o un c o nt r o lled o v e r-
comprises 37% of the inter-tidal areas of
e xp l o it at io n .
O ver g r o w t h
a n d
th e Ch in e se p ortio n of th e Yellow Se a ,
subseq uent d ete riora tio n of the m ac ro-
which ha ve be en r eclaimed since 1 950,
s e a w e e d s ha s fu r t h e r m o dif ie d t h e
an d 4 3% of t h e m udflats on th e RO K
r emaining lagoons ther eby reducing the
co ast, wh ich ha ve be en r ecla ime d since
goods and services that they provide.
1917 (Barter 200 2). It has bee n claimed
T h e s e c o nd e n viro nm e n t al p r o b le m
that China has plans to reclaim a further
lis t e d b y t h e R WG - B is "Po llu t io n " .
45% of its existing mudflat in the Yellow
U nfort un ate ly, ap ar t from o n e o r tw o
Sea a nd t h e R O K p la ns t o r e cla im a
instances, the term "pollution" has been
further 34% of its coastal margin (Barter
u s e d g en er ic ally an d t h er ef o re o n ly
2 002 ) . Th e aggr egate c onse q u en c e of
lim ite d s p e cif ica tio n o f t h e k in d s o f
t h e s e ac tiv it ies is t ha t a ma jor ity o f
p ollution affe cting biod ive rsity h as been
coastal wetland areas and tidal mudflats

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p rovide d. I t shou ld be not e d t h at th e
t h e re a s p e c i fic r ef er e n c e t o t he
t er m
"m a rin e
p o llu t io n"
i s
c o n s e q ue n c e s on div er si ty , na me ly
internationally defined (GESAMP, 1969)
d r as tic de cre a ses in th e pro du ct io n o f
as an "ad ver se effe ct" r ath er tha n the
pe na e id shr im p s ( P e n a e u s spp . ) a nd
me re introd u ction o f mater ia l into th e
scallops (Pecten spp). Nevertheless, all of
mar ine e nviron me nt. Th us, p ollu t io n
the form s of c on tamin ation a nd th e ir
itself constitutes an adverse consequence
e f fe c ts o u t lin e d in t h e b i o dive r s it y
of the release of material into the sea. In
synthesis a re dealt with in the pollu tion
the context of biodiversity, the pollution
section s of this do cu me nt an d ar e not
th at de gr ade s h ab ita ts is an yth ing th at
ad d re s s e d fu r t he r h e r e b e c a us e t he
conta mina te s or ch an ge s the n atur e of
specific nature of damage and threats to
th e h abitat in a wa y tha t m ake s it less
b io d ive r s it y ha ve n o t y e t b e e n
d e si r a b le t o s o me o r g a nis m s a n d ,
expounded sufficiently.
sometimes, more suitable for others. For
The third en vironm en tal issue ra ised is
example, Yellow Sea salt marshes are the
"Cha nges in rive r d isc ha rg e" . Th is is
h ab it a t s o f a n u mb e r o f en d an g e re d
clear ly relevant to biodiver sit y as su ch
species, such as the red-crown crane and
changes w ill alter both the salinity and
r ein de e r. Me a s ur e s t o p ro t e c t s al t
te mp er at ur e ( in s u mm er a nd w int er
marshes have been taken by the Chinese
p r ima rily ) re g im e s i n c o a s ta l ar ea s
Go ver nm en t a nd this ha s r edu c ed the
in flu e n c e d b y m a j o r f re sh w a te r
loss of salt mar s h es to le ss t ha n 3 0%
dis c h ar g e s . In lar g e p a r t, t his iss u e
during the last 30 years. Salt marshes in
wo uld b e mos t evid ent on the Ch in e se
t h e Ch e n gs h a n t o u h av e b ee n w ell
coast of the Yellow Sea where the earlier
maintained with swans having returned.
in fluen ce of fre sh water discharge to the
H o w eve r, a s ign o f s o me e co lo g ic al
Boha i Sea fro m th e Ye llo w R ive r ha s
chan ge h as been e viden t in r ecent yea rs
been much reduced and in inshore areas
a s a r es ult o f t he i n di sc r im in a t e
influe nce d by sma lle r river s whose flow
di sc h ar ge of s e w a ge f r o m t he
has been modified by engineering works
su rr ou nd ing u rb an ce ntre s. The ma in
in their d ra in age basin s. O ne corr ela ted
pollutants referred to in the biodiversity
c h a n g e w i ll als o b e re d uc t i on s in
s yn t h e s is a s o f c o n c e rn f r o m a
sedime nt d ischarge from the se rive rs as
b io diver sity per sp e ct ive a re disso lve d
a r es ult of th e ret ention of su sp en ded
nit r o ge n, d iss olve d p h os ph or u s, o il,
s e d i m e n t a n d b e d lo ad u ps t re am o f
c he mica l o xyge n de m a nd ( CO D ) an d
im po un dm en t s. T his c a n le a d t o
sew a ge . Refer en ce s a re a lso m ad e to
sed iment imp ove rishme nt in near shore
heavy metals, specifically Pb and Hg, and
an d d elta ic ar e as t ha t w ill ine vitab ly
th e thr eat the y p ose t o offshor e water.
r esu lt in habita t ch an ge. It has a lre ad y
Only in the ca se of sewage disch ar ge is

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b e en n ot ed tha t the de ltaic se dime nts
d e ve lo p m e nt a l ac t iv it ies . I t is a ls o
offshor e of th e old m outh of the Y ellow
e vid ent tha t b ot h h a bita t ch an ge a nd
River in the western Yellow Sea are being
o t h e r d e l ib e r a t e a nd in a d ve rt e n t
eroded through remobilisation.
activities have resulted in changes in the
biodiversity of the Yellow Sea system. It
Th e fourth issue is "Over exploitation of
is, howe ve r, n ot possib le with curren tly
m ar in e an d c oast al living res ou rce s ".
available information, either to provide a
Th is issue is a d dr esse d in the fish erie s
compr eh ensive ap praisa l of th e changes
s e c t io n s o f t h is d o c u m en t . T he
in biodive rsity tha t have occu rred or to
co ncomitan t effects on biod iversity will
q uan tify the social and ec onomic c osts
be evident from these sections.
associated with these changes.
Th e fifth issu e identified in r espe ct t o
I nt e r es t ing ly , in t h e c o nt e x t o f
bio d i ve r sit y is t h e "I n t ro d u c t io n o f
biodiversity protection in the Yellow Sea,
xenobiotic (alien) species". An integrated
t he W o rld Wi d e F u n d f o r Na tu re
i nv es ti ga t io n o f e xo t ic / in t ro d u c ed
(WWF), in collaboration with the Kor ea
sp ecies ha s n ot ye t been co nd ucte d bu t
O c e an R e s e a r c h an d D e ve lo p m e n t
th er e are some example s. Th e issue has
I n s t it u t e ( KO R DI ) a nd t h e Ko r e a
t wo f a c e ts : fir s t, t h e d e l ib e r a t e
E nviron ment I nstitute , h as p rodu ced a
in t rodu c tio n of s p ecie s p r im a r ily f or
m a p s h o w in g pr i o rit y a r e a s f o r
a qu a c ult u r e an d ma r ic ult u r e in t h e
b io diver sity conser va tion in t he Bo hai
Ye l lo w Se a b as in ; a n d, s e c o n d , t h e
Se a a nd t h e Ye llo w Se a f ro m t h e
inadvertent introduction of alien species
p e rs pe c tive s of b ir ds, fish , m o llu s cs ,
t hr ough b allast water a nd vess el hu ll
pla nts an d algae ( WW F et al. , 2 00 6) .
t ra ns po r t. E xamp le s in clu de: sc allop s
This map is reproduced here as Figure 16
intr o d uc e d fr om Jap a n a nd U SA th at
while Table 10 shows the names of each
h ave become an impor tant m aricu ltu re
of the a re as depicted . The original wor k
s p ecie s; k e lp a n d Sur in ga r ( U n d a r i a
( W WF e t a l. , 2 00 6 ) sp e c ifie s w h ic h
pinnatifida) of Japanese origin that have
s p e c ies a n d s u b - ar ea s h av e b e e n
bee n gr owing wide ly a long th e coast of
inc lud e d in e ac h of the a reas sho wn in
Ye llow Se a a n d ha v e d e ve lo p ed in t o
Figure 16. This material can be used as a
e nd em ic c omm un ities; a n d S p a r t i n a
guide to the most important areas of the
a n g l i c a fro m th e U K a nd U SA th at ha s
r egio n de s e rving of pr o te c t ion fr o m
b e en d i sp er se d a lo n g th e c oa s t ,
biodiversity perspectives.
especially in Jiangsu Province.
I t i s e v id e n t t he n t h at t he h ab it a t s
bordering the Yellow Sea have been, and
c o n t inu e
t o
b e ,
c h an ge d
b y

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Zhoushan
Yanwei
Changshandao s
Huksando
1
7
13
19
Archipelago
Island
Island
Yangtse
Huanghe-
Yalujiang
Yeongsangang
2
8
14
20
Estuary Wetland
Leizhouwan
Estuary
Estuary
Baengnyeongdo
Boseong-
3
S. Jiangsu Coast
9
Bohaiwan
15
­ Yeonpyeongdo 21
Yeoja Bays
Islands
4
N Jiangsu Coast
10
Qinghuangdao
16
Gyeonggi Bay
22
Jeju Island
Yellow Sea
5
Haizhou Bay
11
Liaohe Estuary
17
Cheonsu Bay
23
Cold Water
Haiyangdao -
Geumgang-
6
Qing-Shi
12
Changxing
18
Mangyeongang
Islands
­ Dongjungang
Estuaries
In conclusion, the foregoing discussion
im me diate, pr o xim al, d ist a l a n d ro ot
ha s es t ab li sh e d t h e na t u r e o f
c au se s. The o pt ions for m an agem en t
en vir onm ent a l pro blem s in th e re gion
inte rve ntion are id en tified thr ou gh th e
t ha t w a rr an t b e ing a d d re s se d in t he
results of causal chain analysis.
r egiona l Stra te gic Actio n Progra mme
(SAP). These all need to be subjected to
cau sa l ch ain an alysis to id e ntify t heir

