Quezon City, Philippines — The East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2009 National Organizing Committee, chaired by Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Secretary Jose L. Atienza, Jr., held its second meeting to discuss progress of preparations for the successful conduct of the event. The committee welcomed updates as reported by Prof. Raphael P. M.

Quezon City, Philippines — With the East Asian Seas region's coastal and marine resources seriously degraded, countries are looking to marine protected areas (MPAs) as critical tools in their recovery. The Philippines alone has over 500 MPAs. Linking these together into a coherent network can offer optimum protection for the full range of habitat types and species and their movements, and including important routes for migratory species, such as shared fisheries stocks, and ecological corridors across ocean basins.

Tagaytay City, Philippines — The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) and PEMSEA signed a Letter of Cooperation (LOC) on 13 August in Tagaytay City, Philippines, to formalize their partnership in promoting the conservation and sustainable use of coastal and marine biodiversity and resources in the Seas of East Asia."Joining hands with PEMSEA on this endeavor is an important activity of the Centre as the partnership is in line with our goal of working with various groups and sectors to promote biodiversity conservation in the ASEAN region," Mr. Rodrigo U.

Toyama, Japan — With the financial support from UNEP Division of Environmental Policy Implementation, NOWPAP successfully convened the Brainstorming Workshop on Marine and Coastal Biodiversity on 17 September 2009 in Toyama, Japan.The workshop was well-attended by experts from all four NOWPAP member states and representatives from NOWPAP partners (COBSEA, PICES and YSLME) as well as other international organizations and projects such as Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN), Census of Marine Life (CoML), Helsinki Commission (HELCOM), IUCN (International Union for Conservatio

Hirado, Japan — With the kind financial support offered by the Japanese government, NOWPAP is going to organize its 2010 International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) and Workshop on Marine Litter Management in Hirado City (Japan) from 26 to 28 March 2010.

 

Toyama, Japan — The 14th NOWPAP Intergovernmental Meeting was held from 8 to 10 December 2009 in Toyama, Japan.

 

Representatives of NOWPAP member states (China, Japan, Republic of Korea and Russian Federation) participated in this annual meeting. Representatives from UNEP and from NOWPAP partners (COBSEA, PICES, and YSLME) also attended the meeting.

 

Manila, Philippines — The Secretariat of Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) and the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the purpose of sharing of knowledge, information, tools, and best practices in support of achieving the goals of the CBD, in particular the implementation of the Jakarta Mandate and the programme of work on marine and coastal biological diversity, through Integrated Coastal and Marine Area Management.In the MoU, the two agencies mutually agree to collaborate in activities

Manila, Philippines — The encouraging response of the corporate sector to be an active partner for the rehabilitation of Manila Bay was one of the bright spots identified today in the Closing Ceremony of the International Conference of the East Asian Seas Congress which zoomed in on Partnerships at Work: Local Implementation and Best Practices.Supported by Petron Foundation and organized by the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), the Public Private Partnerships for the Rehabilitation of Manila Bay: A Corporate Social Responsibility Forum (CSR) Forum

Thailand — Halfway through its two-year implementation, the first project of the UNDP GEF Small Grants Programme and PEMSEA Partnership in Thailand is reaping the benefits within the framework of integrated coastal management (ICM).Initiated in July 2007, the SGP-PEMSEA project involves developing the capacity of communities to implement activities related to protection and sustainable use of marine resources, coastal habitat rehabilitation, and waste management and pollution reduction.

Manila, Philippines — The USAID-funded Philippine Environmental Governance Project (EcoGov) and the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the purpose of sharing knowledge, information, tools, best practices and resources in support of capacity development and the effective implementation of Executive Order (EO) 533 in the Philippines.