PEMSEA eBulletin - March 2026
PUBLICATION DATE:
Tuesday, March 31, 2026
PUBLICATION TYPE:
Magazines and Newsletters
STATUS:
Only Available Online
DESCRIPTION:
Stronger partnerships and regional action defined March for PEMSEA. The month saw key meetings, workshops, and initiatives that advanced collaboration, knowledge sharing, and sustainable management across the East Asian Seas.
Driving decisions at the 35th Executive Committee Meeting. On 31 March, the PEMSEA Executive Committee convened at the PEMSEA Resource Facility in Quezon City, Philippines, to review milestones, including the appointment of a new PRF Executive Director, the 2025 audited statements and Accomplishment Report, and the proposed 2026–2027 Workplan and Budget. Discussions tackled regional priorities from youth engagement and marine protected areas to blue carbon and renewed engagement with Malaysia, Thailand, and Brunei.
Accelerating blue carbon action at the PNLC Workshop. From 24 to 27 March, PNLC members met for From Knowledge to Action: Scaling Blue Carbon Initiatives in the East Asian Region and the 5th General Assembly. Co‑sponsored by the University of Hawaiʻi and the University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute, the workshop highlighted the climate, biodiversity, and resilience benefits of mangroves, seagrasses, and tidal flats while fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange across the region.
On 17-19 March, the GEF/UNDP/ASEAN IRBM Project joined stakeholders to update the 10‑year Action Plan for the Imus–Ylang Ylang–Rio Grande and Cañas‑Maalimango Rivers WQMAs in Cavite, Philippines. Participants reviewed progress, identified gaps, and refined strategies to tackle pollution and promote sustainable river basin management.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Proceedings of the 2026 PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG) Forum "Empowering Coastal Cities for a Blue Future"
The 2026 PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG) Forum, themed “Empowering Coastal Cities for a Blue Future,” was organized by the PEMSEA Network of Local Governments for Sustainable Coastal Development (PNLG), in collaboration with the PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers and the PEMSEA Resource Facility, and hosted by Busan Metropolitan City, Republic of Korea. The forum took place from September 8-10, 2026, at the Paradise Hotel Busan.
PEMSEA eBulletin - October 2026
From local solutions to international dialogues, October saw PEMSEA bringing coastal and ocean governance conversations to the forefront.
On the international stage, PEMSEA brought regional perspectives to the 11th International Waters Conference in Indonesia, the 2nd APEC Ocean Resilience Enhancement Conference, and Asia-Pacific Ocean Week 2026. Through these engagements, PEMSEA shared experiences and practical approaches to integrated coastal management, ocean resilience, and source-to-sea governance, contributing East Asian Seas perspectives to wider discussions on shared environmental challenges and regional cooperation.
At the regional level, the PEMSEA Executive Committee (EC) met online for the 36th EC Meeting to review institutional governance measures, discuss regional priorities, and look ahead to key Partnership milestones taking shape for 2027.
In the Philippines, PEMSEA continued to strengthen local partnerships through the PRICELESS Project and MOF/PEMSEA Marine Plastics ODA Project through continued collaboration with its partners and stakeholders.
Different platforms, shared priorities. This month, PEMSEA's engagements showed how regional experience can inform international conversations, how partnerships can shape collective priorities, and how cooperation can support solutions on the ground.
PEMSEA Regional Methodology for Blue Carbon Project Accounting
A Harmonized Guide for Estimating Carbon Stocks, Sequestration, and GHG Reductions in Coastal Ecosystems
Differences in measurement methods, carbon pool inclusion, and monitoring frameworks have made blue carbon projects in East Asia hard to compare. PEMSEA’s Regional Methodology addresses this with a single accounting framework for mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes. It is designed to be compatible with national greenhouse gas inventories and technically aligned with voluntary carbon credit certification requirements.
The Main Methodology sets out project eligibility and additionality, boundaries and stratification, baseline and project scenarios, uncertainty management, a tiering system, leakage, permanence and risk management, and monitoring, reporting, and verification. Five technical annexes provide the field and analytical detail:
- Annex A – Mangrove Ecosystems: carbon stock and sequestration assessment methods
- Annex B – Seagrass Ecosystems: carbon stock and sequestration assessment methods
- Annex C – Salt Marsh Ecosystems: carbon stock and sequestration assessment methods
- Annex D – Mapping Blue Carbon Ecosystems: remote sensing, validation, and change detection
- Annex E – Monitoring Environmental Parameters: the environmental conditions that influence blue carbon ecosystems
The methodology was prepared under the guidance of the Blue Carbon Technical Working Group of the EAS Partnership Council, with contributions from experts across the region. It is intended for project developers, national agencies, researchers, and verifiers working to bring high-integrity blue carbon projects to market.
INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON BLUE CARBON ECOSYSTEM VALUES: Accounting and Crediting Guidance Frameworks
The Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) and Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) convened the International Seminar on Blue Carbon Ecosystem Values in Busan, Republic of Korea. The seminar gathered representatives from six East Asian countries, academic institutions, and regional partners to validate enhancements to the Regional Blue Carbon Accounting Protocol (RBCAP), review biodiversity accounting and crediting approaches, and define PEMSEA’s role in governance, verification, and market development. Key outcomes included expert recommendations to strengthen the RBCAP, shared insights on biodiversity crediting pathways, and a clearer vision of PEMSEA’s added value as a regional platform for advancing blue carbon and biodiversity markets.
Proceedings of the 5th PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers (PNLC) Executive Committee Meeting 2026
The document contains the proceedings from the PNLC Executive Committee (EC) held 9 September 2026 in Busan, Republic of Korea.
The meeting was participated in by the President and Vice-President of the PNLC, the PEMSEA Executive Director, and the PNLC Secretariat from IPB and the PEMSEA Resource Facility. The agenda included:
- Workplan 2026-2027
- Updates on PNLC Expenditure and Financial Sustainability
Other Business:
- PRF Project Updates
- 2027 EAS Congress
- ICM Report
- Nature-based Solutions Capacity-building
PEMSEA Blue Carbon Program Updates