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(After WWF et al., 2006)

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This section contains the causal chain instances in which the inclusion of an
an aly se s f o r t h e e n vir o n m e n ta l
entire set of intermediate causes was not
pr o b lem s id en ti fie d in e a c h of th e
possible. In such cases, the root cause is
tec hn ical com pon ents of th e pr oject in
entered as the fundamental cause of the
the preceding Section 5. Each category of
p ro b l e m c o n c e rn ed . T h e re a r e a ls o
prob le m is pr e sen te d in the seq uen ce :
se ve r al in s tan c e s in w hic h on e R WG
p o llut io n , e co s ys t e m , f is h er ies an d
id en tifie d as the cau se of a pr oblem an
bio d ive rsity. Colour c od ing ha s be e n
issue that had been identified by another
u s e d i n t he c a us a l c h a in s t o s h o w
RWG . In su ch ca ses, th e cau sa l ch ain
pr im ar y c h ain s an d t o p r o vid e
makes a direct reference to the category
in fo r ma t io n r e g a r d i n g t he r e la t iv e
an d p roble m for which the cau sa l chain
s e ve r it y a n d t re n ds o f in d ivi du a l
presented there is relevant.
p r o ble m s i n ea c h o f t he p r o je c t
components. This colour coding is shown
in Table 11 below.
In completin g the cau sal cha in s for th e
proble ms identified in e ach of th e main
project components an attempt has been
m ad e t o in c l ud e t h re e le ve ls o f
int er me diate cau se (2 nd , 3r d an d 4t h
level causes) between the immediate and
root ca use. Such a level of deta il is not,
h o w eve r , p o ss ib le i n t h e c as e o f a ll
id en tifie d p rob le ms . T he re for e, gap s
am ong inter me dia t e c au s e s in dic a t e

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The causal chain analyses for in Table 12. These are categorized in a
problem s id entifie d in the pollu tion
form consistent with the list of problems
compon en t of the p roje ct are p resen ted
in Table 3.
The causal chain analyses for in Table 13. These are categorized in a
problems identified in the ecosystem
form consistent with the list of problems
com ponent of the p roje ct ar e pre sented
in Table 4.
The causal chain analyses for in Table 14. These are categorized in a
problem s id entifie d in the fisher ie s
form consistent with the list of problems
com pon ent of the p roje ct ar e pre sented
in Table 5.
The causal chain analyses for presented in Table 15. These are
p r o b lem s
id e nt if ie d
in
t he
categorized in a form consistent with the
biodiversity component of the project are
list of problems in Table 9

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The causal chain analysis provides a
b as is f or id en t ifyin g o p tio ns fo r
ma na ge ment interve ntion . Such option s
T h e d ev elo p me n t o f f u n da m e n t a l
for in ter ven tion, to r ed uce or re ctify a
s o lu t i on s t o p r o ble ms f r e q u e nt ly
given problem, exist in relation to ea ch
in volv e s r e co ns id er a tio n o f e x ist in g
c a us e o f the p r ob le m fr om imm ed iate
p olicie s and legisla tion an d re qu ir es a
c a use thr ou gh sec on da ry, t er tiary a nd
t ho r ou gh an alys is o f th e be ne fits an d
q uate rnar y cause s to th e roo t ca use a s
d rawbacks of ad opting particula r form s
s h o w n in Fi gu re 1 . A s t h e re n o t e d ,
o f ac t io n t o a d d r e s s en vir o nm en t al
in t er v en t io n s p r im a r ily dir ec t e d a t
compromise.
rectifying the root causes of problems are
ge nera lly to be pre ferr e d bec ause they
This section is devoted to identifying the
o f te n a d d re ss t h e c a u s e s of s e ve r al
cau ses of envir onmen tal pr ob le ms th at
p r ob le m s an d are us u a lly m or e c os t
p rovide th e ba sis for identifying option s
effective.
for in te rvent ion. In th e next section of
the TDA these op tio ns a re an alyse d t o
d et er mi ne t ho s e m o st w o r th y o f
consider ation in th e development of the
SAP.

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There are few commonalities among in the infrastructure for waste
the im me diate c au se s of p ollution
m anagemen t a nd control infr astructu re
p rob le ms ( tab le 12 ). Th es e c ause s a re
a nd r a p id e c on o m ic a n d s o c ia l
a ss ociated with r ele ases fr om spe cific
d e ve lo p m e n t, e s p e c ia l ly in Chin a .
i nd u st r ie s ,
t r a n sp o r t
s o ur c e s ,
Amon g q uaterna ry c auses th ere occu rs
agric ultur al activities, mar ic ultur e an d
in creased emphasis on the la ck, or poor
municipal sources, especially sewage and
imp leme nta tion, of c ontr ols in the field
s o lid w a s te s. T h e y a ls o in c lu d e t h e
of waste management and an inadequate
constr uction of enginee ring works, such
bala nce in policies r elating to economic
as d ams, on wate rc our se s, p articu lar ly
expansion and envir onm ental pr ote ction.
ma jor r ive rs. Amo ng t he se ca use s, t he
This latte r cause be comes d omin an t in
m o s t f re q u en t a re r ele as es fr o m
the list of root causes although there are
in dus tr ial, a gr icu lt ura l an d mu nicipal
in s t an c e s in w hi c h i t is no t ed t h a t
sources that contribute to eutrophica tion,
improvements can be expected in respect
faecal co nta mination an d marine litte r.
t o so m e pr ob lem s (p ar t ic ula rly t ho se
M uch the same situ ation ap plies at the
re latin g to m aritim e tra nspo rt a nd t he
le v e l of se c o n da r y c a use s w he r e the
im p l e m e n ta t io n o f t h e S to c k h o lm
i ss u e s a s s o c ia te d w it h i n a d eq u at e
Convention). Under root causes there are
c on trols on agricu ltural an d munic ipal
also references to the limited influence of
w aste m an agem en t pr ac tice ar e again
t he e nv iro n me nt a l c o n st it u en c y o n
highlighted. Among tertiary causes there
g o ve r n me n t a nd i na d eq u ac i e s in
e xists great er e mpha sis on the lack of
contemporary policy priorities that fail to
c o n tr o ls in a va rie ty o f hu ma n a nd
take sufficient account of environmental
ind ustr ia l a ctivities, limited investment
threats and compromise.
In the case of the causal chain for E has identified and analysed problems
ecosystemic problems, the f irs t a nd
in the ecosystem (table 13) . It is only at
s e c o n d
le ve l s
o f c a u se
l i e
t he t e r t i ar y c a u se
le vel t ha t
p re do minantly in th e scientific dom ain
a nt h ro p o g en ic a c t ivi ti es b e c om e
wh ere th e causes of a p ar ticular cha nge
identifiable and these include overfishing
in co ndition gener atin g c once rn h as an
a nd c lim a t ic c h an ge p u t at iv ely
im media te an d se cond ar y cau se in t he
a s so c i a t e d
w it h
an
in c r e a s e d
r e alm o f the n atura l science s. This is a
c onc entr ation of c arb on d ioxide in t he
peculiarity of the way in which the RWG-
atmosphere.

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Amon g quat er nary ca use s are glob al
of the 1997 Kyoto Pro toc ol. Oth er r o o t
climatic c ha nge and rapid coa sta l zone
c a u s e s in clude w ea k e n fo r cem en t o f
d e ve lo pm en t c o m b i n e d w i th a n
c o nt r o ls o n f is h in g a c t ivi t ie s an d
inap p ro pria te legislative or re gulator y
le g is la t ive
a n d
a d m in is tr a t iv e
ba lance betwee n ec on omic de velopm en t
w e ak n ess e s in fa c ilita tin g ad e q ua t e
a nd e nviron menta l protection. As might
pr o te c tio n of the c oas ta l z on e in t he
be e xp e c t e d , t h e r o o t c au s e s m o s t
c o nt e xt o f t h e p ac e o f e c o no m ic
common ly cited are limited progre ss in
development in the region.
mitigating the releases of carbon dioxide
to the atmosp here an d, sp ecifically, the
limite d expecta tio ns an d ach ie veme nts
The causal chains for the two fisheries quaternary causes in this chain are
pr ob lem s id en tified by the RWG- F
d efic ie n c ie s in t h e ma na ge m e nt a n d
are analogous in the sense that they both
control (regulation) of fisheries with the
include subor din ate socio-e conomic and
r o o t c a u s e s b e in g t h e la c k o f a
scientific causal chains (table 14).
comp rehe nsive a nd e ffective syste m o f
fish stock m an agem en t a nd the lack of
In the case of the decline in the landings
c om p lia nce a ss u ra nce in fra st r u ct ur e .
of comme rc ia lly im por tant sp ecies, the
T he o th e r ( s c ien t ifi c ) c a us al c h a in
im m edi a te ca us es ar e id e ntifie d a s
assigns a tertiary cause as a weakness
over exploita tion o f t ar get fish sp ecie s
in the scientific knowledge of ecosystem
a nd clima t ic cha nge res pe c tive ly. Th e
p r o c e s se s t h a t p la c e s lim it s o n t h e
over exploitation of ta rget fish spe cies is
de gr ee to wh ich c omp re hen s ive sto ck
attrib ut ed to bot h o ver c apac it y in th e
ma nag e me nt c a n b e de velo p e d. T h e
fish in g sec to r (e . g. , to o m an y fish ing
q u at er na ry c a us e s a re e ssen tially
vessels chasing a reduced stock of target
weaknesses in support for education and
f is h) a n d d e f ic ie n c ie s in f is h s to c k
r esea rc h. The root ca use in this ch ain
m a n a g e m e n t . T h e se la tt e r t w o
be comes p oor recognition ( in th e policy
secondary causes then follow separate
sector and among government agencies)
cau sal c ha in s in to ter tiar y cau se s, on e
o f t h e limit s t o s u s t ain a b le n at ur al
socio-economic and the other scientific.
resource exploitation.
The fir st te rtia ry cau se r ela tes to the
In relation to unsustainable maricultural
lac k of alte rnative livelih oo ds and the
p r a ct ic e s, t he p r im a ry ca us e s a r e
u nc h ec ke d d e m an d f or s e a fo o d . T h e

