Quezon City, Philippines — The Government of the Philippines will host the East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2009, to be held on 23-27 November at the Philippine International Convention Center in Manila.

Manila, Philippines — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo discussed preparations for the hosting by the Philippines of the East Asian Seas Congress 2009 with Environment Secretary Jose L. Atienza, Jr., the Conference host, Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto G. Romulo, PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) Executive Director Raphael P.M. Lotilla, UNDP Philippines Country Director Renaud Meyer, East Asian Seas Partnership Council Chair Dr.

Manila, Philippines — A workshop on project development for officials and experts from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was organized on 18-21 March in Manila and Batangas, Philippines. The workshop was designed to provide basic understanding of the PEMSEA approach on integrated coastal management (ICM) and the common framework for Sustainable Development of Coastal Areas (SDCA) through ICM.DPR Korea has been a strong advocate of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA) as declared during the 1st East Asian Seas Partnership Council Meeting in 2007.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia — Coastal management is not a new concept in Cambodia. The level of funding committed by national agencies and international partners over the past few years attest to the serious attention being provided to pull address poverty alleviation and other aspects of sustainable development. A quick estimate made by the Ministry of Environment (MOE) and PEMSEA in 2006 indicated that investments in projects and programs within the framework of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA) from 1998 were about USD 90.477 million.

Quezon City, Philippines — The East Asian Seas Region Ministerial Forum, to be held in Manila on 26-27 November 2009 as part of East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2009 and to be hosted by Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Jose L. Atienza Jr., will be addressing climate change adaptation through integrated coastal management. The East Asian Seas region is recognized as being highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

RO Korea — NOWPAP Data and Information Network Regional Activity Centre (DINRAC) has recently completed its 8th Focal Points Meeting in Beijing, where the workplan and budget for 2010-2011 that is to be submitted to the NOWPAP 14th IGM was approved; NOWPAP representatives attended the World Ocean Conference in Manado, Indonesia on 11-15 May 2009 and the Global Gathering 2009 in Busan, Korea on 23 May 2009; NOWPAP has developed a cooperative relationship with the Korea UNEP National Committee, initially starting with information exchange, website linkage and publication-sharing; and NOWPAP a

Busan, RO Korea — Dr. Young-Woo Park, Director of the UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP), visited the NOWPAP RCU Busan office on 9 June 2009; and NOWPAP Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre (MERRAC) approved the workplan and budget for the 2010-2011 biennium.UNEP ROAP Director Visit to NOWPAP RCUDr. Young-Woo Park, Director of UNEP Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP), visited NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU) Busan office on 9 June. Dr.

Quezon City, Philippines — The East Asian Seas Congress organizers today announced the winners of the EAS Congress 2009 Regional Photo Contest, which was organized by PEMSEA and co-sponsored by HP Philippines. Running from July 2008 to February 2009, the contest received more than 500 photographs submitted by 187 photographers from 12 countries in the East Asian region, namely Cambodia, PR China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam.The three grand prizewinners are: Youth Category - Mr.

Quezon City, Philippines — Total (Philippines) Corporation has become one of the sponsors of the East Asian Seas Congress 2009 to be held 23-27 November, Philippine International Convention Center, Manila, Philippines.Ms. Anna Whitehouse, President and Managing Director of Total (Philippines) and Prof. Raphael P.M.

Viet Nam — The country joined the rest of the world in celebrating the World Environment Day and the World Oceans Day from 1-8 June. The Vietnam Administration for the Seas and Islands (VASI) under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) spearheaded the week-long celebration.The week-long celebration started with a seminar on the "Oceans, Climate Change and Ecological Security", which was participated by managers and scientists from VASI. The results of the World Ocean Conference in Manado were presented, including the Manado Ocean Declaration.