Blue Economy Bulletin August 2018
PUBLICATION DATE:
Friday, August 31, 2018
PUBLICATION TYPE:
Magazines and Newsletters
STATUS:
Available (Newsletter)
DESCRIPTION:
This August has seen a frenzy of actions at all levels to keep our rivers and coasts and oceans healthy and resilient. PEMSEA published its “Understanding Integrated Coastal Management” training course, which provides teachers and trainers the tools needed to pass on ICM knowledge. ICM knowledge in many fields will be shared at our EAS Congress 2018 this November, and we are glad to welcome Dale Galvin from Rare as a conference speaker on sustainable fisheries. ICM also benefits from innovative partnerships, and so PEMSEA has partnered with Circulate Capital to help finance solutions to the problem of marine plastic. Circulate Capital seeks to fill capital gaps and prove the investment market by financing opportunities that collect, sort, process, and manufacture using waste in countries known to contribute to ocean plastic.
Water resources have been a subject of considerable discussion this month. The World Economic Forum’s 2018 Global Risks Report predicted water-related issues would be highly impactful over the next decade, a prediction brought into stark relief by Lao PDR’s pause on all hydropower projects following last month’s dam collapse. Rivers hold great value in their resources and ecosystem services, yet these are often overlooked during development, such as in Indonesia’s Kapuas river where locals and fishermen have suffered as pollution increases. In China however, the Jiangsu Provincial Government has successfully used new laws to prosecute a company for dumping waste in the Yangtze river.
A new morphometric method to pinpoint fish origin holds promise in monitoring small-scale fisheries. These fisheries support local communities, and managing them sustainably can be crucial, as shown in the case of Ninh Hai in Viet Nam. Sustainability is also important for other economic sectors, and will be a key consideration in the reopening of the Philippine resort island of Boracay, which has been assessed to have far exceeded its tourism carrying capacity. Sustainability is economically beneficial, as the attraction of places like Boracay demonstrates the value of clean beaches.
In the fight against climate change, cities from around the world have pledged to make their buildings zero carbon by 2050. Such attempts will be aided by innovative ideas: a Philippine student has filed patents for an aircon which does not use damaging hydrofluorocarbons. In the fight against marine pollution, even imperfect solutions are helpful in facilitating change, while ensuring that all links in circular supply chains are developed.
Follow the latest updates on blue economy and coastal sustainable development in East Asia on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA). We welcome your feedback, and please let us know if there are other blue economy topics you would like to see in future newsletters and programs.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
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.
Proceedings of the Training on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) Application in the Scaling-up of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM)
PEMSEA, in partnership with the Fujian Institute for Sustainable Oceans (FISO) and supported by the China Oceanic Development Foundation (CODF), conducted a training workshop on Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) Application in the Scaling-up of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) last April 2025 in Xiamen, China. The workshop convened participants from 10 East Asian countries including Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. Through lectures, field visits, simulation, and peer-to-peer exchanges, the training aimed to build a regional pool of ICM-MSP trainers and contribute to the development of a standard course for regional adaptation.
The proceedings details:
- Concepts and tools for ICM and MSP implementation
- Regional experiences on integrating ecosystem-based spatial planning into policy and practice
- Field demonstrations from Xiamen's coastal transformation under ICM
- Practical strategies for developing ICM-MSP curricula and training delivery
The training supports the operationalization of the SDS-SEA Implementation Plan, particularly on capacity development and area-based management.
Integrated River Basin Management Project Newsletter - Edition 7
Now in its third year, the IRBM Project enters a pivotal phase in advancing integrated river basin management across Southeast Asia. “Midpoint Momentum”, the seventh edition of the project’s newsletter, highlights key developments – notably the review of the implementation progress at the Third Regional Steering Committee Meeting, including the completion of the Mid-term Review, the conduct of the orientation workshop on the REWEFe Toolkit for the ASEAN Member States, the official project launch in Viet Nam and the development of solutions templates to support IRBM pilot project planning and implementation.
This issue also features field stories, such as the Women of the Wetlands in the Pasac-Guagua Watershed, and announces the launch of the IRBM e-Portal on PEMSEA’s Seaknowledge Bank.
From establishing coordination mechanisms at the local, national, and regional levels to designing scalable solutions template for river basin-level implementation, the IRBM Project continues to accelerate momentum – strengthening regional collaboration, deepening stakeholder engagement, and enhancing capacity and knowledge sharing across the ten ASEAN Member States.
Workshop Report_Regional Orientation on ReWEFE Toolkit
The GEF/UNDP/ASEAN Integrated River Basin Management Project convened a Regional Orientation Workshop on the Development of Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem (WEFE) Toolkit for River Basins in Southeast Asia on 3 June 2025 in Bali, Indonesia to introduce and demonstrate the applications of the toolkit in selected river basins of the project.
Proceedings of the 2nd Blue Carbon Technical Working Group Meeting
The PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF), in partnership with the National Marine Hazard Mitigation Service, Ministry of Natural Resources (NMHMS/MNR), convened the 2nd Blue Carbon Technical Working Group Meeting on 5–6 June 2025 in Haikou, Hainan Province of China. The meeting was attended by nearly 60 experts and stakeholders on blue carbon from 11 countries in the EAS region and beyond. The PRF Secretariat served as the Secretariat for the meeting. Online participants included members of the PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers and other Blue Carbon experts from the region.
The meeting aimed to:
- Draw consensus on the governance framework of an innovative Blue Carbon Ecosystem Services Management Mechanism (Draft 0) and the requirements to operationalize a regional blue carbon certification program.
- Improve understanding and consensus building among BC-TWG members on the draft regional blue carbon accounting protocol.
Expected outcomes of the meeting include:
- Refined concept of a Blue Carbon Ecosystem Services Management Mechanism, including a blue carbon stock monitoring network.
- Refined regional blue carbon accounting protocol.
- Refined workplan for 2025 and 2026 for review, guidance and/or approval at the 17th EAS PC in July 2025.