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similar ly split into soc io- economic and
effects become the r eason, or ca uses, of
s c ie n ti fic c au sa l c h a ins . Th e s o ci o-
t he u ns us ta in a b ilit y. T he sc ie nt ifi c
e conomic primar y cause s in clude over-
c a u s e s , p ri m a rily t h e v a r ia bi lit y o f
intensive maricultural d evelopme nt, the
e nvironmen tal con d itio ns, aga in fo llow
over-exploitation of natural habitats, the
into secondary and tertiary causes
consequences of the releases of material
o f li mit e d s c ie nt if ic k n ow le dge a n d
( nu t rie nts , b a ct er ia, vira l an d fa e cal
limit e d a pp lica tio n of sc ie nc e to th e
m a tt e r, an d fo o d r es id u es ) h a vin g
regulation of maricultural development.
a dverse e ffects on the e nvironme nt and
The root causes in all causal chains for
human health concerns. In reviewing the
u n sust ain able ma ric ultur e app ea r as a
causal chain in Table 14, it might appear
la c k of co mp re h en sive a nd c ohe re nt
t h a t th e e n v iro n me n t al a nd h u m an
legislative fra mew ork fo r c oa sta l zone
h e a lt h c o ns e q u en c e s of e x c e s s ive
a nd ma ritime r e source d evelopm en t, a
m ar icu lt ura l develop me n t a re e f f e c t s
lack of coordination among sectors, and
rather than causes . However, it must be
deficiencie s in the ap plication of sound
r eme mber ed tha t the state d p ro ble m is
s c ie n c e
t o
s us t ai na b le
c o as t al
u n s u s t a i n a b l e m a r ic ult u r e a n d ,
development.
a c co rd ingly, t hes e a c tu al or p ot ent ia l
The biodiversity causal chains differ secondary causes include rapid economic
s lig htly fr om th o se fo r t he ot he r
d ev e lopm en t , in cr e as ed d e ma n d fo r
project components (table 15). Several of
s e a fo o d , e ng in ee r in g w o r k s o n
the immediate causes of problems are
w ate rc ourses an d ina pp ro pr iate fishin g
ide n tic al or simila r to th e prob lem s in
p ra ctices. I t is, howe ve r , at th e leve l of
o t h e r
c o m p o n e n t s
s u c h
a s
tertiary causes that a reduced number
overexploitation of fish eries a nd loss of
o f c a uses bec o m e evide n t. Th e e nt r y
habitat. Climatic change also appears as
" in a de q u a t e
b a la n c e
b e t w e en
a c on tribu to ry ca use of the d ec lin e of
d eve lopmen tal aspira tions an d th e ne ed
v u ln e r a bl e s pe c i es t h a t ar e a ls o
for pr ote ction of the e nviron me nt an d
im po r tan t co mp one nt s of Ye llo w Sea
biod ive rsity" oc curs fr eq ue ntly as d oe s
biodiversity. In this latter case, and also
" in ad eq u at e c on tr o ls o n f ishin g a nd
w h e re c lim a t ic ch an g e a pp e ar s a s a
n atu ra l r esour ce exploitation pra ctices",
secondary cause, reference is made to
which inclu des refer en ce to "trad itional
t h e c a u s al c h ain s fo r th e p o l lu t io n
exploita tio n pr a ctic es ". O th er e ntrie s
c o m po n en t of t h e p r o je c t . O th e r
in c lu de "p o or c o mp lia n c e w it h

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regulations" and "pressure for hinterland
contain a simila r me ssage , namely th at
de ve lo p m e nt , p ow er p ro du c t io n,
d e ve l o pm en t is p ro c e e di n g i n t h e
irrigation and water supplies". These are
a bsenc e of comp reh ensive an d coherent
f ur t h er n a r r o w e d at t h e le vel o f
leg is la t io n t o en s u re c o n c o mi ta nt
q ua t er nar y c au s e s p rim ar ily into
e n vi ro n me nt al a n d
b io d i ve r s it y
de fi c ie n c ie s
in
c o m p r e h en si ve
protection and that there also exists poor
d evelopm ent p lan nin g a nd d eficienc ies
en for ce me nt of existing legislation an d
in
f is he r ie s
ma n ag em en t.
T he
in ad e q ua t e p ro v is io n o f p u b lic
b io div er s it y c au sa l c h ain re s u lt s in
information.
several forms of the root causes but all
Table 17 lists the most common root
cause s in all tech nica l compo ne n ts
o f t h e p r o jec t , th e c om p o n en t s a n d
problems with which they are associated
and their fr equ ency of occ urre nce . This
p rovid e s a guide to the m o st comm on
cause s fo r whic h inte rvention m ight be
wa rr an te d. Fu rthe rmore, d espite small
d iffe r en ces in w ording that resu lt fro m
the independent development of each of
the ca usa l ch ains in each of the p r ojec t
c o m po ne nt s , th e r e is e ven gr e a te r
co mmo nality a mong r o ot c a uses th an
this table immediately suggests.

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Another root cause falling into the same
This is similar to the entry "Deficiencies
c at egory is "We ak ne sses in legislation
in po licy a nd r e gu la tion of tra d itio nal
a nd / o r in a d e q ua t e e n fo r c e m e nt o f
n atu ra l resour ce e xploit ation pra ctices
le g i slat io n r e lat in g t o co as t a l zo ne
and inadequate public information" that
m an a ge me n t a nd p r o t e c t i on " t ha t
appears in a further four instances. This
re su lts fr om p roble ms as sociated with
emphasises the problems associated with
land-based a ctivities. Su ch activities are
po o r m an agem en t a nd r eg u la tio n o f
covered by the UNEP Global Programme
fishin g a c tivities in c lu d ing tr ad it io nal
of Action on the Protection of the Marine
(i.e., artisanal) fishing practices.
Environment from Land-based Activities
Among the other frequent root causes is
( UN EP 199 5). I n fac t, the instan ce s in
" Li mi te d a p p li c a t io n o f r e s e a r c h
wh ich this latter r oot ca use ar ises could
kn owled ge to assimilative c ap acity and
h a ve b ee n e qu a lly w e ll exp re sse d as
coastal zone de ve lopm ent" This r eflects
"L im ited c om plia nce w ith th e UN E P
th e scien tific op inion th at it sh ou ld be
G lo b al P ro gra mm e of Ac tio n o n t he
p ossib le to estimate conservatively t he
Pr ote ction of the M a rine E nviro nme n t
c ap a cit y of the ma rine en vir onm ent to
from Land-based Activities". Finally, the
a ssim ila te w a st e ma t er ials ba se d o n
r o o t c au se "L im it e d in flu e n c e o f
contemporary knowledge of the physical,
e n v ir o n m en t a l
c o n st it u e n c y
o n
chemical and biological conditions. Such
gove rnme nt po lic y" tha t a ppear s thr ee
a s si mi lat iv e c a p a c it ie s s ho u l d b e
t im e s is a ls o a c o n t rib u t o r t o t h is
c a lc ula ble fo r se m i- en clo se d co as tal
ca tegory of root ca uses. Th is provides a
ar eas of the Yellow Sea and the Y ellow
p ar ti al e x pla na t io n f o r t h e la c k o f
Sea as a whole. The approach could also
g o ve rn me nt ac t io n t o w a rd s t he
be u s e d t o d e f in e th e de n s it y o f
d evelop me n t of a mo r e co he r en t a nd
a c c ep t a b le c o a st a l d eve lo pm en t .
comprehensive system of legislation that
Addressing this root cause would require
would p rovide a be tte r b alance betwe en
the application of scientific knowledge to
e c o n o m ic
d ev e lo pm en t
a nd
ensure that the use of the Yellow Sea as a
e nvironmental p rotection. This, in tu rn ,
r ece p ta cle for was tes an d as a c oastal
pa ra llels an o th er o f th e ro ot c aus es ­
are a for development is carried out in a
tha t r e la ting to an inade qu ate b a la nce
m an ne r t h a t m inim ise s t h e a d ve r se
b e t w ee n
d e vel o p m e n t
a nd
con seque nces. Th is has clea rly not be en
environmental protection policy.
done.
A m o ng o t h e r r o o t c a u s e s , t he mo s t
A ls o a p p e a r i ng as an in te r m e d ia t e
f r e qu e nt is " We ak e n f o r c e m e n t o f
f r e q u e n c y r o o t c a u s e is "L im it ed
c on tro ls on fish ing act ivities inclu din g
c o m p li an c e
a ss u r a n c e
illegal activities" that appears four times.

