Joint PNLG and PNLC Learning Forum in Busan

As the impacts of climate change intensify across the world's coastlines, local governments, technical experts, academic institutions, and regional partners will convene in Busan for the 2026 PNLG–PNLC Joint Learning Forum Technical Session — a gathering dedicated to exploring how coastal cities can turn environmental stewardship into economic opportunity, and how a healthy ocean can become the foundation of a thriving local economy.

Under the theme "From Coastline to Capital: Nature-Based, Network-Driven Pathways for Local Blue Economies," the technical session forms part of the 2026 PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG) Annual Forum, taking place from 8–10 September in Busan, Republic of Korea, under the overarching theme "Empowering Coastal Cities for a Blue Future."

The East Asian Seas region — one of the most biodiverse and most climate-exposed coastal regions on earth — is facing compounding pressures: rising sea levels, accelerating biodiversity loss, worsening pollution, and the degradation of the very ecosystems that sustain coastal livelihoods and economies. The session will examine how local governments can move beyond conventional conservation approaches and build locally driven blue economy pathways that bridge environmental protection and sustainable development — recognizing that the two are not competing priorities, but inseparable ones.

The Joint PNLG–PNLC Learning Forum is one of the centrepiece activities of the PNLG Annual Forum. It will be opened by distinguished dignitaries including the Vice Minister of the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries; the Mayor of Busan Metropolitan City; Ambassador Peter Thomson, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean; and Governor Lucille Nava, President of the PNLG. The Learning Forum will be followed by the PNLG General Assembly.