PEMSEA eBulletin - July 2026

Dear PEMSEA community,

July was a month of taking stock—and looking ahead.

Across the region, PEMSEA partners came together to reflect on progress, strengthen partnerships, and chart the path forward for a resilient East Asian Seas region. At the center of these conversations was the 18th East Asian Seas Partnership Council Meeting in Singapore, where PEMSEA Country and Non-Country Partners reviewed key achievements, agreed on strategic priorities, and reaffirmed a shared vision for healthy coasts, resilient communities, and sustainable blue economies. The field visit to Singapore’s Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve offered participants an opportunity to see firsthand how conservation efforts and nature-based solutions contribute to resilient coastal ecosystems.

Collaboration extended well beyond the EAS Partnership Council Meeting. This month saw the approval of revised pilot projects in three Philippine sites and continued preparations for implementation in Timor-Leste under the MOF/PEMSEA Marine Plastics ODA Project, bringing local governments one step closer to turning plans into action. The GEF/UNDP/ASEAN Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) Project also marked several milestones, convening regional dialogues on  river basin governance, holding its 4th Regional Steering Committee Meeting, and advancing pilot project development through field missions and local engagement.

Taken together, these stories reflect a busy July and show how regional cooperation is translated into practical solutions—through partnerships, informed decision-making, and sustained action on the ground.

The 2026 Intersessional Regional Steering Committee (RSC) Meeting of the MOF/PEMSEA ODA Project on Reducing Marine Plastics in the East Asian Seas Region was held on 2 July  2026 in PEMSEA Office and via Zoom. The objective of the meeting was to report the status of the procurement process for the pilot projects in the Philippines, to seek approval for changes in Dipolog City's pilot project design and budget and to provide an update on project implementation in Timor-Leste, including the hiring of consultants and the preparation of pilot project designs and the MEP Program in Dili, Manatuto, Liquica and Atauro. 

The 2nd Intersessional RSC Meeting was a significant step to ensure that the pilot project implementation in the Philippines remains within the agreed timeline—as reported during the 3rd RSC Meeting—and to realign Dipolog City's design and budget to efficiently and effectively address the City's marine plastic issues. Specifically, this aims to urgently improve household waste collection and transport to material recovery facilities and the sanitary landfill.

In addition, the meeting marked the start of the full implementation of the project in Timor-Leste, bolstered by added support through the hiring of the National Coordinator and National Technical Advisor. This will hasten coordination among the national and local governments, various stakeholders, and local communities.

The meeting was organized in hybrid format: at the conference room of PEMSEA Office which was chaired by Mr. Eddie Abugan, Division Chief, Project Management Division, FASPS, DENR, Philippines and through Zoom for the online participants.

The second quarter of 2026 focused on technical capacity development, regional and global knowledge exchange, and basin-level implementation under the GEF/UNDP/ASEAN Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) Project. Activities during the quarter included the Regional Training on the REWEFe Toolkit and Water–Energy–Food–Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus Application; knowledge exchange on marine litter governance and Source-to-Sea cooperation; and the formalization of partnerships for Project implementation in the Kedah River Basin, Malaysia. 

In April, representatives from the six ASEAN Member States participating in the Project took part in the hybrid Regional Training on the REWEFe Toolkit and WEFE Nexus Application, held in Manila, Philippines. Participants were introduced to the Project’s basin-level WEFE Nexus assessment and the REWEFe Toolkit comprising the User Manual and Guide. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on exercises, they examined the governance and technical dimensions of applying the Toolkit, developed user-defined scenarios, and analyzed trade-offs and synergies across the WEFE nexus. The training also explored how scenario results can support cross-sector coordination and inform IRBM strategies and action plans, pilot project development, and stakeholder discussions at the river basin level.

Regional knowledge exchange continued in May through the PEMSEA Resource Facility’s participation in the International Summer Course on Marine Litter Management, Policy and Integrated Coastal Governance in the East Asian Seas Region, hosted by IPB University in Bogor, Indonesia. Ms. Nancy Bermas, Regional Project Manager of the IRBM Project, delivered a lecture on cross-country mapping of marine litter governance and management. She introduced PEMSEA’s Framework for Sustainable Development of Coastal and Marine Areas and presented the Manila Bay experience to illustrate how partnerships among governments, academic institutions, the private sector, development partners, civil society organizations, and communities can support coordinated responses to managing marine litter. She also discussed how the IRBM Project and the MOF/PEMSEA Marine Plastics Official Development Assistance (ODA) Project contribute to marine litter and plastic waste management. 