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infra st ruc tur e/I na d eq u at e c om p lia nce
par t, addr ess sm all group s of p ro ble ms
assurance". This is quite a serious issue.
h a vi ng s im ila r p ro x im al c au s e s.
Even if th e legislative base for activitie s
Furthe rm ore, in vie w of th e d ominance
a ffe cting the Ye llow Sea wa s pe rfect in
o f le gis lat iv e de f ic ie n c ie s a n d p o o r
th e senses of b oth comp r ehen siven es s
c omp lia nc e wit h e xistin g le gisla t ion,
an d c o h er en ce , th e ab s e n c e an d/ o r
s uc h in te r ve n t io ns w ill n ot o nl y b e
w ea k ne s s i n t h e m ec h an is ms f o r
piecem ea l but are also unlike ly to offe r
en su rin g c om plia nc e with legislat io n
s u s t a in a ble
b e ne f it s
w it ho ut
leaves open oppor tunities for abu se an d
imp r ov e me n ts in t h e po lic y b a la nc e
ignor anc e of the la w. Such we akne sse s
betwee n economic development, on the
a re n o t c o n f in ed t o t h e Ye llo w Se a
o n e ha nd , a n d e n vi ro n me nt a l a n d
region; they are common failings in both
biodiversity protection on the other.
d e ve lop ed a nd d e ve lopin g c o un trie s.
This root cause will be one that justifies
co r rec tive in terve n tion irre sp e ctive o f
an y req uir em en t to re -e xa mine p olic y
and legislative circumstances.
This sets the framework for defining the
op tions for inter ventio n to ad dress th e
e n vir o n m e nt a l p ro b le ms id e nt if ied
w it hin t h e YSLM E p ro je c t. As can b e
gathere d from the previou s su mm ary of
th e re sults of ca u sal chain a na lysis for
the p r ob le ms in ea ch o f the tech nica l
components of the project, interventions
d irecte d at th e primar y, second ar y an d
t er t iar y c a u s e s o f t he i d en t ifi e d
problems, while legitimate, will, in large

---

An essential component of a TDA is a However, the fact that sewage
review of problems and their causes
contributes to the overall adverse effects
to distin gu ish tr an sboun dar y p r oble ms
a ss o cia te d w ith n itr o gen d isc h a r ge ,
from those of purely national (domestic)
w h ic h is c le a r ly a tr an s b o u n d a r y
concern. Therefore, having discussed the
p rob le m, me ans that it cann ot be de alt
e nv iro n m e nt a l p ro b le ms an d t h e ir
with purely as a domestic issue. Drawing
c a u s es b u t b e f o r e t u rn in g to t h e
d istinctions be tween in stan ces in which
identification and analysis of options for
marine heavy metal contamination from
i n t e r ve n t io n , it is a p pr o p ri at e t o
loc a l so u r ces cau se s d a mage so le ly t o
de te r mine if an y, an d w hic h, of th ese
re s ou rc e s an d am e n itie s in th e s a me
p ro b le ms a r e s t r i c t ly o f d o me s ti c
na tiona l jur isd ict ion , and inst anc es in
concern only.
wh ic h t h e ve ry c o n tin u ity o f m ar ine
c irc u la tio n r es ults in a ll d isc ha rg es
I n th e text of t he p re vio u s disc u ssion
contributing to the burden for the Yellow
there has been reference to one domestic
Se a as a w h o le , ca n b e f ra ug ht wi th
problem . Th is is the ca se of th e adverse
d ifficu lty. Esse ntially, the r efore, a ll the
effects of m aricu lture assumin g that the
e nviron me ntal p rob le ms disc us sed in
po ten t ial for dis e a se t r an sm issio n is
this TD A, oth er th an th ose a ssoc ia te d
a mong a djacent m ariculture stocks a nd
w ith inter ac tion s a mo n g m ar icu lt ura l
n ot b e tw e en ma r ic u lt u re s to c ks a nd
d e ve lo p m e n ts ,
a r e
i nh e re nt ly
m ig r a t o ry w ild fis h . Pr o ble m s o f
tr an sb ou ndar y. This is t he case eit he r
d ecreased coa stal water qua lity in some
because the agent of adverse effect is one
c o a s ta l a r e as a s s o c iat e d w it h t h e
c ont rib uted fro m mu ltiple so ur ce s in
d isch arge o f co ntam in ants, partic ular ly
b o t h ju r is dic t io n s o r t h e c a u s e s o f
s e w age a n d, he a vy m e ta ls, m a y we ll
problems are associated with activities in
c on stitu te lar gely dome stic p rob lems .

---

an d ar ou nd t h e Ye llo w Se a t h a t lie in b o t h o f t h e r ip a ria n
jur isdictio ns c on sid er e d he re. The fac t tha t the re e xists a th ird
riparian jurisdiction (the DPRK) that now has indicated a desire to
pa rt icip at e in t h e YSLM E p r o je c t m ak e s it p r e fe r ab le t h a t
co ntr ibu tio ns to the p ollutan t lo ad on the e n tire Yellow Se a be
considered a transboundary issue except in cases where the causes
and consequences of pollutant releases are unambiguously within a
single jurisdiction.

---

This section of the document first legislative circumstances in each of the
id en t if ie s
t h e
o p t io n s
f o r
ri p ar ia n c o u n tr ie s ( ex c lud ing t h e
manage me nt inter vention in th e Yellow
De mocr atic Peo ple 's Rep ublic o f Kor ea
Sea region based on the analysis of root
that is n ot yet a par ty to the Ye llow Sea
cause s of contemp or ary en viron mental
LME p r o jec t) a n d a ss o cia t e d so c io -
p r o b le m s . T he se o p t i on s a re t h e n
economic and technical capacity.
evaluated in the context of the policy and
T h e m a jo r o p tio n s f o r in te r ven t io n
benefit of also offering, at the same time,
re late , first, to impr ovin g the coh er ence
a m e a ns o f a d dr e s s ing d o m e s t ic
and comprehensiveness of legislation for
proble ms in b oth cou ntries. Addressing
the p ro tec tion of the e nviron ment an d
such legisla tive imp roveme nts, foun ded
biodive rsity in th e co ntext of su staine d
o n s t a t e me nt s o f na ti o na l p o li c y
ec o n o mic d e ve l op me nt in b o t h
regarding the balance between economic
c o u n tr ie s. T h i s h as n o t o n ly th e
an d
s o c ia l
d e v e lo p m e n t
an d
ad vantage of a ddressing th e root causes
e n vir o n m e n t al p r o t ec t io n w o u ld
of transboundary problems in the region
pr ob ably be the best ap proach to a dopt.
but also dealing with similar problems in
The r egio na l YSLM E p roje c t o ffe r s a
other coastal sea areas of China and the
ve hicle for imp r ovin g this b a lan ce in a
Ea st and Sou th Se a coastal areas of th e
manner that also improves the coherence
Re p u blic o f K or e a. It h as t he a d de d
of n ation al legislation in Ch ina an d th e

---

Republic of Korea.
important step in resolving within-sector
and cross-sectoral problems of this kind.
Va riou s U nite d N at ion s a ge ncies h ave
lon g pr om ot ed the c on c ep t o f mu lti-
Legisla tive improvemen ts a lone will not
s e c t o r a l
m a n a ge m e n t
o f
t h e
solve the existing problems and forestall
en vi r o n m e n t , i t s re so u r c e s an d
im pe n d in g t h r e a t s if t h e law is n ot
a me n it ie s . T his ha s le d t o , o r be e n
observed . Accordingly, the second most
f o un d ed o n , o t he r c o nc e p t s lik e
im portant inte rve ntion in the re gion is
"in tegrat ed coastal zone ma na geme nt"
t h e im p r o v em e n t o f t h e leg is lat iv e
that endeavour to improve the coherence
c o m plia nc e in fr a s t r u c t ur e in b o t h
a n d
c o m p r e h en si ve n es s
o f
countries. Both countries need to make a
en vi r o n m e n t al m a n a ge m e n t a n d
c o m m i tm e n t t o e ns ur e t h a t t he i r
protection.
r espe ctive law s re lating t o ma rine a nd
coa sta l zone d evelop me nt are observed.
T h is c a n b e d on e b y d e vi si n g a n d
implem en ting a c omplianc e assu r an ce
m ech an ism tha t monitor s activities and
e n s u r e s t h a t, w he re a p pr o p ri at e ,
c or re ct ive m eas u re s ar e ad op ted in a
time ly m an ne r. While this issue is one
having wider connotations in respe ct to
the o bserva nce of the law in a ll pu blic
and private end ea vour s, in th is instan ce
the pu rpo se is to e nsur e th at the la ws
created to p ro te ct the en vironmen t and
b io d ive r sit y ar e fu lly o bse r ve d . T h e
creatio n of a compliance infr astru cture
re qu ir es th e d evelop men t o f a ro utin e
su r ve illa nc e a nd m onito r ing cap ac it y
ap p lie d to c oast al z one a nd ma ritime
activities that is based on sound science.
It a lso r eq uire s tha t the results o f su ch
su r veilla nce a nd m onit or in g ac tivities
Co h e r e n c e o f g o ve r n m e n t a l an d
a r e a na lys e d a n d in te r pr e t e d in a n
subor dinate (i. e., regiona l1 5 , pr ovin cia l
expedient manner to provide indications
and municipal) legislation constitutes an
of actual or impending problems.

