Local Governments (PNLG)

PEMSEA Network of Local Governments for Sustainable Coastal Development

The PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG) for Sustainable Coastal Development is recognized as one of the major driving forces in realizing the goals of Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA) in its goal to cover 25 percent of the regional coastline with integrated coastal management (ICM) programs by the year 2021. Officially founded in December 2006 in Haikou, China, the PNLG has made major contributions to the SDS-SEA implementation through facilitating the implementation of ICM programs and addressing aspects of sustainable development in various forums and meetings. It also serves as an effective voice of the local governments.

The PNLG continues to facilitate the sustainable development and environmental conservation of marine and coastal resources of East Asia through advocacy, knowledge sharing, forging multi-stakeholder participation and partnerships among local governments, national agencies, civil society groups including NGOs and peoples’ organizations and the private sector.

 The PNLG charter lists the PNLG objectives as follows:

• To enhance the capacity of local governments to plan, develop and manage their coastal and marine resources for sustainable use;
• To promote the application of ICM approaches, processes and tools in coastal planning, development and management;
• To facilitate the linkage between scientific technical institutions and local governments, in order to provide capacity building and scientific input to local government decision-making, policies and programs;
• To implement innovative financing mechanisms and partnership arrangements for environmental investments with international and national financial institutions, private investors and operating companies, where appropriate;
• To strengthen multi-stakeholder involvement in managing coastal and marine resources, in order to enhance societal and corporate responsibility for sustainable development of natural resources; and
• To enhance local coastal governance, as well as interagency and multisectoral coordination mechanisms, in dealing with coastal and ocean management issues.

The PNLG Secretariat holds office in Xiamen, China, and receives financial and technical support within available funding allocations and in accordance with the administrative rules and regulations of PEMSEA.

To date, the PNLG has 50 regular members in 10 countries in the East Asian region, along with 2 associate members. ICM in these locations is mentioned among ocean success stories. We look forward to engaging even more local governments.

To download a more complete briefing, please click here.

Regular Members

Associate Members