Hanoi, Viet Nam — PEMSEA launched a 25-chapter book, which is a compendium of essays written by 25 authors, during the 4th Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts and Islands held in Hanoi, Viet Nam, from 7-11 April. Securing the Oceans: Essays on Ocean Governance – Global and Regional Perspectives was published a decade after the Year of the Ocean in 1998.

Guimaras Province, Philippines — The island-province of Guimaras has become the first in the Philippines to embark on an island-wide Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) program. Guimaras has obtained the support of the Department of Environment & Natural Resources (DENR) & the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA), a regional program implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).

 

Quezon City, Philippines — Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) and Xavier University (Xavier) - Ateneo de Cagayan together forged an agreement that aims to broaden and increase the number of local practitioners of integrated coastal management (ICM). The partnership establishes Xavier University as a PEMSEA ICM Learning Center for Mindanao. The Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between PEMSEA and Xavier on capacity building for integrated coastal management was signed on 29 September by Xavier President Fr. Jose Ramon. T.

Toyama, Japan — The 6th Focal Points Meeting of CEARAC (Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Center) of the Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) was held in Toyama, Japan on on 6-8 March. In conjunction with the Focal Points Meeting (FPM), the First Coastal Environmental Assessment Workshop was organized on 7 March.During the FPM, future CEARAC activities in the 2008-2009 biennium were discussed.

Bataan, Philippines — The Bataan Coastal Care Foundation has published the Coastal Land- and Sea-use Zoning Plan (CLSUZP). The publication, released last 12 February, will help in resolving resource-use conflicts in the province.

 

Chonburi, Thailand — An ICM scaling up declaration ceremony was held in Pattaya City, Banglamung District, Chonburi Province on 23 January to welcome the participation of the municipalities of Nong Mai Daeng and Na Jom Tien into the Chonburi Integrated Coastal Management Program.

 

Sihanoukville, Cambodia — In 2005, the Department of Tourism had high hopes for Sihanoukville becoming a prime tourist destination. "We need to get the upper and middle class crowd to visit more often because they're the ones who can pay more for the services. Right now, there are a lot of tourists coming in, but only a few are staying in high-end resorts," expressed then DOT Deputy Director Tang Socheat Kresna. Sihanoukville's only 5-star hotel at that time, the Sokha Beach Resort, was only sparsely occupied. Three years later, investors are scrambling to have a piece of Sihanoukville.

Chonburi, Thailand — The Provincial Government of Chonburi (Thailand) and PEMSEA signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the Scaling up of ICM Implementation in Chonburi Province on 6 October 2008 at the Chonburi Provincial Administration Office. The MOA was signed by Mr. Pracha Taerat, Governor of Chonburi Province, and Prof. Raphael P.M. Lotilla, Executive Director of the PEMSEA Resource Facility.

 

Vung Tau City, Viet Nam — The respective national authorities of Cambodia, Thailand and Viet Nam have recently adopted a three-year work programme to strengthen oil spill preparedness and response in the Gulf of Thailand (GOT) on 3 October 2008 in Vung Tau City, Viet Nam. Proposed activities at the subregional level include the development of a subregional guideline on the use and application of chemical dispersants for oil spills, development of a simplified coastal sensitivity map for the Gulf of Thailand subregion and a joint oil spill exercise among the three participating countries.

Quezon City, Philippines — Growing populations and their migration to coastal areas, along with extensive industrial activities and rapidly increasing shipping traffic exert tremendous pressure on East Asian region's coastal and marine environment and natural resources. Studies show that over 80 percent of all marine pollution originates from land-based sources while continued discharge of industrial wastes result in toxic accumulations in the marine food chain.