---

Once identified, these problems can then
p r oble ms in the Y ello w Sea b ut w ould
b e fu rthe r in vestigated to dete rm in e if
not have the fu ndam en tal im pac t tha t
viola tions of legislat ion h ave o ccur red
th e pr e viou s tw o type s of inte rven tion
an d, if so, p rom pt co rr e ctive m ea su re s
would have.
are instituted. Finally, it requires a cadre
I t is c le a r fro m th es e an d o th er r oo t
o f pr ofession al staff with the a bility to
c a u s e s , s u c h a s t he " ab se n c e o f a
p r o vid e ass is tan c e t o t he viola t or s t o
b ala nc e d en e rg y p olic y ba se d o n th e
corr ect their activities an d, in the even t
n e ed t o m it iga t e climat e cha nge an d
t h at t h e v io la t o rs pr o ve t o b e
protect the environment", that there is a
u n r e s p o n si ve ,
c a n
c o m me nc e
n eed for a fun da me ntal policy re vie w in
a pp r o pr ia te le ga l ac t io n . F o r t he
the two coun tr ies. In deed, such a policy
complian ce syste m to be come re sp ected
review should be done as a precursor to
a s a n au t h o rit a t ive a n d e f fe c t ive
t he c o n s ide r a ti o n o f leg is la ti ve
repre senta tive of the govern ment, fine s
a mendme nts. Th e goal of suc h a policy
s ho u ld b e c o m me n s ur at e w it h t he
r e v ie w w o u ld b e t o d e t e r m in e ho w
damage caused rather than a trivial "slap
gr eate r holisticism (i.e., coh er en ce an d
o n th e w r is t". Fu rt he rm o re , in ca s es
c o m p r e he n s iv e n e s s)
m igh t
b e
w he r e d a ma ge ha s b e e n in flic te d o n
e ngen de red in the legislation app lica ble
n at io n al or r egiona l e nvir onm en ts or
to d iffe ring sectors of the e con omy and
t he ir r eso u rc e s or on o th er leg itim ate
national asp ira tions. Polic y re vie ws in
users of the marine environment and its
both countries could be augmented by a
r e s o u r c e s a n d am e n it ie s , p u n it ive
mu tua l-c ond uc ted re giona l over view to
d a m ag es s h o u ld be s o ug ht fr o m
d e t e r mi n e th e ext e nt t o w h ic h
v io la t o r s . U s e fu l m o de l s f o r s u c h a
h ar m o n iz a tio n of po lic ie s m ight b e
c omp lian c e assur an ce syst em exist in
achieved.
many countries.
Lest the pr ece din g cau sal cha in p roc ess
The re a re a lso opt ion s a t a low er le vel
lea ding to the id en tificatio n of the root
th at would be justified by several of the
c au s e s o f p roble ms b e re ga rd e d a s a
in d ivid u al r o o t c a u se s o f p r ob le ms .
som ewh at aca de mic exer cise re flec tin g
T h e s e , f o r e x a m p le , w o u ld i n v o lve
only the views of scientists,
imp ro vin g th e r egula tio n of pa rticu lar
s ec t o r s, s u c h as ind us t ry, e n e r gy
p r o d u c t io n ,
la nd
d ev e lo pm en t ,
aq u ac ultu re , m ar icu ltu re a nd m ar in e
fish er ies. I nte rve ntions a p plied in each
o f th es e se c to rs , an d o t h er s, wo uld
d e f in i te ly c o n t rib u t e t o m it ig a t in g

---

do mina nt pla c e in p u b lic o pin io n a s
re fle c te d b y t h e Chine se g ove r na nc e
revie w, th ere is little sub stan tiation for
the attribution of problems by the public
to phosphorus-containing detergents. On
the other hand, it is heartening to find a
dominant opinion among all stakeholder
grou p responses that 61 % con side r th at
scien tists constitute the major sou rce of
influ e nc e o n go ve rn m e nts r egar din g
T h is is c o mp oun d ed by th e fa ct tha t
p olicy a nd le gisla tive de ve lopm en t in
mor e in d ividu als wou ld ten d to re po rt
re la ti o n t o t h e e xpl oi t a t io n an d
le ga l violations to the p re ss or to ignor e
protection of the marine environment. In
t h e m r a t he r t h a n r e p o r t t h em to
a sense, this majority view suggests that
government agencies. However, it should
t h e pu b lic w o uld b e l ik e ly t o h av e
be re membe re d th at p ublic p er ception s
co n fid en ce in the r e su lt s of th is TD A
of problems are often not very objective.
because it is based primarily on scientific
F o r e xa mp le, w h ile th er e m a y be
considerations.
ju st ific at ion f or lit ter oc c u p yin g t he
An a n a ly si s o f t h e o pt io n s f o r
c o n t e mp o ra ry e n vir o n m e n t a l a n d
in te rvention can on ly be ca rried out in
biodiversity problems and threats in the
the context of th e policy, le gislative an d
region.
administra tive circu mstances prevailin g
Interventions directed at the lower levels
in the country parties to this project, i.e.,
o f c au se , s uc h a s t ig ht e n in g t h e
in the People's Republic of China and the
regulation of particular user sectors (e.g.,
Republic of Kor ea . Fortu nately, review s
fi sh e rie s , la n d r ec la ma tio n , c o a s t a l
of the governance in these countries have
c on st ru c t io n, ind us tr ia l dis ch a rg e s,
b e e n c a r r ie d o u t a s p ar t o f t h e
s ew a ge
t r e a t m e n t,
m a r ic u lt u r e ,
preparative work for the development of
a q u a c u lt u r e ,
r ive r
c a tc h m e nt
a Str ate gic Action Pr o gr am me for th e
engineering and land reclamation) would
Yellow Sea. These reviews can be used as
c le ar ly be e a s ier t o im p le m e n t th a n
a b a s is fo r c r iti c ally e xa m in ing t h e
in t e r v e n t io n s a d d r e ss in g t h e m o st
o pt io n s fo r in te r ve nt io n t o a d d r e s s

---

c om m on ro ot c au se s. This is b e cau se
in di vid u al
fe de r a l
go v e r n m e n t
se cto ra l ap proa c he s to a d ministr ation ,
d epartme nts. Adop tion of inte rvention s
r e g u la t io n a n d m a n a ge me n t a re
to impr ove complia nce assu ra nce in all
e n t r e n c h e d
in
b o t h
c o u n t r i es .
s e c t o r s o f c oa s ta l z o n e an d m ar ine
A c c o r d in g ly,
t h e
de s ig n
a nd
r e so u rc e ex ploit a t io n se ct o rs wo u ld
imp lem en ta tion o f suc h inter ve ntions
c on s titu te a mu c h m or e fu nd am en ta l
w o u ld lie p r i m a r ily w it h in d ivi d u al
kind of intervention compared with that
g o ve rn m e n t a ge n c ie s an d t h e ir
d isc u sse d in the p re viou s pa ra g r ap h .
p rovincial cou nter pa rts or sub ordina te s.
F u r th e rm o r e , it is on e in w hic h a ll
T h is, h ow ever , wo u ld not e xc us e th e
stakeholder departments can play a role
d e p a r t m e n t s
c o n c e r n e d
fr o m
a nd it m ight also h ave the ad va nta ge of
u ndertaking de tailed c onsultations with
pr omo tin g gre a ter in ter -d ep ar t men tal
o t h e r g o ver n m e n t d e pa r tm e nt s an d
cooperation.
other sta ke hold er s prior to an y decision
I nt er ve nt io n s aim e d a t ad d re ss in g
to a dopt a pa rticu lar inter ventio n. The
p re d o mi na nt ro o t c a u s e s o f t he
f a c t t h a t co o p e ra t ion a mo n g f e de r al
e nvir on menta l prob le ms in th e Yellow
d epar tme nts and a gencies is not always
Se a w ill, a s alre a dy st at e d , o ffe r the
p erfect (a view clea rly expre ssed by the
g r e at e s t po t e n t ia l b e ne f it s t o t h e
sc ien tists involved in this pr oject an d
e nv iro n me nt
a n d
d ef in e
a
those c onsulted dur ing th e pr epara tion
c om p re he nsive , co her ent an d se ns ib le
o f t h e Ch in es e g o ve r n a n c e r e v ie w ,
f ra m e w o r k f o r c o a s t a l an d ma r i ne
i n c lu d in g t h e p ub l ic ) c o n s t it u t es a
exploitation activities. It is, however, the
dr aw b ac k to t he se r at h e r p ie cem ea l
m ost d if ficu lt o f th e in te rve nt io n s t o
inte rve ntion s. I n oth er w ords, th ey a re
d e s ign a nd im p lem en t. It inh er e ntly
r e la t ive ly s im ple in te rv en ti o ns t o
r e q u ir e s
fu ll
a nd
c o n s t r u c ti ve
con ceive an d pr omulgate but wou ld not
c oopera tion am o ng st ak eholde rs in a ll
have the magnitude of benefit or degree
sectors, including government, to devise
o f p ub lic c o n f id e n c e t h a t c o uld b e
a c o n sis te nt na t ion a l leg islat ive an d
ob tained thro ugh the adoption of more
r e gu la t or y fr a me w o rk. T h e fa c t th a t
fundamental interventions.
the r e ar e t wo cou ntrie s invo lve d , a nd
A t t h e n e xt h igh es t le v e l, t h e m o s t
ideally a third, the DPRK, adds an extra
obvious in terven tion to be con sidered is
d im e ns io n o f c o m ple xit y . I f t h is
t h e im p ro ve m e nt of th e c om plia nc e
f u n d a m e n t al a p p r o a c h we r e t o b e
assuran ce mecha nism s a ssocia ted with
a d o p t e d f or t h e pr e pa ra t io n o f t he
legislation a nd r egula tion. Again, th ese
St r at e gic Ac t ion Pr o g r am m e fo r t h e
w o u ld ha ve t he a d va n t ag e o f lyin g
Ye llow Sea LME, it shou ld b e p re ced ed
p re d o m i na n t ly in t he d o m ai ns o f
b y c o m pr e he n siv e p o licy r eview s in

