Manila, Philippines — Last 23 February 2011 saw a gathering of local government representatives surrounding Manila Bay for a workshop entitled "ICM Implementation and Opportunities for Public-Private Partnerships (PPP): Supporting the Implementation of the Operational Plan for the Manila Bay Coastal Strategy." The event was attended by more than 60 participants.

 

Seoul, RO Korea — On April 12, 2011 (Tuesday), KEI Department of Water and Environment held a seminar titled, “Water Recycling and Integrated River Basin Management Plan for the Management of Urban Streams.” For this seminar, KEI invited Professor Eun-Sung Jung from Seoul National University of Science and Technology, and around 10 researchers from KEI participated in the event.

 

Chonburi, Thailand — "Learning by doing" and "learning by seeing" are strategies that have been employed effectively for promoting integrated coastal management (ICM) in Chonburi, Thailand.

 

Starting from a demonstration area covering five municipalities in 2001, and through consistent awareness and capacity building and visits to other ICM sites, ICM implementation in Chonburi, Thailand has scaled up gradually to cover all 26 coastal local governments in 2009, and eventually the entire province, with a total of 99 local government members, in 2010.

 

Pyongyang, DPR Korea — PEMSEA in collaboration with the General Bureau for Cooperation with International Organizations (GBCIO) conducted a National Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) Train-the-Trainers Course 1 on 30 March - 1 April 2011 in Pyongyang, DPR Korea.

 

Iloilo, Philippines — Consistent with the commitment of the Philippine Ports Authority's "Puerto Gwapo Program", the Port of Iloilo with guidance from PEMSEA embarked on the development of a Port Safety, Health and Environmental Management System (PSHEMS).

 

Danang, Viet Nam — PEMSEA will be conducting a Regional Integrated Coastal Management (Level 1) Course on May 10-13, 2011 in Danang, Vietnam. The course aims to provide participants with better understanding of how the ICM framework has become a useful methodology to promote sustainable development of coastal areas. It is intended to strengthen participants' knowledge and skills essential in the implementation of ICM program.

 

Sapangar Bay, Malaysia — PEMSEA in partnership with the German International Cooperation (GIZ) conducted an Initial Status Review (ISR) of Sapangar Bay Container Port (SBCP) from 3-4 March 2011. SBCP is one of the pilot ports identified by Malaysia for the "Sustainable Ports Development in the ASEAN" project and is positioned as the premier trans-shipment hub for the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA).

 

Hawaii, United States of America — Representatives of the NOWPAP Regional Coordinating Unit and Marine Environmental Emergency Preparedness and Response Regional Activity Centre joined more than 400 participants from all over the world at the 5th International Marine Debris Conference held on 20-25 March 2011 in Hawaii.

 

Co-organized by US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and UNEP, the meeting produced two important documents: the Honolulu Commitment and Honolulu Strategy for the prevention, reduction and management of marine debris.

 

Pampanga, Philippines — Mayors of Pampanga Province were recently briefed on the efforts being undertaken to scale up integrated coastal management (ICM) in Manila Bay in support of the implementation of the Operational Plan for the Manila Bay Coastal Strategy.

 

Changwon City, RO Korea — The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (MLTM) of the Republic of Korea, Changwon City Government and PEMSEA signed a Memorandum of Understanding to formalize the hosting and organization of the East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2012 on 25 April 2011.