Quezon City, Philippines — After more than 13 years of service as Regional Programme Director of PEMSEA, Dr. Chua Thia-Eng officially retires on 31 December 2007.As a special tribute to and celebration of his inspiring leadership and contribution to the East Asian Seas region, staff of the Regional Programme Office presented a brass sculpture of a fisher to Dr. Chua, who has served not only as a manager, but as a teacher and mentor to all those associated with the project. Indeed, it is difficult to envision PEMSEA without Dr. Chua. In his message to staff, however, Dr.

Manila, Philippines — In preparation for the next phase of PEMSEA, 56 participants composed of Project Management Office (PMO) Directors and National Focal Points (NFPs) from 11 countries across the region were brought together in a workshop held in Manila from 12-15 December 2007.

Stung Hav District, Cambodia — In 2006, the Stung Hav Fishery Community implemented the Sustainable Community-based Coastal Resource Management project which focuses mainly on promoting sustainable fishery management, including the implementation of livelihood projects.

 

Quezon City, Philippines — The Government of the Philippines, in cooperation with the PEMSEA Resource Facility, conducted a Seminar/Workshop for the Implementation of Executive Order No. 533. The Executive Order was issued by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on 7 June 2006, adopting integrated coastal management (ICM) as the national strategy to ensure the sustainable development of the Philippines' coastal and marine environment and resources.