---

Ch in a a n d th e R ep u b lic o f K o re a
in volving st a ke hold er s a t t he h igh es t
levels of government.
Inter ve ntions ad dre ssing lowe r le vels in
t h e c au s a l c h ai ns h a v e a ls o b e e n
c o n si de r ed . T h e r e a r e t wo o b vio u s
ins t an c es in w hic h ac t ion s c o uld b e
adopted to address intermediate causes:
first, th e intr odu ct io n of b uffe r zo ne s
b e t w e e n a gr ic u lt u r a l a c ti vit ies a n d
f re s h w at er s t o re d uc e t he r un o ff o f
ag ric u lt ur al c o nta mina nts inc lu din g
p e st ic ide a nd fer t ilizer r esid u es an d
a n im a l s ew a ge ; a n d , s e c o nd , t h e
im po sition of r eq u ire me nts for pr io r
e nviron menta l impact assessme nts for
c o a s t a l z o n e de v elo p m e nt s a bo v e a
cer tain sca le that cou ld be deter mine d
du ring the con sultations le ad ing to SAP
development.

---

During the process of preparing the considerations for Strategic Action
n a ti o n a l r e p o r t s an d re gio n al
Programme development.
s yn t he s e s f or ea c h o f t h e t ec h n ic a l
The regional synthesis for pollution
c omp one nts o f th e pro je c t (p ollut io n ,
( YSLM E 2 006 c) c on ta in s a n um ber of
e cosyste m, fishe ries and biod iversity) a
recommen da tions in va riou s cate gorie s.
number of observations have been made
U nd e r t he h e ad ing "D e sig n a t io n o f
r e g a r d in g va ri ou s d e f ic ie n c i es in
pollution ho t spots an d se nsitive area s
e n v iro n m e nt a l m a n ag e m e n t a nd
f o r
t h e
SAP "
th e
f o llo w in g
b io diver sity pr ote ct ion. Man y o f these
recommendation is made:
additional issues are of an administrative
and organizational nature but are worth
The Strategic Action Progra mme ( SAP)
recording to determine whether they are
w i ll b e a n a c t io n - or ie n t e d YSL M E
inh ere ntly co ve re d by the r oo t cau se s
in it ia t ive t o t ac k le a nd e lim in a t e
an d/o r the p ote ntia l inter ve ntion s for
p ol lu t a n t s o f t er re st r ia l o r ig in b y
mitigating these causes that have already
f ac i lit at in g a nd a c c el e r a t in g t h e
b e en d isc u ss e d. So me of t h e pr o jec t
im pl e m e n ta t io n
o f
n a t io n a l
c o m p o n e n t
s y nt he se s
in c l ud e
environmental goals. It needs to identify
re comme n da tions re lating to th e n eed
p ollution ho t spots an d sen sitive area s
for new approache s or the correction of
that are the sources of effluent that result
v ar io u s de fi c ie n c ie s 1 6 . A ll s u c h
in the introd uctio n o f t oxic, pe rsiste n t
obser va tions and reco m me ndations, to
and bio-accumulative pollutants into the
the extent that they do not duplicate the
Ye ll o w Se a . Bas e d o n t h e a va ila b le
conclusions of the causal chain analyses,
p ol lu t io n d at a a n d in fo r m a t io n
a re d o c u m en t e d h er e a s a d d i ti on al

---

ge n er a te d t h r ou g h t he n at io n al a nd
goods and services of the Yellow Sea;
c o o p e ra ti ve s t ud y c r u is e r ep o r t s,
· Co u n t ri es
sh o u ld
un de r t ak e
pollution hot spots in the Yellow Sea can
tr ans bou ndar y diagnostic a nalyses
be identified and ranked. This provides a
(TDAs) to provide the science-based
basis for identifying areas to be specially
assessments fo r pr io rity se ttin g in
m anage d and p ro tected to prese rve th e
resp ect to thr eats to the eco syste m
marine ecosystem and protect public health.
and their root causes17 ; and
U n d e r
t h e
h e a d in g
"Ba s e lin e
· Scie n ce-b ased a sse ssme nts sh ould
c o n ta m ina nt lev els e s se nt ia l to
lead interested countries to advance
protecting the safety o f ma rin e life" the
ne w p o li c ie s an d a c t io n s f o r
following recommendation is made:
e li m i na t in g t h e r o ot c au se s o f
Thr eshold con cen trations for safe levels
tr an sbo un d ar y e n viron me ntal a nd
o f co ns e rvat iv e po lluta nt s s h ou ld be
re so u r ce us e pr a ct ic e s le a din g to
sp e c ified . P rio r ity shou ld be given to
s er io us d eg ra da ti o n o f c o a s t al
t hos e po llu t an t s po sin g th e gre a t es t
e n vi r o n me nt s an d lo s se s in
th reat to the m ar in e e nvir onm en t and
b io d ive r s it y a n d f o o d s ec u r it y
c o m m e rc ia lly im p o rt a nt p la n t s a nd
r esu lting from th e overe xploitation
animals living there.
of fish p opula tion in the Y ellow Se a
Large Marine Ecosystem.
Fin ally, th e following recom mendation s
ar e ma de a nd spe cific a lly d irec te d to
T h e se re c om m en d a ti o n s r a is e t w o
stewardship agencies and organizations:
subjects not covered by the previous root
cause analysis. These are "hot spots" and
· D e v e lo p ma n a g e me n t s t r at egie s
" e n v ir o n m e n ta l q u a lit y s t an d a rd s
from simple to co mp rehen sive and
(E QSs)". I t would a pp ear th at th e te rm
f r o m s h o r t - t e r m t o lo ng - t e r m
"hot sp ot s" is used to re fer to inte nse
focu sin g on sustaina ble pr od uction
sour ces of con tamin an t d ischarge at th e
and the safety of marine products;
co ast . Th is sa me term is ofte n used to
refer to heavily contaminated sites in the
· U rge t he u se of scie nt ific findin gs
e nviro n m e nt it se lf b u t this doe s not
a n d a ss e s sm e n ts to id en t ify a nd
c o rr es p o n d t o t he int e n t h e re . I f a
evaluate management options in the
coh ere nt, compre hen sive a nd b alan ced
c o n te xt o f b o t h s c ie nt if ic a lly
sys te m o f r e gu la tion is a pp lied t o a ll
credibility and economic practicality
form s of ac tivity th at poten tially affect
in re lation to the u se o f e cosyste m
the marine en vironmen t in response to

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t h e re s u lts of r o ot c au se a n alys is, it
d e finition of acc ep tab ilit y fr o m po licy
w o u ld a u t o m at ic a lly a dd r e ss t h e
perspectives.
problems associated with a combination
T he
r eg i o n a l
s y nt h e s i s
f o r
of contaminant discharges at the coast.
ecosystems (YSLME 2006d) includes a
T he iss ue of e n vir on me nt al q u alit y
list of major in for mation de ficien cies as
s tan d ar ds is la rg ely p er iph e ra l t o the
shown in Table 18. Its recommendations
k in d s of p r o ble ms ide n t ifie d in t h e
are limited to providing guidance on the
Yel lo w Se a. T h ey c a n be u s e d a s a
me ans of overcom ing su ch de ficie ncie s
m o ni t or in g b e nc h ma r k t o id e n ti fy
f o r th e imp ro v e m e n t o f fu tu r e
instances in which the concentrations of
assessments.
s ub s ta n c es in w a t e r a r e suf fic ien tly
a b n or m a l e it he r t o w a rr an t a n
i nv e s ti ga t io n o f t he i r c au se o r t h e
a doption of remedial ac tion if the cause
is know n. Such stan da rd s nee d no t be
restricted to contaminant concentrations
b u t ca n b e a pp lied to a w ide r an ge of
w ate r an d se dime n t c on s tit u en t s as a
g uid e t o c o nd it io ns in a g iven a re a .
D ep ending on the ir pu rpo se, how eve r,
E Q S valu es f or c o n ta mina nt s c an b e
d iff icu lt t o de f in e in a m a nn e r t ha t
intrinsically reflects some level of safety.
T his is b e ca us e c u rr en t kno wle dge of
e xposu re and effec ts im po ses limits on
t h e d eg re e t o w h ic h a p a r t ic u l ar
concentration can be regarded as "safe".
Indeed, the term "safe" in respect to the
e ff ec t s o f e xp os u re o n n o n - h u m an
o rg an ism s us u a lly c or re s p o n ds to a
judgeme nt of "a cceptability". While this
c a n o f te n b e c o ns id e r e d fr o m
p re dominantly scientific per spe ctive s, it
in va r ia bly d ep e nd s, as in t h e c a s e o f
h u m an h e alt h p ro te c tio n , o n a p r io r

