DIM Regional Workshop commences

 

Bali, Indonesia - A 3-day Asian Regional Workshop on Data and Information Management (DIM) kicked off on Tuesday at the Regional Capacity Center for Clean Seas (RC3S) in Bali, Indonesia. The workshop was jointly organized by Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) and the GEF Large Marine Ecosystem: LEARN project, with funding provided by the GEF implemented by the United Nations Development Programme and managed by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO.

 

Seventeen representatives from major LMEs in the region, international organizations, national entities and academe attended the regional 'echo-workshop', which aims to share the highlights from the LME:LEARN Data and Information Management: Working Group Meeting and Training that was held in Paris, France, from 2 to 4 July 2019.

 

The opening ceremony featured welcome remarks from Dida Mighar Ridha, Director of Marine and Coastal Pollution and Degradation Control of the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia and a message from PEMSEA’s Executive Director, Aimee Gonzales.

 

Khristine Custodio Gudczinski, Content Manager at IW:Learn led the discussions on LME data and information management. Participants from the major LMEs in the region, including Indonesian Seas LME (ISLME), South China Sea LME and Gulf of Thailand Fisheries Refugia, the Arafura and Timor Seas, Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and the Yellow Sea LME also shared their experiences, successes and challenges in data and management reporting.

 

One of the key highlights of the day was a group working session, which discussed the current status of implementation of the DIM guideline’s recommendations, gaps, needs, and future actions to ensure greater coordination.

 

The workshop is expected to contribute to facilitating a more harmonious data and information management system, with improved capacity to report progress and results across the many action programmes and achievements in the region related to the SDGs. Data and information function as crucial components of the development, assessment, and enforcement of management policies, strategies, and interventions. Knowledge sharing and learning exchanges serve as useful platforms for data and information management sharing for the use of practitioners, stakeholders, and the wider public.