PEMSEA eBulletin - August 2024
PUBLICATION DATE:
Friday, August 30, 2024
PUBLICATION TYPE:
Magazines and Newsletters
STATUS:
Available (Newsletter)
DESCRIPTION:
Dear PEMSEA community,
Welcome to the August e-bulletin!
We have a little over 60 days before EAS Congress 2024 kicks off! Do check out the messages from Dr. Vann Monyneath, Chair of the EAS Partnership Council, alongside key officials Sun Shuxian, Vice Minister of Natural Resources, and Huang Wenhui, Mayor of Xiamen, inviting the global ocean community to join us in this triennial event to foster stronger regional collaboration in ocean governance and management.
This month’s bulletin also features the winners of the “Humans of East Asian Seas” challenge which we launched last year to commemorate PEMSEA’s 30th anniversary. Thirty local champions of coastal and marine conservation across the region were selected, with the top three profiled in this bulletin in recognition of their contributions in promoting sustainable coastal development, namely: Ms. Masako Bannai Otsuka of Japan, Mr. Prak Visal of Cambodia, and Dr. Wang Jinhe of China.
We also want to inform you about the new features on the SEA Knowledge Bank platform. The revamped platform now includes an e-library of scientific publications, an interactive map of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) sites, and new resources from ongoing projects.
Local government officials from Tangerang Regency, Indonesia, recently completed an ICM study tour in Batangas City, Philippines. The visit, held from 30 July to 1 August 2024, facilitated LGU to LGU knowledge exchange on sustainable coastal practices and management strategies.
The GEF/UNDP/ASEAN River Basin Project organized a Regional Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Workshop in Bogor City, Indonesia, on 6-7 August 2024. The workshop brought together participants from seven river basins in ASEAN member states to discuss regional GESI analysis, develop stakeholder maps, and improve capacity for mainstreaming GESI principles in river basin management programs.
In other updates, a recent PEMSEA study reveals growing interest in Blue Carbon Ecosystems (BCEs) across the East Asian Seas region. BCE projects, focusing on mangroves, seagrasses, and other critical habitats, are advancing efforts in conservation, research, and restoration.
From the ATSEA-2 Project, global experts convened in Bali, Indonesia for the Global Dialogue on Sustainable Ocean Development with ATSEA-2 Regional Project Manager, Dr. Handoko Adi Susanto representing ATSEA/PEMSEA in the dialogue.
The 2024 EAS Congress will be hosted by China in Xiamen from 6-8 November 2024. It is organized through a partnership between the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, the Xiamen Municipal People’s Government, and PEMSEA.
The event will take place in conjunction with Xiamen World Ocean Week, featuring the city's commitment to sustainable ocean management and regional collaboration.
For more information, visit the 2024 EAS Congress website.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
IRBM Project 3rd RSC Meeting Proceedings
Held back-to-back with the 25th Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Water Resources Management (AWGWRM), the Third Regional Steering Committee (RSC) Meeting of 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 was held on 4 June 2025 through a hybrid format,. i.e., in-person at Haliday Inn Resort Baruna in Bali, Indonesia and online via Zoom.
Hosted by the Government of Indonesia through the Ministry of Environment (MOE), the meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Oudomsack Philavong, AWGWRM Chairperson and Mr. Gerd Trogemann, Manager of United Nations Development Programme-Bangkok Regional Hub of Asia and the Pacific (UNDP-BRH). The meeting was attended by the National Focal Points (NFPs) of the AWGWRM from nine (9) ASEAN Member States (Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), the East Asian Seas Executive Committee, the ASEAN Secretariat, and UNDP-BRH.
The Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU), hosted by PEMSEA Resource Facility and MOE Indonesia served as Secretariat to the RSC meeting.
Proceedings of the Training on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) Application in the Scaling-up of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM)
PEMSEA, in partnership with the Fujian Institute for Sustainable Oceans (FISO) and supported by the China Oceanic Development Foundation (CODF), conducted a training workshop on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) Application in the Scaling-up of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) last April 2025 in Xiamen, China. The workshop convened participants from 10 East Asian countries including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. Through lectures, field visits, simulation, and peer-to-peer exchanges, the training aimed to build a regional pool of ICM-MSP trainers and contribute to the development of a standard course for regional adaptation.
The proceedings details:
- Concepts and tools for ICM and MSP implementation
- Regional experiences on integrating ecosystem-based spatial planning into policy and practice
- Field demonstrations from Xiamen's coastal transformation under ICM
- Practical strategies for developing ICM-MSP curricula and training delivery
The training supports the operationalization of the SDS-SEA Implementation Plan, particularly on capacity development and area-based management.
Integrated River Basin Management Project Newsletter - Edition 7
Now in its third year, the IRBM Project enters a pivotal phase in advancing integrated river basin management across Southeast Asia. “Midpoint Momentum”, the seventh edition of the project’s newsletter, highlights key developments – notably the review of the implementation progress at the Third Regional Steering Committee Meeting, including the completion of the Mid-term Review, the conduct of the orientation workshop on the REWEFe Toolkit for the ASEAN Member States, the official project launch in Viet Nam and the development of solutions templates to support IRBM pilot project planning and implementation.
This issue also features field stories, such as the Women of the Wetlands in the Pasac-Guagua Watershed, and announces the launch of the IRBM e-Portal on PEMSEA’s Seaknowledge Bank.
From establishing coordination mechanisms at the local, national, and regional levels to designing scalable solutions template for river basin-level implementation, the IRBM Project continues to accelerate momentum – strengthening regional collaboration, deepening stakeholder engagement, and enhancing capacity and knowledge sharing across the ten ASEAN Member States.
Workshop Report_Regional Orientation on ReWEFE Toolkit
The GEF/UNDP/ASEAN Integrated River Basin Management Project convened a Regional Orientation Workshop on the Development of Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Toolkit for River Basins in Southeast Asia on 3 June 2025 in Bali, Indonesia to introduce and demonstrate the applications of the toolkit in selected river basins of the project.
Proceedings of the 2nd Blue Carbon Technical Working Group Meeting
The PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF), in partnership with the National Marine Hazard Mitigation Service, Ministry of Natural Resources (NMHMS/MNR), convened the 2nd Blue Carbon Technical Working Group Meeting on 5–6 June 2025 in Haikou, Hainan Province of China. The meeting was attended by nearly 60 experts and stakeholders on blue carbon from 11 countries in the EAS region and beyond. The PRF Secretariat served as the Secretariat for the meeting. Online participants included members of the PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers and other Blue Carbon experts from the region.
The meeting aimed to:
- Draw consensus on the governance framework of an innovative Blue Carbon Ecosystem Services Management Mechanism (Draft 0) and the requirements to operationalize a regional blue carbon certification program.
- Improve understanding and consensus building among BC-TWG members on the draft regional blue carbon accounting protocol.
Expected outcomes of the meeting include:
- Refined concept of a Blue Carbon Ecosystem Services Management Mechanism, including a blue carbon stock monitoring network.
- Refined regional blue carbon accounting protocol.
- Refined workplan for 2025 and 2026 for review, guidance and/or approval at the 17th EAS PC in July 2025.