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Species composition
- seasonal species composition except autumn
- detailed species composition for each taxonomic group
Abundance
Phytoplankton
- winter data,
- detailed data on diverse taxonomic group such as picoplankton
- chlorophyll-a
Primary production
- winter and summer production
Detailed species composition for all zooplankton groups
Zooplankton
Species composition in other seasons than May and December
Depth distribution of zooplankton
Species level identification for all taxonomic groups
Benthos
Seasonal data except September
Species composition
HABs
Detailed abundance on other taxonomic groups such as picoplankton
Detailed species composition of picoplankton groups
W h il e t he se r e c om m e n d a ti o ns ar e
t o im p r o ve t h e u n d e r s t a n d in g an d
salient to the conduct of future scientific
pre dic tion of fis h st ocks . I t also no tes
a ct iv it ies in t he r e g io n, t h ey a r e o f
that only general descriptions have been
lim it e d r e le v an c e t o p o lic y an d
provide d by China and Korea re ga rd ing
regulatory matters and therefore are not
th e socio-econ omic asp ec ts of fishe ries
discussed further in this document. They
with out the deta ile d a nalyse s re qu ire d
c o uld , h ow e ve r , be in clu d e d i n a n y
for lon g-te rm data inter pr etation . There
fu t u re sc ie n t ific a ct ivit ie s co n du c te d
is th erefor e a need to collect long-te rm
within the YSLME project or under other
da ta o n f is h er ies e c o no m ic s a n d to
auspices.
include additional expertise on economic
data analysis in future assessments.
The regional synthesis for fisheries
(YSLME 2 006e) a lso note d some issue s
Fin ally, it is rec ommen de d that a joint
o f a t e c h n ic a l n a t u r e t ha t ju s t ifi e d
fish e rie s d atab ase be estab lishe d , n ot
attention. In p ar ticular, the assum ption
on ly for pr ovision of histo ric al fish eries
of different sizes of some fish at maturity
data and information but also as a basis
by the two countries presents an obstacle
for future cooperative research studies in
to ha rm o niz ed fish erie s m ana geme n t.
the Yellow Sea. Such a database would be
T h e
s yn t h es is
c o n t a in s
of gr eat a ssistance to scie ntific activities
recommendations for systematic surveys
for c ollectin g an d re tr ie vin g re se ar c h

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d ata a nd fo r m onitor ing th e sta t us of
important biodiversity of the Yellow Sea
fish er ies re sou r c es. T h is is c lear ly an
b e im pr o v ed a n d t h e s u s t a in a b le
i ss u e t ha t sh o u ld b e a d d re s s e d in
development of society and the economy
d e vi si ng im p r o ve m e n t s t o , a n d
in the ecoregion achieved.
h a r mo n iz in g , f ish er ies m a na ge me nt
T h is s ta te m e n t m a k es a p le a fo r a n
procedures in the region.
e nviro nme nta l ma na geme nt p lan to be
T h e
r e g i o n al
s y n t h es i s
o n
developed specifically for the Yellow Sea
biodiversity (YSLME 2006f) makes no
b e c a u se o f it s gl o b a l a n d re gio n al
specific recommendations. Nevertheless,
imp o rtan c e in a b iodiver sity co n te xt .
t h er e ar e r e fe r en c e s in t h e re po rt t o
Th is may w ell be a lauda ble suggestion.
c o n c e r ns r e g a r d in g t h e de c l ine o f
However, it can only be achieved on the
end em ic sp ecies a nd the loss of genetic
basis of a sound and coherent legislative
d ive r sit y a lth o ugh a ss oc ia t e d ca u sa l
an d regulatory system for r esource and
chain analyses have not been conducted.
environmental management as argued in
T h e s e m a y w e ll b e to pic s wo rt h y o f
the identification and analysis of options
greater attention in the next phase of the
for in ter vention ba sed on th e resu lts of
YSLME project.
causal chain analysis in this TDA.
Th e regiona l synthe sis o n b iodive rsity
c o n t ain s t h e fo llo w i n g c o n c l ud in g
s ta t e me nt tha t is w o rth r e pr od uc ing
here.
T he e x c e p t io n a l im po r t an c e o f t h e
biodiversity of the Yellow Sea, both on a
global scale and as a resource shared by
China, the DPRK and the ROK, makes it
h igh ly d esira b le tha t c on ser va tion be
impleme nted on an e coregiona l ba sis.
The challenge is to facilitate a process in
w h ic h a Y e ll ow S ea E c o r e g io n
m a n ag e me n t p la n is a d o p t e d a n d
im plemented by the three gov ernments1 8.
Only then will the future of the globally

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ATransboundary Diagnostic Analysis Other changes are merely worrying in
(TDA) is an intermediate vehicle for
th e se nse tha t the ir ultima te ca use a nd
t h e pre p ara t ion o f a Strat eg ic Act ion
lon g- te rm c ons eq u e nce s a re n o t fu lly
Pr ogr am me ( SAP). Th is TDA has bee n
u nd er stood from scientific per spective s.
p re p ar ed to p ro vide guid an c e fo r th e
Some of these may be warning signals of
development of a SAP for the Yellow Sea
resp onses to glob al c lima tic ch an ge bu t
t ha t c on st it u te s t he n ext stag e o f the
this is not in all cases certain.
UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea LME project.
This TDA shows that the most important
There is abundant evidence of changes in
inte rve nt ion s t o inc or po ra te into the
the condition of the Yellow Sea, some of
Yellow Sea SAP a re im pr o ve me n ts t o
wh ich are the result of human ac tivitie s
le gislation an d associated re gu lations in
in the region.
th e Pe ople' s Rep ublic of Ch in a an d the
Repu blic of Ko re a. Suc h imp rove ments
s h o u ld b e a im ed a t e nh a n c in g t h e
p r o t e c t io n o f m a r in e an d c o a s t al
biodiversity and the marine environment
o f t h e Ye llow Se a , it s r e so u rc e s a nd
amenities. Specifically, efforts need to be
d ir e c te d t o i mp ro v ing b ot h t h e
c omp re he n sive ne ss an d c ohe r en c e o f
le gis la tio n so t h at e x istin g gap s an d
loop ho le s are close d. Mor eo ve r, to the
e xt e n t p o s s ib le , t h e le g is la t ive ,
a dm in is tr at i ve
an d
r e g u la t o r y
frame works in the People's Re public of

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Ch ina and Kor ea should be h armonized
that similar problems of non-compliance
t o pr o vid e a "le ve l p laying fie ld" fo r
with legal an d regulatory provisions ar e
h um an a ct ivit ies w it hin , a nd o n t h e
occu rring in oth er se ctors. The cr ea tion
borders of, the Yellow Sea. To this end, a
o f a c o m pr eh e n si ve c om p l ian c e
comprehensive and critical review of the
a ssu ra nc e m ech an ism in both cou ntries
existing le gisla tive provisions in the two
w o ul d c le ar ly p r o v id e su b s ta nt i a l
c oun t r ie s s hou ld b e u nd er ta ken a s a
b e ne fit s t o t h e en vir o nme n t a nd t h e
me an s of e xa minin g op po rt un ities fo r
protection of biodiversity.
imp rovin g th e pr otec tion of the Y ellow
I t sh o u ld b e n o t ed , t ha t f ull
Sea environment and its biodiversity and
imp lem en ta tion o f t h e Ballas t Wat e r
pr omoting the com pa ra bility of controls
Con ve ntion, the Stockholm Conven tion,
on human activities in the two countries.
and the new provisions (Annex V) of the
In th is c on text, th e tw o r iparian state s
M A RP O L Co n ve nt io n w il l pr o vi d e
m ig ht w is h t o c o n si d er a b ila t e r a l
in c re a sed pro tec tion of the Yellow Se a
ag r e em en t , e it h er in d e p en de n t ly o r
from the perspectives of the introduction
unde r a re giona l u mbrella organiza tion,
o f alien s pe cies , th e m a na g e me n t o f
to cooperate in the enhancement of their
p e rsisten t o r ga nic p o llu tan t s and the
le gislative an d regulatory provisions for
mitiga tion of solid waste s de rive d fro m
the protection of the Yellow Sea. Such an
the mar itime tr ansp ort sector . The SAP
agr e em en t cou ld co nstitu te a basis of a
shou ld concen tra te o n c omp le menta ry
Strate gic Action Progr amm e that wou ld
initiatives to th ese deve lo pm ents as a
in clud e r eviews of legisla tio n an d an
means of red ucing stre ss on th e Ye llow
agreement to foster the harmonization of
Sea from other sources and activities.
la ws a nd r egulations, first dom estic ally
T h e re a r e t w o is s u e s t o w h ic h
and then bilaterally.
in ter ve ntions dir ected a t lower levels in
The s ec on d m ost imp or t an t to pic fo r
t h e c a u s a l c h a ins w o u ld b e b o t h
in c lus io n in t h e SAP w o u ld b e a n
tr acta ble, sensible and offer substa ntia l
a gr e e m e n t t o im p r o ve t he le v e l o f
b en ef it s. The fir st o f the se a dd r ess es
compliance with laws and regulations in
agr icu lt ur al r u no ff fr om bo t h a rab le
a ll sector s of h um an activity ha vin g the
f a r m i n g an d an im al h u s b an dr y.
p otential to a dve rse ly affe ct the Yellow
Fer tiliz er s , anim al se wag e, p es ticid es
Sea. Currently, there exist deficiencies in
and con side ra ble qua ntitie s of n utrien ts
the exten t of com plian ce with laws an d
a re d erived from agricu ltural ac tivities
r egulations. Th is is most eviden t in th e
and there would be considerable benefit
marine fisheries sector. The causal chain
in re d uc in g su c h r un o ff. Th is c a n be
an alysis in t his T DA sh o ws , how e ver ,
done b y imposing buffer zones b etwee n

