Welcome to the first e-update of 2019! Towards the end of 2018 our Sixth East Asian Seas Congress saw delegates from throughout the region and the world congregate in Iloilo City to discuss how to secure healthy and sustainable oceans, people, and economies, and how to move as one with the global ocean agenda. Many of the proceedings from that event are now available.

Officially released during the Congress was our book Local Contributions to Global Sustainable Development Agenda: Case Studies in Integrated Coastal Management in the East Asian Seas Region. This contains case studies from throughout PEMSEA's 25 years. Read how two cases have improved ecosystem health.

Following cleanup and rehabilitation efforts in Boracay, an ambitious attempt to clean Manila Bay was launched late this month by the Philippine Government, led by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Internationally, efforts to reduce pollution spurred the creation of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, whose members are global companies from throughout the plastic supply chain.

The importance of ensuring ocean use is sustainable was highlighted by China's huge increase in seafood consumption during 2018. Actions in the region to tackle illegal threats to biodiversity are having an impact, as China cracks a totoaba smuggling ring, while Indonesia looks to extend its anti-IUU fishing enforcement capabilities, and the Marine Stewardship Council works on potential changes to its fisheries evaluation such as taking into account shark finning.
Research on the impact of climate change continues, with new research suggesting that as the oceans reach the end of its thermal buffering warming will increase and sea level will rise 30cm this century. Current pledges fall short of what is needed to meet the Paris Agreement. In light of the growing impact of climate change, the World Bank is increasing finance for climate resilience. Lessons can be learned from the Indonesian response to the Sunda Strait tsunami, which was carried out through pre-existing capacity.

Welcome to the final PEMSEA newsletter of 2018! The past year was a momentous one for PEMSEA, and for the shared seas whose future we are working to ensure. In this edition of the newsletter, we share some of the highlights from the work of PEMSEA this year, as well as important outputs produced.

We are proud with what has been done, however, expect more next year, which will see the continuation of ongoing projects such as the implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA), as well as continuing outputs from the recent East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2018.

Next year we hope you will continue to share our vision of healthy oceans, people, and economies. Updates can always be found on our Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA) accounts. Happy holidays and a happy new year!

Welcome to the October Blue Economy Bulletin. This is the last newsletter before the EAS Congress 2018, which takes place from 27-30 November in Iloilo City, Philippines. Next month, instead of an E-update, daily bulletins will be sent out from the EAS Congress. To those attending, we look forward to seeing you there. In conjunction with the EAS Congress, PEMSEA is releasing its 25th anniversary publication. This publication serves as a compendium of PEMSEA's integrated coastal management (ICM) activities throughout the past 25 years. Two previews of partnership hubs at the EAS Congress are included in this bulletin: one on business opportunities in the blue economy, and one on blue carbon solutions.

Both the blue economy and blue carbon are gaining increasing global attention. The Meloy Fund is seeking investment opportunities in the coastal fisheries sectors of Indonesia and the Philippines, while a study by Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) has found MPAs benefit a variety of economic sectors in addition to their ecological and socioeconomic benefits. Both the Meloy Fund and PML will be attending the EAS Congress 2018. The World Bank has announced a blue economy trust fund, and a framework for ocean finance was presented at the Our Ocean summit. Blue carbon is becoming increasingly important, especially given the troubling IPCC report on 1.5°C warming, although action is being taken as the GCF approved 19 new projects in developing countries and the IMO rejected attempts to soften upcoming sulfur content limits for marine fuel.

As overwhelming plastic waste flows resulted in Malaysia following China in announcing a future ban on plastic waste imports, international focus on the issue is being visited in forums such as the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment and the Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy. The value fish and other vertebrates play in sequestering carbon in the ocean is being seen in the concept of "fish carbon". Despite this, overfishing continues to shrink fish populations, for example in Myanmar and the Philippines.

PEMSEA's thoughts go out to the thousands affected by the earthquake and tsunami in the city of Palu and nearby areas of Indonesia. Such events highlight the vulnerability of many living in coastal communities throughout the region and the world.

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.

Welcome to our September E-Update! There are just two months to go until our East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2018, which takes place from 27-30 November 2018. Exhibition registration ends this month, however online registration for individuals will continue until 30 October. One exhibition will be hosted by ACB, whom PEMSEA signed a new Letter of Cooperation with this month. In between newsletters, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA) for the latest updates.

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.

Welcome to the May edition of PEMSEA’s E-Update! During a month of important environmental occasions, we’re happy to announce that the official website for the EAS Congress 2018 is now available, providing more information about our event this November. For the International Day for Biological Diversity we cover the work of Enggar Wardani, a previous EAS Youth Forum participant who has been planting mangroves and educating school children in Indonesia. Also covered in this newsletter is the establishment of the Romblon Sustainable Development Council, a provincial body in the Philippines dedicated to overseeing ICM. In between newsletters, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA) for the latest updates.

