Proceedings of the workshop onLarge Marine Ecosystems: An engine for achieving SDG 14 (EASC2018 Session 4 Workshop 4)
PUBLICATION DATE:
Friday, November 30, 2018
PUBLICATION TYPE:
Meeting Documents
STATUS:
Only Available Online
DESCRIPTION:
In 1995, the Global Environment Facility adopted the concept of Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) — the majority of which are transboundary — as a conceptual and biogeographic framework for promoting sustainable, ecosystem-based management of the world’s oceans and coasts. The LME approach promotes the creation of new and/or reformed institutions, the reform and implementation of marine resource and environmental management policies and legislation, and the leveraging of public and private sector investment for LME restoration and protection. At a regional scale, the GEF has supported 23 of the 66 recognized Large Marine Ecosystems in which multiple countries collaborate on strategic, long-term ocean governance of transboundary resources.
The Yellow Sea, South China Sea, East China Sea, Sulu-Celebes, Indonesian Sea, Bay of Bengal and Gulf of Thailand are seven LMEs of great ecological and economic importance to the region. The relationships developed through shared project implementation and coordination enables various LME partnerships to help countries incorporate the various SDG14 targets into existing dialogue and policy. Moreover, the forum provided by LMEs encourages important dialogues, emphasizes the exchange of experience and results, provides a focus to scale up existing investments, and catalysis resources towards the achievement of SDG14 targets.
Drawing on the LME experience, this partnership hub not only offered a brief introduction to the Asian LME portfolio in the context of SDG14, but more importantly it highlighted proven approaches that have succeeded in reversing and reducing impacts using integrated ecosystem-based approaches to sustainable ocean and coastal management at both a local and multi-country scale.
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PEMSEA eBulletin - October 2025
Dear PEMSEA community,
Navigate through inspiring stories of renewed commitments, strengthened partnerships, and collective action this October!
Read about how Philippine mayors and local leaders from five coastal cities and municipalities pledged to strengthen local actions and solutions to reduce marine plastic pollution. The Mayors’ Conference on Reducing Marine Plastics in Manila brought together key decision-makers to sign the Mayors’ Compact and project agreements under the MOF/PEMSEA ODA Project, marking milestones toward cleaner and more sustainable coasts.
Know more about how PEMSEA reaffirmed its commitment to regional cooperation on sustainable ocean governance through the 34th Expanded Executive Committee (EC) Meeting led by Partnership Council Chair Atty. Jonas Leones, setting a clear implementation pathway toward achieving 2030 global targets.
On the ground, see how empowered communities under the Marine Plastics ODA Project are leading awareness and behavior change efforts across local sites—proving that real progress begins with collective local action.
Learn about the renewed partnership between the Government of Timor-Leste and the PEMSEA Resource Facility through the signing of a revised Memorandum of Understanding in Manila, ensuring continued collaboration for reducing marine plastics in the East Asian Seas region.
Explore the growing impact of the GEF/UNDP/ASEAN Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) Project across Southeast Asia in their latest newsletter, from river basin consultations in the Philippines to the upcoming project rollout in Malaysia, and multistakeholder workshops advancing the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus approach.
This month, we also congratulate Mr. Yinfeng Guo for his election as IUCN Regional Councillor for South and East Asia, recognizing his long-standing leadership and contributions to regional ocean and coastal governance!