The recent publication "Local Contributions to Global Sustainable Development Agenda: Case Studies in Integrated Coastal Management in the East Asian Seas Region" is a milestone in dedicated regional efforts to developing, testing, and implementing integrated coastal management (ICM) in several countries of the East Asian Seas region (hereafter the EAS region).

The long-term protection and management of coastal and marine resources entails good governance and on-the-ground interventions. In Batangas Province, the implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) and MPA networks within the framework of an integrated coastal management (ICM) program have provided benefits in food security and sustainable livelihoods, and engaged stakeholders in various sectors and at varying scales to integrate and complement each other’s efforts.

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The districts of Ngu Hanh Son and Son Tra in Danang, Vietnam, are endowed with rich coastal and marine resources that offer huge tourism potential. The rapid growth of coastal tourism along the coasts of these districts resulted in increased solid waste generation, sewage discharges and beach erosion. Public security at swimming beaches and seafood safety were also issues of high concern.

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Coastal and marine ecosystems are extremely complex, highly diverse, and complicated systems. They are home to various species and habitats that provide a wide variety of products and services to coastal communities and society in general. Various economic activities take place in the coastal area including aquaculture and coastal fisheries, tourism and marine transportation of goods, among others. With such competing demands, local leaders oftentimes face difficulty in making decisions that will strike a balance between protecting the functional integrity of natural resource systems while allowing economic development to progress.

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In 2003, a group of young coral miners, with increasing awareness of conservation from environmental campaigns in Bali, organized themselves into the Coastal Fishers Group of Karya Segara, which had the conviction to protect the coral reefs and environment in Serangan Island, but did not have enough knowledge, capacity, and facilities to effect change.

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The blue swimming crab (Portunus pelagicus) is among the important local and export commodities in Chonburi. It is a national delicacy that is in high demand among locals as well as tourists. In 1998, the harvest of blue swimming crabs from the Gulf of Thailand reached a peak of 37,281 tons, from 18,708 tons in 1985. Harvest of blue swimming crabs continuously declined after the late 1990s to 15,132 tons in 2009. The decline was associated with overharvesting, of both the gravid (pregnant) crabs and young crabs, as well as environmental degradation arising from the coastal developments. Local fishers and commercial operators, including those from Chonburi Province, were using collapsible bottom traps and floating seines, which captured the mature and gravid crabs, and the young ones as well. Some of the fishers relied primarily on the crab harvest as their source of livelihood. The significant decrease in the population of the blue swimming crabs affected the income of local fishers and threatened loss of their livelihood. In addition, the required quantity of blue swimming crabs for the local and international markets could not be  reached, and the price of blue swimming crabs was going higher every year.

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Several government agencies and economic sectors (i.e., industrial, agricultural, tourist, domestic) have been involved in the development and management of water resources in the Houay Champi sub-basin, with each having a separate and distinct development plan and management mechanism. The mechanism to harmonize development across the sectors in the sub-basin area was weak, resulting in conflicting plans and uses among the different sectors. 

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Mobilizing the public to take specific action for the environment is not so much about lecturing the public, as it is about empowering them with ample knowledge for them to make their own decisions.