The APN/START Symposium addressed the need to recognize key problems in local/regional global change studies, to focus on areas under impacts of climate change and sea-level rise, and to bring together relevant Russian researchers and policy-makers as well as scientists from neighbouring countries in Northeast Asia and international organizations in order to summarize and develop our present knowledge and ideas on coastal Northeast Asian changes, to present summaries on climatic and environmental assessments, to discuss ways of sustainable development and adaptation strategies, and to develop a research proposal. (This proposal was submitted to APN in the ‘2002 Call for Proposals’.) The Symposium was held as a part of the APN Networking and Capacity Building Programme.