Regional node - Asia

Photo credit: Andrzej Suwara / Unsplash

Introducing ECOP Asia

Since June 2021, ECOP Asia has been established as a regional node of the Global ECOP Programme, to connect existing networks of multi-disciplinary ECOPs across Asia, and to exchange past experience and current knowledge of the challenges and objectives of the UN Ocean Decade.

ECOP Asia assists in:

(i) Organizing trainings and events (e.g. seminars, workshops, symposia) related to the Ocean Decade at both the regional and country levels, (ii) Disseminating relevant news and opportunities, including jobs, scholarships/grants, internships, upcoming conferences etc. (if interested, make sure to subscribe to our monthly newsletter here), (iii) Bridging regional ECOP nodes (i.e. connecting and collaborating with partners in Africa and Canada), and (iv) Providing feedback in the form of surveys or assessments (see our published materials here).

ECOP Asia aims to develop and nurture a vibrant, engaged, and inclusive regional ECOP community in Asia, conducive to inter-generational dialogues, cross-sectoral partnerships, and transformative ocean solutions. The backbone of our regional strategy relies on three key pillars:

(1) Taking stock of the ECOP landscape in Asia,

(2) Liaising and cross-pollinating: Establishing a regional “network of networks”,

(3) Leveraging opportunities fo ECOPs and partners in Asia.

ECOP Asia Coordination Unit

ECOP Asia welcomes you to join the network and share your country’s activities and opportunities related to the UN Ocean Decade.

For any questions or enquiries, please contact:

Raphaël Roman
Email: asia@ecopdecade.org

Hailing from landlocked Switzerland, Raphaël developed his passion for marine conservation, interdisciplinary ocean science, and coastal community wellbeing through various research and consultancy appointments across the North Pacific (in both Canada and Japan). In his current role, Raphaël strives to establish and sustain a vibrant, engaged, and inclusive regional ECOP community in Asia, across sectors, disciplines, and cultural contexts.

Are you an Early Career Ocean Professional
based in/from China or India?

Support the creation of National Nodes in India and China by completing the following online surveys, brought to you by the ECOP Asia. We would highly appreciate your participation to fill out the digital forms, which should take between 3-8 minutes to complete. Responses given to surveys will be treated with the utmost confidentiality. We will make sure to report results, insights and impacts back to you!

For any inquiries on the survey and our Asian ECOP node, contact us: asia@ecopdecade.org.

Join the ECOP Asia Community and contribute

Action Plan

Curating a regional inventory of ECOPs and cross-sectoral ocean stakeholders
Filling gaps in geographical representation
Enhancing our understanding of national nuances and cultural distinctions in Asia (e.g. different needs, priorities and challenges for ECOPs)
Overseeing and facilitating the establishment of sub-regional and national ECOP nodes
Seeking new sustainable sources of funding to support ECOP ideas, activities, as well as training and career development opportunities

Read the ECOP Asia Intermediary Report

This intermediary report provides an overview of the progress and tasks undertaken by the Regional ECOP Coordinator for Asia from December 14th, 2021 to March 31st, 2022.

Click here to access the ECOP Asia Intermediary Report.

Asia Sub-Regional Nodes

Find Opportunities in Asia
(Conferences, symposia, scholarships, jobs, funding)
in our Global Opportunities section

ECOP Asia Highlights

December 12, 2022: Hari Vishnu, ECOP Asia member, Senior Research Fellow at the National University of Singapore and an organizer of Singapore AUV Challenge was featured in ECOP Conversations. Hari’s talks about his work in underwater acoustic signal processing, machine learning for bio-acoustics and robotics. Watch the full video on our Youtube channel here.
November 11, 2022: Interviewed Camille Rivera, one of our ECOP champions from the Philippines and co-founder of Oceanus Conservation. You can listen to her interview in our “ECOP Conversations” video series here.
Sept. 23 – Oct. 4, 2022: Attended the 2022 PICES Annual Meeting in Busan, South Korea: “Sustainability of Marine Ecosystems through global knowledge networks during the UN Decade of Ocean Science”. Co-organized and co-moderated two ECOP-focused events: (i) ECOP Workshop: “Exploring Engagement Opportunities for ECOPs within PICES and Internationally” (report coming soon!), and (ii) Joint ECOP Symposium: “Developing Better Capacity for Early Career Ocean Professionals”.
September 19, 2022: Hired two ECOP Asia interns from China and India, who will be assisting the ECOP Programme until late December 2022.
August 22, 2022: The South Korea ECOP community had their first online gathering (~33 people attended). A National ECOP node for South Korea is currently in the works and will be established later in the year.
August 15, 2022: The first ECOP Asia Report was published and made publicly available on the ECOP website, see here.
August 2, 2022: Officially launched ECOP Japan, the very first National ECOP node in Asia.
July 18-21, 2022: Took part in the 4th ICES/PICES Early Career Scientist Conference in Newfoundland, Canada, and highlighted the progress made in Asia during an ECOP engagement workshop organized by ECOP Canada. Here is a short conference-recap video.
June 27 July 1, 2022: Attended the 2022 UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, and co-sponsored one ECOP from the Philippines to travel, attend and speak at the conference: Camille Rivera (meet her in this episode of ECOP Conversations). Here is an excerpt from her testimonial: : “[…] I found it very impactful to attend and contribute to these events because oftentimes, there is a huge disconnect with what is happening on the ground. I was able to share that knowledge and experience coming from the Global South and there is a need to fill up that gap, especially with the engagement of more ECOPs like me!
March 22 – May 22, 2022: Disseminated the 2nd ECOP Asia survey as a follow-up to the first one circulated in Spring 2021. The 2022 survey filled in gaps in geographic representation, investigated funding priorities and preferred outreach initiatives, gauged interest in science communication skills and assessed regional engagement opportunities within the UN Ocean Decade, among other objectives (a report is coming up soon in November 2022).
March 4-6, 2022: Co-sponsored a hands-on training workshop on Next-Generation Sequencing: “Peek into Biodiversity and Beyond”, organized by the Centre of Climate and Environmental Studies, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Kolkata, India. A workshop summary authored by Anwesha Ghosh can be found here.
January 19th, 2022: Our ECOP Asia coordinator recorded a presentation (here) for the webinar: “Engaging Early Career Ocean Professionals in the UN Ocean Decade”, which was jointly prepared by DEFRA (UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs), IOC-UNESCO and the ECOP Programme. You can access the full event recording here.
January 18, 2022: Participated in the Virtual kickoff symposium for the ECOP community in Japan: “Toward creating an ECOP network in the UN Decade of Ocean Science”. Video recordings are publicly available on the Sasakawa Peace Foundation’s YouTube channel, in Japanese here and with simulataenous English translation here. A summary report can also be accessed here and feel free to contact our ECOP Japan coordinators for any questions.
November 25-26, 2021: Organized and moderated a Decade Action Incubator Session during the UN Decade Regional Kickoff Conference for the Western Pacific and its Adjacent Areas (WESTPAC). See video recording below and a summary prepared by Hari Vishnu here.
June 8, 2021: Celebrated World Oceans Day with inspiring testimonials from ECOPs all across India (video).
June 1-2, 2021: Introduced the ECOP Asia network and presented the results of the first pan-Asia ECOP survey at the Virtual Early Career Ocean Professionals Day.