PEMSEA eBulletin - May 2025
PUBLICATION DATE:
Friday, May 30, 2025
PUBLICATION TYPE:
Magazines and Newsletters
STATUS:
Only Available Online
DESCRIPTION:
For the month of May, PEMSEA is proud to share significant developments that highlight both our expanding influence in regional ocean governance and the personal journeys that drive our mission forward.
We celebrate a major milestone as former PEMSEA Executive Director Raphael P.M. Lotilla takes on his new role as Secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and thank the outgoing DENR Secretary Maria Antonia Yulo Loyzaga for her dedicated service to improve environmental governance and coastal resilience.
This month also saw PEMSEA Executive Director Aimee Gonzales participate in the prestigious Nikkei Forum Future of Asia, where leaders from across the Asia-Pacific region gathered to address the growing crisis facing our oceans. We also remember Dr. Li Haiqing, former EAS Partnership Council Intergovernmental Session Chair , whose vision and leadership helped shape PEMSEA's governance framework.
Meanwhile, we continue building partnerships for the future, as seen in our exploratory meeting with the Local Government Academy to strengthen coastal management training for Philippine local government units.
Finally, we're excited to feature a fresh perspective from our own Training and Capacity Development Assistant, Jean Francesca Cortez, who shares her journey from being intern to sitting where ocean policy decisions are made. Her story illustrates how PEMSEA creates pathways for young professionals to contribute meaningfully to regional cooperation, proving that passion and commitment matter as much as credentials in building a sustainable ocean future.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Proceedings of the 2026 PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG) Forum "Empowering Coastal Cities for a Blue Future"
The 2026 PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG) Forum, themed “Empowering Coastal Cities for a Blue Future,” was organized by the PEMSEA Network of Local Governments for Sustainable Coastal Development (PNLG), in collaboration with the PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers and the PEMSEA Resource Facility, and hosted by Busan Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea. The forum took place from September 8-10, 2026, at the Paradise Hotel Busan.
PEMSEA eBulletin - October 2026
From local solutions to international dialogues, October saw PEMSEA bringing coastal and ocean governance conversations to the forefront.
On the international stage, PEMSEA brought regional perspectives to the 11th International Waters Conference in Indonesia, the 2nd APEC Ocean Resilience Enhancement Conference, and Asia-Pacific Ocean Week 2026. Through these engagements, PEMSEA shared experiences and practical approaches to integrated coastal management, ocean resilience, and source-to-sea governance, contributing East Asian Seas perspectives to wider discussions on shared environmental challenges and regional cooperation.
At the regional level, the PEMSEA Executive Committee (EC) met online for the 36th EC Meeting to review institutional governance measures, discuss regional priorities, and look ahead to key Partnership milestones taking shape for 2027.
In the Philippines, PEMSEA continued to strengthen local partnerships through the PRICELESS Project and MOF/PEMSEA Marine Plastics ODA Project through continued collaboration with its partners and stakeholders.
Different platforms, shared priorities. This month, PEMSEA's engagements showed how regional experience can inform international conversations, how partnerships can shape collective priorities, and how cooperation can support solutions on the ground.
PEMSEA Regional Methodology for Blue Carbon Project Accounting
A Harmonized Guide for Estimating Carbon Stocks, Sequestration, and GHG Reductions in Coastal Ecosystems
Differences in measurement methods, carbon pool inclusion, and monitoring frameworks have made blue carbon projects in East Asia hard to compare. PEMSEA’s Regional Methodology addresses this with a single accounting framework for mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes. It is designed to be compatible with national greenhouse gas inventories and technically aligned with voluntary carbon credit certification requirements.
The Main Methodology sets out project eligibility and additionality, boundaries and stratification, baseline and project scenarios, uncertainty management, a tiering system, leakage, permanence and risk management, and monitoring, reporting, and verification. Five technical annexes provide the field and analytical detail:
- Annex A – Mangrove Ecosystems: carbon stock and sequestration assessment methods
- Annex B – Seagrass Ecosystems: carbon stock and sequestration assessment methods
- Annex C – Salt Marsh Ecosystems: carbon stock and sequestration assessment methods
- Annex D – Mapping Blue Carbon Ecosystems: remote sensing, validation, and change detection
- Annex E – Monitoring Environmental Parameters: the environmental conditions that influence blue carbon ecosystems
The methodology was prepared under the guidance of the Blue Carbon Technical Working Group of the EAS Partnership Council, with contributions from experts across the region. It is intended for project developers, national agencies, researchers, and verifiers working to bring high-integrity blue carbon projects to market.
INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON BLUE CARBON ECOSYSTEM VALUES: Accounting and Crediting Guidance Frameworks
The Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) and Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) convened the International Seminar on Blue Carbon Ecosystem Values in Busan, Republic of Korea. The seminar gathered representatives from six East Asian countries, academic institutions, and regional partners to validate enhancements to the Regional Blue Carbon Accounting Protocol (RBCAP), review biodiversity accounting and crediting approaches, and define PEMSEA’s role in governance, verification, and market development. Key outcomes included expert recommendations to strengthen the RBCAP, shared insights on biodiversity crediting pathways, and a clearer vision of PEMSEA’s added value as a regional platform for advancing blue carbon and biodiversity markets.
Proceedings of the 5th PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers (PNLC) Executive Committee Meeting 2026
The document contains the proceedings from the PNLC Executive Committee (EC) held 9 September 2026 in Busan, Republic of Korea.
The meeting was participated in by the President and Vice-President of the PNLC, the PEMSEA Executive Director, and the PNLC Secretariat from IPB and the PEMSEA Resource Facility. The agenda included:
- Workplan 2026-2027
- Updates on PNLC Expenditure and Financial Sustainability
Other Business:
- PRF Project Updates
- 2027 EAS Congress
- ICM Report
- Nature-based Solutions Capacity-building
PEMSEA Blue Carbon Program Updates