Xiamen, PR China — The Xiamen Municipal Government is aiming to exceed the achievements of the 2007 XWOW, which was attended by 500 participants from 33 countries. To meet the challenge, the Xiamen Oceans and Fisheries Bureau brought together representatives from the State Oceanic Administration, the United Nations Development Programme in China, Xiamen University, the Fujian Provincial Oceans and Fisheries Bureau, and PEMSEA to plan and discuss the organization of the 2008 XWOW, scheduled on 7-13 November. The First Organizing Committee meeting was held in Xiamen on 23 April.

 

Virginia, USA — A third of reef-building corals around the world are threatened with extinction, according to the first-ever comprehensive global assessment to determine their conservation status. The study findings were published today by Science Express.Leading coral experts joined forces with the Global Marine Species Assessment (GMSA) - a joint initiative of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and Conservation International (CI) - to apply the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria to this important group of marine species.

RO Korea — Three NOWPAP Regional Activity Centers (DINRAC, MERRAC and POMRAC) held their Focal Points Meetings in May and June (CEARAC held its Meeting in March).

Mindoro, Philippines — The Municipal Government of Puerto Galera, Province of Oriental Mindoro, Philippines, invites interested participants to the Build-Transfer (BT) tendering of its Sewage Collection and Treatment System (SCTS) Project. The project involves the financing, design, construction and commissioning, though the BT scheme, of a sewage collection and treatment system in Barangay Sabang, Puerto Galera.

 

Manila, Philippines — The Philippines has a long and rich experience in ICM. Since the first initiatives in the late 1970s, ICM practice has significantly evolved to the integrated and multi-sectoral management system that it is today. The benefits shown on the ground as a result of ICM implementation have spurred further interest for ICM scaling up.

Quezon City, Philippines — An organizational workshop to discuss the Strategic Partnership arrangement among the GEF, The World Bank, UNDP and PEMSEA was held at the PEMSEA Office Building on 24-26 June.

Seoul, RO Korea — The Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) and PEMSEA inaugurated the PEMSEA Twinning Secretariat on 17 June 2008, at KMI in Seoul, RO Korea. The Twinning Secretariat is a functional arm of PEMSEA with the responsibility of coordinating a knowledge-sharing and technical cooperation network that is focused on integrated river basin and coastal area management. Existing members of the twinning network include representatives from projects in the Bohai Sea, Manila Bay, Gulf of Thailand, Jakarta Bay, and Masan-Chinhae Bay.

Manado City, Indonesia — The PEMSEA Partnership has grown bigger with the inclusion of two new non-Country Partners. During the First East Asian Seas (EAS) Partnership Council Meeting in Manado City, the International Ocean Institute (IOI) and the Swedish Environmental Secretariat for Asia (SENSA) were officially introduced and welcomed as members of PEMSEA.Abiding by the provisions of the Partnership Operating Arrangements, the three entities submitted formal requests for inclusion as Partners.

Tokyo, Japan — On 14-17 July, the East Asian Seas (EAS) Partnership Council held its second meeting in Tokyo, Japan. Representatives from 22 Country and non-Country Partners as well as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), PEMSEA Network of Local Governments implementing ICM (PNLG) and Thailand (country observer) attended the Meeting.

Quezon City, Philippines — After several months of rigorous recruitment, the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) Secretariat Services is now fully operational. The PRF Secretariat Services is set to work to provide secretariat support to the PEMSEA regional mechanism, which includes the EAS Partnership Council, the Ministerial Forum, the Regional Partnership Fund, the EAS Congress and the PEMSEA Resource Facility.