Joint Declaration by Researchers toward the Environmental Conservation of theSea of Okhotsk and Surrounding Regions
1. The Sea of Okhotsk is not only an important source for rich marine resources as theexclusive economic zones for Russia and Japan, but also for neighboring Asian
countries such as China and Mongolia that do not share direct boundaries with theSea. Moreover, since the Sea lies in the southern boundary of the seasonal sea ice
in the northern hemisphere and affected by the warm and cold currents, it is home toa distinct ecosystem and has evolved into a rich biodiversity.
2. With the progress in scientific research in recent years, it has been revealed that theprimary production and the biodiversity that depends on the Sea of Okhotsk and theneighboring Oyashio region is greatly affected by and mutually dependent on not
only the sea waters but also land. Amongst these, the largest river that flows into
the Sea of Okhotsk, the Amur River, supplies a great amount of dissolved iron toboth the Sea of Okhotsk and the Oyashio sea waters, which contributes to the highprimary production of these sea waters. This discovery has been made by ourresearch efforts that identified the physical and biological linkage between theland-surface environment on a continental scale and the open seas. In other words,
the Sea of Okhotsk and the neighboring Oyashio region as well as the Amur River
form an enormous ecosystem that transcends the boundaries between sea and land.
It is a special and great concern for countries of the Amur River region and for thecountries neighboring the Sea of Okhotsk to identify the unique mechanism of theecosystem and to consider the future of the natural environment of theAmur-Okhotsk ecosystem.
3. In recent years, various human activities in the Northeast Asian region have resulted
in the deterioration of the water quality of the Amur River and there are concerns
about the effect this will have on the natural environment of the Sea of Okhotsk.
We researchers will pay significant attention to evaluating how such humanactivities will affect the nature of the Sea of Okhotsk in the future. Moreover, wehave also reached a common understanding that in order to ensure the sustainable
development of this region we must deepen our academic knowledge on theresearch, conservation and the rational and sustainable use of the ecosystem of theconcerned region.
4. The region of the Sea of Okhotsk and the natural environment of the Amur River
Basin shares borders with the 4 countries of China, Japan, Mongolia and Russia,
therefore, the cooperation among these countries is significantly important for the1conservation of this region. Up until now, at the governmental level, various
bilateral frameworks for environmental cooperation among China, Japan, Mongolia
and Russia have been implemented. However, currently there are no multilateralframeworks agreed upon among these countries.
Therefore, even at theresearchers’ level there are no sufficient sharing of information and not enoughopportunity to reach a common recognition of what the problems are. Thus, we
researchers that share a common understanding will voluntarily participate indiscussions of the problems taking into consideration the range and scope of thebilateral frameworks and the rights and obligations in international law, while
paying full respect to the domestic legal obligations of each country. We have alsocome to a common recognition of the necessity to cooperate in terms of research andactions to discuss the possibilities and effectiveness of common use of information
while sharing and exchanging information and opinion on a regular basis concerning
what is necessary and what must be done for the conservation of the Sea of Okhotsk
and the Amur River Basin.
While taking into consideration the points above, we firmly agree to the following:
1. To promote the sharing of information to the degree that can be disclosed byresearchers of each country;
2. To make efforts toward a cooperative environmental monitoring;
3. To facilitate the robust discussions that transcends borders toward an environmental
conservation and sustainable use of the resources of the Amur River Basin and theSea of Okhotsk;
4. To establish the “Amur-Okhotsk Consortium” as a multilateral researchers’ network
to promote the above 3 goals.
(1) Establishment of the “Amur-Okhotsk Consortium”
We researchers will establish a researchers’ network “Amur-OkhotskConsortium” as a platform to discuss issues grounded on scientific knowledge
for the purpose of sharing a common recognition through the exchange ofopinion and discussions on the natural environment of the Sea of Okhotsk and
the Amur River Basin. This network is a non-governmental network and has
not been founded on or by any particular country or organization. This is a2

personal network comprised of voluntarily participating researchers who share acommon awareness and for the possibility of a free discussion by researchers on
the future of the ecosystem of the Amur-Okhotsk.
(2) Tentative Secretaries, the Establishment of the Provisional Secretariat and theMeeting of the Consortium
The Consortium will hold a meeting once every 2 years and exchange
information and opinions. This symposium will mark the 1st meeting. The2nd meeting will be held in Sapporo in 2011. The provisional secretariat will beestablished at the Pan-Okhotsk Research Center at the Institute of Low
Temperature Science, Hokkaido University. Moreover, the tentative secretariesof the participating countries will be as follows: Zhigang DA (Heilongjiang
Provincial Academy of Social Sciences) representing the Chinese researchers,Peter BAKLANOV (Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences)
representing the Russian researchers, and Naoto EBUCHI (Institute of Low
Temperature Sciences, Hokkaido University) representing the Japaneseresearchers.
The Mongolian secretary will be decided in 2010 upon
consultation. The establishment of the formal secretariat, secretaries and thenext meeting will be decided on at the 2nd meeting.
(3) Function of the Consortium and Achievements
The information that has been accumulated and organized with the cooperationof the members of the Consortium will be provided to the global community
through the internet. We will continue to discuss ways to utilize and apply theknowledge and common recognition obtained through the Consortium to theenvironmental conservation of the Amur-Okhotsk ecosystem.
This document does not bind the 4 countries or the researchers from these countries
with special legal obligations. It is a voluntary joint declaration signed by eachindividual researcher or one’s affiliated research institute. Moreover, this document is
not an international agreement nor is it internationally binding. Therefore, thedocument shall not influence the domestic laws or legal positions and viewpoints of the4 participating countries, and furthermore, shall not influence the rights and obligationsin international law among China, Japan, Mongolia and Russia regarding theenvironmental investigation or the accumulation and sharing of information of the Seaof Okhotsk and Amur River Basin.
3November 8th, 2009
Members of the Consortium
Environmental Conservation of the Sea of Okhotsk:
Cooperation between Japan, China and Russia

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