Sapangar Bay, Malaysia — PEMSEA in partnership with the German International Cooperation (GIZ) conducted an Initial Status Review (ISR) of Sapangar Bay Container Port (SBCP) from 3-4 March 2011. SBCP is one of the pilot ports identified by Malaysia for the "Sustainable Ports Development in the ASEAN" project and is positioned as the premier trans-shipment hub for the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

 

Hawaii, United States of America — Representatives of the NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit and Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre joined more than 400 participants from all over the world at the 5th International Marine Debris Conference held on 20-25 March 2011 in Hawaii.

 

Co-organized by US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and UNEP, the meeting produced two important documents: the Honolulu Commitment and Honolulu Strategy for the prevention, reduction and management of marine debris.

 

Pampanga, Philippines — Mayors of Pampanga Province were recently briefed on the efforts being undertaken to scale up integrated coastal management (ICM) in Manila Bay in support of the implementation of the Operational Plan for the Manila Bay Coastal Strategy.

 

Changwon City, RO Korea — The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) of the Republic of Korea, Changwon City Government and PEMSEA signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize the hosting and organization of the East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2012 on 25 April 2011.

 

Parañaque City, Philippines — A coastal cleanup of the Las Piñas–Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area was conducted by the Direct Selling Association of the Philippines (DSAP), spearheaded by Avon Philippines and supported by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and PEMSEA.

 

Quezon City, Philippines — The PEMSEA Resource Facility welcomes Ms. Ma Mu to the Philippines as part of PEMSEA's Professional Upgrading Program for 2011.

 

Ms. Ma Mu works as a project assistant at the State Oceanic Administration in Beijing, China, where she helps organize meetings and training activities and liaises with local governments and site implementing units, among other tasks.

 

Montreal, Canada — Twenty-one Asian countries are meeting in Xi'an from 9 to 16 May 2011 to develop the way forward in creating and implementing the national strategies needed to save biodiversity, and to ensure that these form part of the ten-year global effort towards building a sustainable future.

Laguna, Philippines — Dr. Ahmed Djoghlaf, United Nations (UN) Assistant Secretary General and Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) will visit the Philippines from May 28 to June 1 to launch the UN Decade on Biodiversity for Southeast Asia and grace the awarding ceremonies of the first ASEAN Champions of Biodiversity Awards.

 

Danang City, Viet Nam — Thirty one (31) individuals from the national government agencies, local government units and academic and research institutions from eight (8) countries, namely, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Lao PDR, Philippines, Thailand and Viet Nam participated in the Regional Training Course on Integrated Coastal Management (Course 1) conducted at Danang University Learning Center, Danang, Viet Nam from 10-13 May 2011.

 

Pyangyang, DPR Korea — Recognizing the need and significance to implement the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA) through ICM in DPR Korea, PEMSEA and the General Bureau for Cooperation with International Organizations (GBCIO), and with financial support from the Swedish International Agency (SIDA), have agreed to undertake a number of activities, including holding a "National Training of Trainers ICM Course/and ICM Course 1 Manual Translation."