Global Programme of Action Fact Sheets
East Asia Seas
Sewage
As with the South Asia, sewage is a major issue here too.
Currently the wastewater treatment level is just over a quarter in China with that of
South Korea standing at around just under 70 per cent. However, in many rural areas
South Korea still has a wastewater treatment supply rate of just over 10 per cent.
In Japan the percentage of the population connected to a sewerage system was just
under 60 per cent in 1998.
Nutrients
Urban and agricultural areas of the region produce high levels of organic wastes
which the nature-based filters at the coast cannot fully neutralize.
River running through Cambodia, China, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam deliver at
least 637,000 tonnes of nutrients to the coastal waters of the Sunda Shelf.
Over 50 per cent of this comes from China with around a fifth each from Vietnam and
Thailand.
The Bohai, Yellow and East China seas received in 1999, a total of 1,500 million
tones of industrial wastewater which included nutrients like nitrogen and phosphates
from 12 major coastal Chinese cities.
In 2001, close to 80 red tide events occurred affecting 15,000 square km of coastal
waters.
Persistent Organic Pollutants
Hard and comprehensive data is unavailable.
Heavy Metals
Limited data
Oil
Shipping is a major source of oil pollution in the region. At risk areas include the
South China Sea and the Straits of Malacca. Tests in the straits found hydrocarbon
concentrations around the Bintam and Batam islands at levels deemed damaging to
marine life forms.
An estimated 30 per cent of tar balls found on the coast of Peninsular Malaysia came
from oil produced in the Middle East underlining the link between tanker traffic and
pollution.
Land-based sources are also of concern. In the Gulf of Thailand, the main source of
oil pollution is from cities, refineries and other industrial facilities.
Sediments
Two thirds of the world’s total sediment transport to the oceans occurs in South and
East Asia.
In Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand, deforestation occurs over 50,000
square km of forest adding to soil erosion and sediment loads in waterways.
Studies in the Philippines and Indonesia estimate that the damage to coral reefs from
logging-induced sedimentation greatly exceeds the economic benefits of logging.
In the Mahakam River Delta, around two million cubic meters of sediment is dredged
to maintain navigation with the siltation linked to over logging in the interior of
Kalimantan.
Coastal and Marine Litter
The coastal population of Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Thailand and Vietnam generates over 66 million tones of solid waste a year and
marine litter is becoming a growing problem.
Physical Alteration and Destruction of Habitats
Urbanization and agricultural expansion are putting the coastal zone under rising
pressure.
Coastal erosion is wide spread. In Malaysia, for example, coastal erosion has affected
every state and close to a third of that country’s coastline is eroded.
Between a fifth to a quarter of seasgrass beds in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and
Thailand have been damaged as a result of impacts including clearance for
commercial seaweed farms, pollution, sedimentation and dredging.