Also in May, the Project shared its experience in applying the Source-to-Sea approach during the webinar, Source-to-Sea Cooperation: Practical Guidance for Implementation in Transboundary Basins, jointly organized by GEF IW:LEARN and the Secretariat of the UN Water Convention at UNECE. During the practitioner panel, Ms. Bermas explained how the IW:LEARN guidance has informed the Project from concept and project development through implementation, monitoring, evaluation, and learning. She highlighted its application in identifying priority flows and basin hotspots; conducting stakeholder mapping and governance baseline assessments; strengthening multisectoral and interagency river basin mechanisms; developing and implementing pilot projects to address the priority flows; and establishing monitoring, evaluation, and learning systems, including indicator-based State of River Basin Reports. She also emphasized the need for more on-the-ground examples showing how integrated river basin management, integrated coastal management, and marine protected area networks can be linked through the broader Sourceto- Sea framework. 

In June, the Project officially launched implementation in the Kedah River Basin following the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement between the Universiti Sains Malaysia and the PEMSEA Resource Facility and a Memorandum of Understanding among the Department of Irrigation and Drainage Malaysia, the Kedah State Water Resources Board, and Universiti Sains Malaysia. The agreements formalized partnerships to strengthen the coordinating mechanism for IRBM implementation, undertake a baseline assessment of the river basin and associated coastal areas of Kedah State, and prepare a State of River Basin Report and IRBM Strategic Action Plan. The Project will also support the development and implementation of pilot projects addressing priority concerns, including flooding, declining water quality, and sedimentation. 

This edition also features a closer look at the Project’s WEFE Nexus assessment, and the application of the REWEFe Toolkit supported by a User Manual and Guide. The feature explains how these resources contribute to understanding basin conditions, assessing future scenarios, and informing IRBM strategies, action plans, and potential interventions across the seven priority river basins.

Dear PEMSEA community,

There's a quote that says, "Believe you can and you're halfway there." For PEMSEA, the month of June marks an exciting midpoint of growth and collaboration for sustainable coastal, ocean, and river basin governance across the East Asian Seas region.

Check out our key milestones this June:

Kedah River Basin, Malaysia: The GEF/UNDP/ASEAN Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) Project officially launched implementation following a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed between Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) and the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) on 16 June 2026.

PRICELESS Project Progress: The Project successfully held its  Interim Inter-Agency Technical Working Group and Project Steering Committee meetings on 18–19 June to align strategic goals.

PEMSEA 2025 Annual Report: PEMSEA officially released its annual report, detailing a year of collective achievements, stronger partnerships, and high-impact initiatives in ocean governance.

New Alliance in Indonesia: On 22 June, ATSEA and Nusa Cendana University formalized a strategic partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding and Agreement in East Nusa Tenggara.

World Ocean Day in the Philippines: In Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, coastal communities joined a major coastal clean-up led by Project Zacchaeus, the Marine Environment Protector partner under the MOF/PEMSEA Marine Plastics ODA Project.

Regional Capacity Development: In Bangkok, PEMSEA Resource Facility Executive Director Ms. Aimee Gonzales spoke at the CAPFISH Summer Academy Southeast Asia, organized by the World Maritime University, RoKorea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Korea Maritime Institute emphasizing the critical need for innovation, inclusive governance, and regional cooperation to sustainably manage  the region's fisheries.

The GEF/UNDP/ASEAN Project on Reducing Pollution and Preserving Environmental Flows in the East Asian Seas through the Implementation of Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) in ASEAN Countries through the Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU) of PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) organized a Regional Training on the Rapid Evaluation of the Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystem (REWEFe) Toolkit and Water, Energy, Food and Ecosystem (WEFE) Nexus Application in Southeast Asia on April 21-24, 2026 in Manila, Philippines, in collaboration with FutureWater.

The IRBM Project is being implemented by PRF and aims to establish functional IRBM mechanisms to reduce pollution, sustain freshwater environmental flows, and adapt to climate change across seven priority river basins in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, and Viet Nam.

The REWEFe toolkit was developed by FutureWater and tailored to meet the specific needs of the IRBM Project and the Southeast Asian region WEFE Nexus context. Following its successful demonstration in three priority river basins of the IRBM Project, a need for regional capacity building was identified to support broader uptake of the toolkit within sound IRBM governance processes. This training represented a key milestone in that capacity building effort.