Regional State of Ocean and Coasts 2021: The East Asian Seas Region (VOLUME 1)
PUBLICATION DATE:
Thursday, December 02, 2021
PUBLICATION TYPE:
Books
STATUS:
Only Available Online
DESCRIPTION:
The ocean covers 70% of the surface of our blue planet and constitutes >95% of the biosphere. Life originated in the ocean, and it continues to support all life today by generating oxygen, absorbing carbon dioxide, recycling nutrients, regulating global climate and temperature, and providing food, energy, water, and other resources.
The ocean wealth of the EAS region.
Ocean in the national income accounts. The ocean economy in the EAS region is around US$1.5 trillion in value added in 2015.
Employment in the ocean economy. There are 61 million people directly employed in the ocean economy, however, more are dependent on the ocean for their livelihoods as small-scale, household, and informal activities are not included in the current accounts.
Blue capital and coastal and marine ecosystem services. The EAS region is home to a third of the world’s mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. These coastal and marine ecosystems, together with the tidal flats and salt marshes, are estimated to be worth around US$2 trillion. The blue carbon value is estimated to be US$68 billion for mangroves and US$40 billion for seagrass.
But our ocean is under stress… from climate change, pollution, habitat and biodiversity loss, overfishing and destructive fishing, and other unsustainable human activities. Bold and innovative actions are needed to protect ocean health, build more sustainable and resilient economies, reduce poverty, and help the most vulnerable.
Why blue economy?
The ocean has a major role to play in humanity’s future. As the EAS Region is gearing up to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blue Economy offers a development strategy anchored on sustainable and inclusive prosperity, low-carbon growth, and protection of ocean ecosystems to ensure food security, jobs and livelihoods, resiliency, recreation, and wellbeing. The blue economy can help the region by:
- Creating nature-based jobs, such as aquaculture, ecotourism, restoration of coastal habitats, and managing protected areas
- Offering new economic opportunities and jobs to reduce poverty through the sustainable development of key oceanic sectors, such as fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, ports, shipping, shipbuilding, and marine renewable energy, and their value-chains, and supporting new industries like marine biotechnology
- Helping the region to mitigate and adapt to climate change through blue carbon, offshore wind and ocean energy, decarbonization, and new technologies
- Fostering nature-based infrastructure, such as mangroves, to provide protection from coastal erosion, flooding, storm surge, tsunami, and other natural disasters (as well as other ecosystem services)Improving fisheries by addressing the underlying causes of overfishing and IUU fishing, and addressing aquaculture sustainability, quality, and safety
- Mitigating the threats to human and ocean health due to marine pollution, including nutrients and marine and land-based plastics, through establishment of more wastewater treatment facilities with reuse applications, integrated solid waste management systems, and reuse of plastics and other recyclables
- Advocating the inclusion of women, small-scale fishers, informal workers (such as those in the aquaculture, ports, shipping, tourism, trade and logistics industries)Advancing connectivity and trade through ports, shipping, submarine communications, and digitalization
- Promoting science, innovation, and technologies to transform the ocean economic sectors to become sustainable, climate-smart, low-carbon, resilient, and more efficient and productive
- Promoting sustainable ocean financing and new financing modalities to support climate action, biodiversity conservation, and blue economy development.
- Informing policymakers and stakeholders about the value of the ocean, and the need for bold actions now for the benefit of the future generations
More information in the brochure. A Supplemental Report is also available.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Proceedings of the Seventeenth East Asian Seas Partnership Council Meeting
The 17th East Asian Seas (EAS) Partnership Council (PC) Meeting was held on 22-23 July 2025 at Seda Vertis North, Quezon City in the Philippines (UTC+8).
Onsite participants of the meeting included the EAS PC Chair and Co-Chair; the Intergovernmental Session Chair and Co-Chair; the Technical Session Chair and Co-Chair; the Executive Director of the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF); Country partners from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Philippines, RO Korea, Timor Leste, and Vietnam; Non-Country Partners from the Conservation International Philippines (CI PH), Ipieca GISEA, Korea Institute for Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), Korea Maritime Institute (KMI), Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM), and the National Marine Hazard Mitigation Service (NMHMS).
