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PROJECT #2003-17SG
Seed Grant for Proposal Development: Climate Variability and Human Activities in Relation to Northeast Asian Land-Ocean Interactions and their Implications for Coastal Zone Management

A representative of the APN, Dr. Linda Stevenson (Programme Manager, APN Secretariat), was funded by APN directly.

Brief introduction and background:
As a result of the APN/START activity: Global Change Research Awareness Raising Symposium in Northeast Asia, held in Vladivostok (2002), it was identified that focus of the regional global change community should be placed on river-ocean interactions and environmental changes in river basins and near-river coastal zones of major rivers of Northeast Asia.

A proposal, Climate Variability and Human Activities in Relation to Northeast Asian Land-Ocean Interactions and their Implications for Coastal Zone Management, was developed by Russian, Chinese and Korean scientists to investigate and assess the effects of natural climatic variability and socio-economic development on global environmental change. In order to improve the proposal, discuss methodologies and identify priorities, the APN, in the form of a seed grant, sponsored a workshop in Vladivostok which included a field excursion in the Russian Far East area.

Outline of activities conducted:
The workshop was held at the Institute of Marine Biology, Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, from 9-11 August, 2003. A total of about twenty (20) participants, consisting of Russian participants from the Institute of Marine Biology, the Pacific Oceanological Institute (RAS), the Far Eastern Regional Hydro-meteorological Research Institute and the Far East National University, four (4) overseas participants from P. R. China and the Republic of Korea, and a representative of APN attended.

General discussions on the first day of the workshop included the following topics:

• Development of the proposal to be submitted to APN for reconsideration;
• River input to sea (suspension matter and river water);
• Chemical composition of solid and water samples; and
• Chemical composition of river material in coastal zones, etc.

The second day was devoted to a field excursion to the mouth of the Razdolnaya River with a session held at the field station of a local fisheries company. Presentations by Russian participants dealing with regional and local aspects of environmental and climatic changes were given in the afternoon sensitizing particularly the international scientists to these issues in the Russian Far East. A wide range of topics reflected a variety of research carried out by Russian Far East scientists as related to the project proposal and included such topics as:

• Modern ecological and geographical conditions of the Razdolnaya River mouth zone;
• Physico-chemical modelling of behaviour of Arsenic, Chromium and Vanadium in the mixing zone of river and sea waters;
• Carbonate system of the Razdolnaya River and Amursky Bay;
• Seasonality of climate change and oscillations in Northeast Asia;
• Pollution and its biological indicators in coastal waters near Vladivostok ; and
• Harmful algal blooms on the eastern coast of Russia.

These presentations demonstrated that a regional community of scientists have both a representative and valuable dataset regarding changes in river/ocean systems which can be a basis for comparative and synthesis studies using datasets already collated by our Chinese and Korean collaborators.

The final day of the workshop was dedicated to the final improvement of the proposal, its tasks, methodologies and expected outcomes. The project proposal includes the following main objectives:

• Identification of estuarine and coastal changes in terms of hydrology, hydrochemistry, geochemistry, geomorphology, ecosystem and material cycling patterns of the Northeast Asia region, with special reference to the Amur, Tumen and Razdolnaya Rivers; and
• Evaluation of the sensitivity of regional changes in relation to anthropogenic processes and climate change; provision of the recommendations to managers of sustainable coastal development in the region, and assistance to policy- and decision-makers.

Outcomes and products:
The workshop provided an excellent opportunity for participants to re-evaluate and strengthen the APN proposal and become acquainted with the results of their Russian colleagues as related to river-ocean interactions and environmental change. The main outcome of the meeting was the improvement and submission to APN of the project proposal itself as well as the development of strong linkages and the initial exchange of data between the Chinese, Korean and Russian scientists who will fully collaborate in the project. One other expected product of the workshop will be the development of a website that will contain databases, lists of relevant references and a description of the global change research activities in the area as related to the project.

Future directions and follow-up work:
The main tasks for future work given the acceptance of the APN proposal will be to:

• Develop further and implement a research and training project with the full involvement of young scientists;
• Prepare a collective monograph that synthesises new and published results; and
• Develop recommendations for local policy- and decision-makers on sustainable coastal management.