Key Environmental Issues Related to the Coastal Hydrosphere in East Asia: Directions for Future Work

Zafar Adeel
The United Nations University, Tokyo, Japan

Most of the countries in the East Asian region have witnessed a boom in industrial activity during the past two or three decades. This wave of industrialization, like the one in the West at the turn of this century, has brought along a string of environmental problems as a side-effect of the economic growth. The countries involved in the UNU-led project: 'Environmental Monitoring and Analysis in the East Asian Region' are not immune to this phenomenon. These countries/territories are: China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taipei, Thailand, and Vietnam. As is obvious from one look at the map of this region, these countries share connected coastal lines and national boundaries. The protection of these closely inter-linked coastal areas against environmental deterioration is, thus, a common goal and a key environmental concern for these countries.

The coastal areas in the East Asian region are now at a greater risk of pollution from land-based sources. These land-based sources can be many and varied in different countries. In this context, of most concern are pollutants that are resistant to environmental degradation processes and persist in the environment for a long time. These pollutants can travel from the land-based sources to the coastal areas through a variety of mechanisms, including the following:

1. Surface runoff from agricultural and industrial areas located in coastal zones
2. Direct discharge of industrial and urban wastewater into coastal areas
3. Garbage and solid waste disposal in areas adjacent to coastline
4. River water carrying discharges from urban and industrial areas, including discharges from various wastewater treatment plants
5. Pollutants transported via air and deposited in coastal zones
6. Contaminated groundwater discharging naturally into coastal zones

It is obvious that the coastal areas can be impacted by quite a few different sources and via a range of transport mechanisms. Consequently, often times it is a difficult, if not impossible, task to identify individual sources attributable for a specific type of pollution. Consistent and continuous environmental monitoring of coastal areas is the first step in understanding the nature of pollution. As can be observed from the list above, water forms an important component of pollutant transport to the coastal areas. Therefore, the "Hydrosphere" should be a focus of research and investigation in the coastal zones; this term encompasses both freshwater input to the coastal areas and the seawater.

Among the persistent pollutants commonly found in the coastal hydrosphere endocrine disruptor compounds (EDCs) have been receiving world-wide attention. EDCs include a broad range of chemicals that can interfere with the normal functioning of hormones in controlling growth, reproduction, and body metabolism in humans and animals. Recent research, such as that presented here by Professor Michael Fry, has revealed that several animal species in the coastal hydrosphere have suffered adverse health effects from exposure to chemical pollutants that are suspected to interact with the endocrine system. Most commonly, these health effects are a result of relatively high-level exposure to organo-chlorine compounds (such as DDT and its metabolites, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dioxins) and some naturally occurring estrogens. A major and primary component of ongoing research effort is to determine the levels of suspected EDCs present in key ecological systems and the corresponding exposure level to likely target species. The other components of current international research involve detailed studies designed to elaborate the cause-and-effect relationship between exposure levels and observed adverse health effects.

The first step in countering the problem of EDC contamination is to determine the levels of contaminants in various compartments of the environment. In this context, the coastal hydrosphere is a target of intense global research. However, the information on EDC contamination in coastal areas of the East Asian countries is not readily available. Therefore, it becomes important to first determine the contamination levels of the suspected EDCs in the participant countries. This database of information can then be used for scientific studies investigating the ecological risks as well as for development of environmental management policies.

In view of its importance to the coastal ecosystems and economies, and indirectly to human health and welfare, UNU is proposing to investigate the presence of EDCs in the coastal hydrosphere. This can be done through continued utilization of the network of research laboratories developed under the Environmental Monitoring and Analysis in East Asia Project and through building on the existing analytical capacities within the laboratories. On the whole, the Coastal Hydrosphere project will be consistent with the Washington Action Plan (1995) for protection of the marine environment. This international treaty is designed to focus on protecting coastal and marine environments from pollution sources that originate on land. The project will comprise two parallel and mutually complementary components:

1. Coastal hydrosphere monitoring of EDCs and related database development
2. Guidelines for development of consistent coastal management programmes in East Asia

'Coastal Hydrosphere Monitoring' means monitoring both input of EDCs to the coastal areas via freshwater, as well as seawater pollution. The focus of this monitoring will be on compounds that are suspected to be EDCs. More specifically, the targeted compounds will include pesticides and organochlorine compounds which are considered land-based sources of coastal pollution. These compounds can be analyzed by the participating laboratories at their current capacity level. The final product of this project component will be a comprehensive database of targeted pollutant levels in coastal areas. It would make sense to include this database into LANDBASE, which was developed under the current project.

The data collected from the monitoring component will be used in the second component for developing guidelines for coastal management plans. This component will primarily comprise annual symposia and workshops, involving leading experts on coastal protection and management. The papers and workshop proceedings will be disseminated in a book form. The anticipated outcome of the coastal management phase will be to assist the participating countries in development of consistent and scientifically-based policies for management of coastal environment resources. The primary objectives of the project are:

1. Capacity-building for coastal hydrosphere monitoring
2. Development of a regional monitoring database for EDC pollution from land-based sources
3. Development of guidelines for consistent coastal management plans in the East Asian region

In the long-term, the geographical scope of the project can be expanded to include other Asian countries, including: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Similarly, the network of laboratories can be extended within each of the participant countries to include a wider range of expertise. Ideally, it would be useful to include data from social sciences, such as population statistics, land-use, agricultural and industrial production, into the database to make it a comprehensive policy-making tool.