Online participants included country partners from Singapore and RO Korea; Non-Country Partners from the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB), International Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas Center (EMECS), Korea Maritime Institute, Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL), and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML). The meeting was also attended by online observers from UNDP Philippines, Tokai University, and the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
Baseline Assessment Report on Marine Plastics in the Six ODA Project Sites in the Philippines
This Baseline Assessment Report of MOF/PEMSEA ODA project on the Reducing Marine Plastics in East Asian Seas Region includes both the Plastic Analysis and Characterization Study (PACS) and a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) Survey, specifically targeting key coastal areas in six Philippine sites: the municipalities of Bulan and Daanbantayan, and the cities of Calbayog, Dipolog, Puerto Princesa, and Tandag. These assessments aim to uncover the specific dynamics of plastic waste generation and local community behaviors toward waste management, supporting the development of data-driven interventions to address marine plastic pollution effectively.
The findings of the synthesized national baseline assessment provide valuable insights that can assist local government units, national government agencies, and relevant stakeholders in developing targeted policies and interventions. These strategies are aimed at improving solid waste management practices and reducing marine plastic pollution in coastal cities and municipalities.
Baseline Assessment Report on Marine Plastics in the Four ODA Project Sites in the Timor-Leste
This Baseline Assessment Report of MOF/PEMSEA ODA project on the Reducing Marine Plastics in East Asian Seas Region includes both the Plastic Analysis and Characterization Study (PACS) and a Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) Survey, specifically focusing on key coastal areas in four municipalities in Timor-Leste – Atauro, Dili, Liquiçá, and Manatuto. These components are designed to understand the specific dynamics of plastic waste generation and local community behaviors towards waste management as basis of project decisions and 10-year marine plastic management strategies and action plans, which will be developed, adopted, and implemented by local governments and stakeholders.
The findings of the synthesized national baseline assessment provide valuable insights that can assist local authorities, national government agencies, and relevant stakeholders in developing targeted policies and interventions. These strategies are aimed at improving solid waste management practices and reducing marine plastic pollution in coastal municipalities.
Regional Baseline Assessment on Marine Plastics in the East Asian Seas Region (Philippines and Timor-Leste)
As part of Component 1 of the MOF/PEMSEA ODA project on the Reducing Marine Plastics in East Asian Seas Region, a Plastic Analysis and Characterization Study (PACS) was conducted to provide essential data to guide project decisions and establish 10-year marine plastic management strategies and action plans, which will be developed, adopted, and implemented by local governments and stakeholders. This regional baseline assessment on marine plastics includes the conduct of PACS and Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice (KAP) Survey, specifically focusing on key coastal areas in the six cities and municipalities in the Philippines: Bulan, Calbayog, Daanbantayan, Dipolog, Puerto Princesa, and Tandag; and four municipalities in Timor-Leste: Atauro, Dili, Liquiçá, and Manatuto. These components are designed to understand the specific dynamics of plastic waste generation and local community behaviors towards waste management.
The regional synthesis identified persistent challenges across the plastic waste value chain, including high plastic waste generation, weak segregation, limited collection coverage, low recovery performance, inadequate disposal systems, and continued plastic leakage. Addressing these issues requires targeted interventions across all stages of the solid waste management system. Key recommendations focus on reducing single-use plastics through local policy and behavior change, improving segregation by providing bins and strengthening implementation, and expanding collection through additional vehicles and better route planning. Recovery must be enhanced by upgrading facilities and linking communities to recycling markets, while safe disposal options should be developed or improved to reduce open dumping and burning.
IRBM Project 3rd RSC Meeting Proceedings
Held back-to-back with the 25th Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Water Resources Management (AWGWRM), the Third Regional Steering Committee (RSC) Meeting of the GEF/UNDP/ASEAN Project on Reducing Pollution and Preserving Environmental Flows in the East Asian Seas through the Implementation of Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) in ASEAN Countries was held on 4 June 2025 through a hybrid format,. i.e., in-person at Haliday Inn Resort Baruna in Bali, Indonesia and online via Zoom.
Hosted by the Government of Indonesia through the Ministry of Environment (MOE), the meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Oudomsack Philavong, AWGWRM Chairperson and Mr. Gerd Trogemann, Manager of United Nations Development Programme-Bangkok Regional Hub of Asia and the Pacific (UNDP-BRH). The meeting was attended by the National Focal Points (NFPs) of the AWGWRM from nine (9) ASEAN Member States (Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), the East Asian Seas Executive Committee, the ASEAN Secretariat, and UNDP-BRH.
The Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU), hosted by PEMSEA Resource Facility and MOE Indonesia served as Secretariat to the RSC meeting.