Batangas Province, Philippines — "So far, so good," so goes the initial testing of the State of the Coasts (SOC) reporting in Batangas province in the Philippines. Stakeholders regard the SOC as a tool for documenting their progress in meeting their socioeconomic and environmental targets as well as a means to consolidate the various efforts in environmental management in the province.

 

City of Taguig, Philippines — To raise funds and awareness for the preservation of the Tubbataha Reef in the Philippines, Concepcion Durables Inc., a local manufacturing company in the Philippines, recently organized the Race for the Reefs as part of its corporate responsibility efforts.Students, women, community groups and local celebrities participated in the race for a cause held on 2 March in the City of Taguig, Philippines. PEMSEA staff joined in the 3 km, 5 km and 10 km divisions. Flyers for the East Asian Seas Congress 2009 were also distributed during the activity.

Quezon City, Philippines — Preparations for the 2nd East Asian Seas Partnership Council Meeting are being undertaken by the PEMSEA Resource Facility. The PC Meeting will review the progress on the implementation of the Sustainable Development for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-Sea) and build consensus on future work plans.

Batangas Province, Philippines — Fisheries is one of the major sources of livelihood in Batangas Province, Philippines. The province, at the same time, is faced with varying issues including declining fish catch, use of destructive fishing methods and conflict arising from overlapping jurisdictions among municipalities.Each municipality has its own legislation concerning fishery management in its own municipal waters.

Quezon City, Philippines — The 2nd meeting of the Executive Committee (EC) of the East Asian Seas Partnership Council was convened on 14–15 March at PEMSEA Office Building in Manila, Philippines. The meeting was in preparation for the 2nd Partnership Council meeting in July 2008.The meeting was attended by the three Council Chairs, namely, Dr. Chua Thia-Eng, Council Chair; Dr. Li Haiqing, Intergovernmental Session Chair; and Mr. Hiroshi Terashima, Technical Session chair, as well as representatives from UNDP Manila and other resource persons.

Quezon City, Philippines — Published a decade after the 1998 Year of the Ocean, the 25-chapter Securing the Oceans: Essays on Ocean Governance is primarily aimed at increasing the awareness of the general public on coasts and oceans and at strengthening their understanding of the functioning of the ocean, land-sea interactions, ocean dynamics and ecosystem functioning.

Sihanoukville, Cambodia — Almost an hour away from downtown Sihanoukville — through the bumpy stretch of unpaved road off Highway No. 4 — lies Village 3 in Sangkat Tonorolok. It is a small fishing village in Stung Hav, the site of the follow-through project of the Small Grants Programme (SGP)-PEMSEA Joint Communiqué that seeks to "build" an eco-village. The pilot village of 200-250 families is located near the freshwater reservoir — currently being completed with funding support from the UNDP TRAC fund and GEF SGP Cambodia.

Quezon City, Philippines — Effective 1 April 2008, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) became the Executing Agency of the PEMSEA Regional Programme.Effective 1 April 2008, the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) became the Executing Agency of the PEMSEA Regional Programme.With the entry of PEMSEA into its new phase and the approval of the GEF/UNDP/UNOPS/PEMSEA Project on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA), a new implementing arrangement was set in place, with United Nations Development Programme se