The second half of 2018 brings you the July edition of PEMSEA’s E-Update! We are currently evaluating the challenges and pressures facing the Seas of East Asia in the near future, and would appreciate your input via a short survey. For a look at the near past, feel free to look through our Annual Report 2017, which was released this month. Also included in this newsletter is an initial summary of our recent Ocean Leadership Roundtable, as well as reports on two Philippine projects PEMSEA is involved with. In between newsletters, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA) for the latest updates.

June saw a number of international environmental days that highlighted the need for developing a sustainable blue economy. On World Environment Day, PEMSEA published a timeline highlighting our progress towards building a blue economy for the East Asian Seas. On World Oceans Day, we looked at the issue of plastic waste, outlining some simple steps everyone can take, and highlighting examples of plastic initiatives PEMSEA has supported. We are proud to share a story about the impact of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) projects in the Tangerang Regency of Indonesia, and to have participated in the 6th GEF Assembly which finished today.

The global plastic problem is growing more acute, while the effects of China’s plastic waste import ban are only beginning to be felt. One way to deal with plastic waste is to close the “plastic loop”, reducing the waste that flows into the ocean and impacts coastal communities. Such waste management initiatives require the expansion of blue finance initiatives to maximize their impact and reach. Finance in the form of public private partnerships have proved useful in ensuring MPA management. With green bonds becoming more closely linked with the SDGs, WWF has set up the Asia Sustainable Finance Initiative to promote environmentally sustainable finance throughout Asia.

GEF projects focused on achieving tuna fishery sustainability in the high seas are coming to an end as a new study reveals over half of high seas fishing relies on subsidies. Sustainability for wild fisheries will benefit from 20 years of research providing a mathematical model for calculating maximum sustainable yield, as well as from evidence in the Gulf of Thailand of the effectiveness of fisheries refugia. Aquaculture is also set to be improved by integrated multi-trophic techniques being applied in the Yellow Sea. Other facets of the blue economy are also being explored by the GEF, whose Blue Forests project is providing a global assessment of the value of blue forest ecosystem services. The value of such “forests” are already visible in places like Qingdao, China, where seaweed aquaculture is an important economic activity.

The importance of ICM is highlighted by new research showing that a loss of coral reefs will result in increased flood damage to coastal areas. Such environmental risks have prompted Indonesia to declare that its next five-year development plan will be low-carbon and take into account environmental carrying capacity, while the global shipping industry is considering numerous ways it could reduce its own carbon emissions.

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.

Progress towards a sustainable blue economy is becoming a more important issue, not only for specialists and policy-makers, but also for civil society, as blue economy issues continue to increase within the public awareness. PEMSEA and its partners, who this year celebrate 25 years of progress in working towards a shared vision of healthy oceans, people and economies, welcome you to the second Blue Economy Bulletin of 2018!

PEMSEA’s triennial East Asian Seas Congress, to be held in Iloilo City, Philippines, from November 27-30, is drawing closer. With the theme “25 Years of Partnerships for Healthy Oceans, People and Economies: Moving as One with the Global Ocean Agenda”, the EAS Congress 2018 is expected to engage over 1,000 participants from national and local government, academia, business, international organizations and NGOs. It will feature an International Conference and Environmental Exhibition, the Fifth EAS Youth Forum (YF5), PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG) Forum 2018, and will culminate with the Sixth Ministerial Forum. The call for applications to the Fifth EAS Youth Forum (YF5) has been released, and PEMSEA asks any youth from the region aged 18-25 who are working or interested in the sustainable development of coasts and oceans to consider applying.

Real change happens on the ground, so we were pleased that PEMSEA’s work in Bataan, Philippines, was featured in a video celebrating protection of our oceans for Earth Day 2018. PEMSEA also welcomed recent developments in the Philippine’s Romblon province, where Local Government Units (LGUs) have incorporated integrated coastal management thinking into their development plans.

In global news, IMO member states agreed to a 50% reduction from 2008 levels in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The World Ocean Summit 2018 saw the release of 14 Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Principles, while over 100 global corporations had emissions reductions plans approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. The U.S. called for marine mammal bycatch mitigation plans from fisheries by 2022 as a requirement for these fisheries to access U.S. markets. Scientists  discovered an enzyme that can digest polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a key component of modern plastics, which could prove to be a crucial new tool to address ocean plastic pollution.

A consultative committee in the Philippines intends to strengthen environmental rights in a new constitution, and the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) held its first hearing against major corporate carbon emitters. Due to overcapacity, the Philippines and Thailand have both closed popular tourist destinations for a number of months. Indonesia plans to launch an excise on plastics in May and has deployed its military to clean up the Citarum river, while China’s Environment Ministry has announced that it intends to tackle plastic pollution in the Yangtze river.

Follow the us on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA) for the latest updates. 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.