The Philippines has been an active country partner of PEMSEA since the beginning of PEMSEA as a regional marine pollution project in 1993, where Batangas Bay was one of two pilot sites.

The PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG) for Sustainable Coastal Development was established in 2001 as the Regional Network of Local Governments (RNLG) and officially launched as PNLG in December 2006 in Haikou, China, with the signing of the PNLG Charter and Code of Conduct by 18 founding local government members. It is a unique regional community of local governments that are working towards sustainable growth and development in the East Asian Region through integrated coastal management (ICM).

To gain a better appreciation of the scope of such services, PEMSEA began developing pilot investment cases to improve capacity in and understanding of investment services, partnering with project developers to create full investment cases in four sectors—sustainable seafood, marine protection and sustainable tourism, wastewater and ocean plastic pollution. In addition to generating positive social and environmental impacts, the investment cases were designed to generate risk-adjusted financial returns, covering: a sustainable grouper farming operation, including vertically integrated hatchery, nursery and grow-out operations aiming to produce live and fresh products for the Philippines and regional Asian markets; a co-management scheme for marine protected area management based on a public-private partnership (PPP) between local government and a newly-created private operator; a pre-feasibility investment case for wastewater and resource recovery in a special economic zone in the Philippines; and a partnership with an investment management firm to channel financing to companies and infrastructure that prevent ocean plastic pollution.

A brochure showing how PEMSEA partners are committed to contribute to achieving targets set forth by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through individual and combined actions aligned with the SDS-SEA.

This report centers on one sector that plays a fundamental role in the economy, but which has received lesser attention thus far in the blue economy discussion: business. The focus is on businesses operating in coastal and marine areas in East Asia, a region where the seas are essential to the lives and economies of its people. From the perspective of industry, the report aims to define and establish an understanding of the importance of blue economy and how it might impact various industries and, ultimately, provide a roadmap to help companies make better decisions to position themselves competitively in the growing blue economy.

PEMSEA's 25th Anniversary Timeline on promoting "HOPE" - Healthy Oceans, People and Economy.

An infographic showcasing PEMSEA's strong regional presence in Asia through its 25 years of experience in implementing Ocean and Coastal Governance.