A hands on approach is the foundation of PEMSEA's capacity development strategy, adhering to the belief that people can learn more effectively through actual experiences, supplemented by coherent management frameworks, scientific tools and innovative methodologies that are being continuously developed and updated to remain relevant to the needs of communities, governments and the private sector.

Special Skills Training Programs

A total of 79 specialized training workshops, 17 internships, 11 study tours and 2 fellowships were conducted from 1999 to 2007, with over 1,858 individuals benefiting. Major regional training workshops covered diverse topics, such as: ICM Program Development and Implementation; Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC); Development, Implementation and Management of Coastal and Marine Environmental Projects; Environmental Risk Assessment; Integrated Environmental Impact Assessment; Development and Implementation of a Coastal Use Zoning Plan and Institutional Framework; Leadership Development on Ocean and Coastal Governance; Oil Spill Claims Recovery and Contingency Planning; Port Safety, Health and Environmental Management System (PSHEMS); Port Auditing; Integrated Information Management System (IIMS); and Integrated Environmental Monitoring. Several
of these training initiatives have been conducted jointly with scientific and technical institutions and NGOs from within and outside the region.

The capacity-building component of the Regional Programme has led to:

1. better understanding of environmental issues and challenges, thereby encouraging greater support for the various projects;
2. enhanced capacity to implement activities that support SDS-SEA objectives at the local, national and subregional levels;
3. knowledge dissemination and skills transfer through regional and specialized PEMSEA internships, fellowships, training and study tours;
4. formation of a pool of trainers and resource persons from both within and outside the region; and
5. establishment of a critical mass of trained professionals in specialized areas of coastal and environmental management.

Such efforts have served the region well in terms of building its intellectual capital, and sustaining the efficacy and effectiveness of ICM programs.

Study Tours to ICM demonstration sites, such as Xiamen, Batangas, Danang and Bataan, are designed for local and national leaders to gain valuable experience from the region. Notable results of these study tours include stronger political support for projects and increased involvement by the participants in initiating or implementing ICM in their respective countries. This also encouraged locally-funded cross-site visits among participating countries, in order to share knowledge and experiences in ICM implementation.

Internship and Fellowship Programs provide opportunities for young professionals to work in the PEMSEA Regional Programme Office. An objective of the program is to expose the interns to a variety of project management and development skills, for them to gain direct experience in the vision, philosophy and strategies for developing and expanding coastal management at the local and national levels.

Leadership Seminars are conducted for senior and executive level personnel from national and local governments, exposing them to the roles and responsibilities that they play in implementing an effective ICM program, and turning them into advocates or champions of coastal management. These seminars have helped promote stronger commitment among mayors, governors, vice ministers and ministers for ICM implementation.

An ICM Graduate Program is being explored in collaboration with academic institutions in the region to provide the next generation of leaders with needed knowledge and skills to plan and manage the coasts and the seas.

ICM Demonstration Sites: Learning by Doing

Recognizing the variation in the socioeconomic, political, cultural and ecological conditions among participating countries, while also realizing common coastal management concerns across the region, a series of ICM demonstration projects and parallel learning sites have been established in order to encourage local governments to adopt the comprehensive integrated management framework and process. The purpose is to help local governments move away from conventional sectoral approaches of environment and natural resource management, towards an integrated ecosystem approach in coastal governance.