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farm s a nd adjacent sur fa ce waters, such
such as mariculture.
as st rea ms la ke s a nd r ive rs, to abso rb
T h e t w o c o un t r ie s s ho u l d c o ns id e r
some of the contaminants. The inclusion
m a ki n g a st r o n g e r c o m m it me n t t o
o f a pro gra mme to ste ad ily in tr odu ce
improving solid waste management in all
ad ditio n al bu ffer zone s be twe en far ms
sector s of h uman activity, e specially the
and freshwater bodies could be included
construction and municipal sectors, as a
in the SAP. The second intervention that
me an s of re du cin g the e ntry o f floa ting
might b e co nside r ed is mor e ge neric ­
a n d s u bm er g e d s olid w a st e int o t h e
the application of environmental impact
m arine en vironm en t w he re it in terferes
assessments (EIA) to future coastal zone
w i th b o t h r e c re a t io n a l a n d f is h in g
d evelop me n ts a s a m ea ns o f ens uring
a c tivitie s a nd c a n pr esen t h az ar ds t o
th at all potentia l inte raction s with , a nd
navigation.
effe cts on, existing a ctivities, resour ces
and amenities are considered prior to the
Harmonization of the scientific basis for
e n dor s e me nt ne w d e ve lop me nts . Th e
the management of individual fish stocks
s c ale o f de ve lop m e nt fo r w h ic h EI A
w o u ld imp ro v e t h e c o n s is te n c y o f
w ould be r equ ired could be d ete rmin ed
fisheries management in both China and
b y th e tw o r ip a rian st ate s d u rin g the
Korea. It would also provide a vehicle for
course of the SAP preparation process.
harmonizing the marine natural resource
m an agem en t fra me w orks b et we en the
The TDA also reveals that there are some
two countries.
o ther largely tech nic a l, m easu r es th at
could be adopted to reduce stress on the
The polyculture approach to mariculture,
Ye llow Sea. The final para gr aphs b elow
in w h ic h p e la gi c f is h , mo llu s c s a nd
spe cify p ar ticular tech nica l, e ngin eering
se a we eds a re gro wn in sequ en ce alon g
and/or scientific activities that should be
t he p r e va ili n g c ur re n t d ir e c t io n in
in c lu d ed a s e le me n t s o f a te ch n ic a l
c o a s ta l a re a s , i s w o rt h y o f w id e r
component of the Yellow Sea SAP. They
application as a means of minimizing the
d e al r e sp ect ively with imp ro ve d s olid
a d ver se e ffe ct s a nd ma xim izin g t h e
w a ste ma na ge me nt, h ar mo niza t io n of
benefits of m ar icu lture. The polycultu re
fish st ock asse ssme nt t ec hn iq u e s, th e
concept would appear to warrant testing
w id e r a p p lic a t ion of the p o lyc u lt u re
in c o a s t a l a r e as to d e t er m in e t he
c on cep t in ma ric u ltu ra l de velo p ment ,
op timum de nsity and mix of or ganisms
an d t he ap plic a tion o f th e c on c ep t of
t hat can b e c ult ur ed in s eq ue n ce as a
a ss imila tiv e ca p ac it y to e n su r e tha t
function of water advection rates.
sensible limits are placed on riverine and
coastal discharges to the Yellow Sea and
It is abundantly clear from this TDA, and
o n the scale of c oasta l d e velop me nts ,
o th er as se ssme n ts o f th e r egion ( e .g. ,

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G I WA 2 005 ), t h at po llu t ion ( th a t is,
O ne o f th e outs ta nd ing s cie ntific an d
a d ve rs e e ff e c t s as s o c ia t e d w it h
management challenges is the protection
substances introduced to the Yellow Sea
of biod ive rs ity th ro ugh th e me dium o f
from municipa l, indu str ia l, maricu ltur al
h abita t pre se rvation. I t w ould a pp e ar
a nd a gr icu lt ura l ac tivities) is a ma jo r
th at the World Wide Fund for Na tu re,
c a use of e n viro n me nta l c om pr omise ,
t o ge th e r wit h it s Ko r e a n sc i e nt if ic
particularly in inshore and coastal areas.
in stit ut e p ar tne rs (WW F et a l., 2006 )
T h e co nc e p t o f as similat ive ca p ac it y
h as m a de a c om m en d able att em pt to
applied to coastal embayments and other
d e fine th e a re as, an ima ls an d pla nts
coastal a re as of th e Yellow Se a, and the
w orth y o f pr ima ry p rot e ction . Fu tu r e
Y ello w Se a its elf, o ffe rs an a bilit y to
wo rk in th e biod ive rsity comp one nt o f
d e t er min e ac c e pt ab le li m it s f o r t he
the pr oje ct should con side r b uildin g on
a ggr e gate disch arge s of substan ces like
this w or k b y de vising ways t o p rotect
sew a g e a n d n itr o ge n t h at ar e c lea rly
t he se a re as a n d r es o ur c e s . Su c h
ha vin g ser ious ad ver se e ffec ts o n th e
me asu re s, on ce devise d, migh t a lso b e
m ar in e e nvir on me n t. T he sc ie n tis t s
included among the interventions in the
e ngaged in th e U NDP/G EF Yellow Se a
Str at egic Ac tio n P ro gr a mm e fo r t he
pr o jec t ha v e b ot h t he e x p e rt ise a n d
Yellow Sea.
ca pac ity to un dertake c alcula tions th at
Fin ally, a co mme nt n eed s to be mad e
wou ld provide discharge limits for such
about future scientific work conducted in
s u bs ta nc e s and o t he r s t h at h ave t he
t he Y SL M E pr o jec t. T h e re w o u ld be
p otentia l for sim ila r ad verse effec ts. It
be nefit in revising th e existing scie ntific
s ho u ld b e p o s s ib le to c a lc ula t e t h e
wo rk ing gro u p st r uc t ur e , o ri gin a lly
a ss im ila t iv e c a p a c it y o f c oa s t a l
cre ated in align me nt w it h the pr o ject
em ba yme nts an d th e Ye llow Se a as a
components, to one that allows issues to
wh ole. Th is can the n be used to defin e
b e i nve s ti ga t e d m o re f ro m m u lt i-
the r ates an d location s of con tam in an t
d i sc i p lin a r y, r a th e r t ha n si n g le
discharge and the scales and locations of
d isc ip lina ry, pe rspe c tive s. The Proje ct
m a r ic u l tu r a l a c t i vit ie s t h a t a r e
M a n ag em en t O f fic e m igh t c o n sid er
s u s t a i na b le in t h e c o nt e x t o f t h e ir
c o ns u lt in g t h e Pr o je c t St e er in g
compatibility with other uses of the sea.
Committee on this topic during the early
Su c h w o rk w o uld i mp r o ve n at io n al
p h as e s o f t he c o n s u lt a t io n s o n t he
ca pa c it ie s in Ch ina an d Ko r e a for th e
development of the Yellow Sea SAP.
implementa tion of the provisions of the
Glo ba l Progr amm e of Action to Protec t
the M a rine En vir onm en t fro m La nd -
based Activities (UNEP, 1995).

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The author of this report would first consultations provided valuable insights
like to express his appreciation to all
t o t he r egion an d co ve re d a ra nge o f
t h e s t a ff o f t h e Y SL M E P r o je c t
s c ie n ti fic , le g al a n d ad m ini st ra t ive
M a na geme nt Offic e (PM O) comp risin g
t o p ic s. Am o n g t he s e ind ivid ua ls, t o
Con nie CHIANG, Isa o E NDO, Sun gjun
whom thanks are due, were: CHO Dong-
PARK, Junghw a KI M , Kyu ngs uk LEE ,
O h, CHOI Hee-G u, CH UN G Su h-Yon g,
E u ide a YU N, (J an e ) WE I Ja n, I v an
FEN G Aiping, HEO Se ung, HONG, Ja e-
SOTO, Kapsung SONG and, particularly,
San g , H ONG G i- H oo n , H U H Hyu ng-
t he Pr o je c t M an ag er , Yih a n g JI AN G .
T ac k, H UH Sik , H U O Chu an lin , J IN
Th eir collective assista nce in explaining
X ia n s h i, An at o ly KA CH U R , K AN G
th e pr oject st ru ctur e an d th eir sm ooth
Da eseok, KANG You ng Shil, KIM Cha n-
ad minist ration o f m ee ting a nd tr a vel
Woo , KIM Hak-Gyoo n, KWO N Su kjae ,
arrangements was exemplary.
LE E Y o on, LI Ha iq ing, LI Jingmei, LI
R u i xa n g , L I AN G Fe n g k u i, A nd r ew
The author also held discussions, formal
M ENZ, O H J ae Ryou ng, PARK H eun g
a nd in f o r m a l, w it h s e ve r a l o th er
K ye o n g, Q I A O Fa n g li, SH I N K yun g
individ ua ls d ur ing th e cou rse of some
H o o n , SH I N W o n - T ae , Ale xa n d e r
seve n we ek s spen t in th e re gion , b oth
TKALIN, XU Xiang Min, WANG Juying,
within and outside meetings of Regional
WEN Q uan , YAN G Ya feng, YAO Ziw ei,
W o rk in g Gr ou ps, t h e Sc ie n tif ic a nd
YO O Sin jae , Y U Mi n g , a nd ZH U
Technical Panel and the Project Steering
Mingyuan.
Co m m it t e e .
T h es e
ad d it io n al

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