Supported by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the North-East Asian Subregional Programme for Environmental Cooperation (NEASPEC), and PEMSEA, CPC-led a workshop themed “MPA Management and networking: experiences and opportunities for collaboration in East Asia”, conducted on 13-14 October 2021 via a blended online and face-to-face meeting for the local attendees in Penglai District of Yantai City, Shandong Province.

Over one hundred participants from a) 22 Chinese ICM demonstration sites; b) related research institutes, namely the First Institute of Oceanography, MNR, Ocean University of China, and Xiamen University; c) NOAA, NRDC, KOEM, Philippines, NGOs, and local ocean and fisheries government of coastal areas as invited speakers; d) NGOs of NRDC, CI, WWF, China Blue Sustainability Institute, Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology Beijing, and QINGDAO QINNENG New Energy & Environmental Protection Technology Company. LTD; and e) other international cooperation programs/platforms and marine agencies attended the workshop online and onsite.

The workshop was chaired by Ms. Yue Yao, the project manager of the conservation project of NRDC China on the 13th session and Dr. Zhaohui Zhang, CPC Deputy Director on the 14th session.

Joined by the Ocean University of China (OUC), Shanghai Ocean University and Shantou University and supported by PEMSEA, CPC organized a webinar themed “Coastal Ecosystem Restoration based on Nature-based Solutions (NBS)-focusing on the seaweed beds and marine macroalgae in China” on 3 November 2021, inviting experts from research institutes and universities to share the knowledge and practice in the restoration of seaweed beds and marine macroalgae and carbon sequestration.

This workshop aims to invite Chinese professors and experts specializing in seaweed beds and marine macroalgae to introduce the latest study on the investigation and cultivation of seaweed beds and macroalgae in China, as well as the carbon sequestration efforts of seaweed, thus providing researchers and administrators with precious knowledge and experience sharing opportunities and a platform to seek possible cooperation.

Over 60 participants from PEMSEA, Chinese research institutes and universities, ICM sites, MPAs and NGOs attended the half-day workshop.

The workshop was chaired by Dr. ZHANG Zhaohui, the Deputy Director of CPC.

The Measure! Monitor! Manage! session showcased learnings from the Closing the Loop Project, a UNESCAP project implemented with the support of the Government of Japan. It supported theory was examples from real life application, and provided opportunities for the invited participants to share their learning and understandings.

Key points of the session:

• Online learning session hosted by PEMSEA and PML on the UNESCAP Closing the Loop project

• The project seeks Measure and Monitor plastic waste through innovative and smart technologies, and Manage using policy and investment strategies.

• In project areas, a baseline study is undertaken, matched with new monitoring strategies, and city action plans.

• So far, this process has been implemented in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Da Nang (Viet Nam), Surabaya (Indonesia), and Nakhon Si Thammarat (Thailand).

• A free eLearning course has been developed to help build capacity in local government.

The Collab Event organized by the GCRF Blue Communities programme office entitled “Sustainable Interactions with Marine Ecosystems” comprised 2 series of short presentations from project partners from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam, who presented their research and findings, each followed by panel sessions and then an opportunity for networking. The research highlighted the challenges faced by coastal communities in four case study sites, three of which are UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, and the fourth is a gazetted Marine Park.

The event brought together key actors from the Southeast Asia region interested in coastal communities and marine resources, academic researchers from Southeast Asia and the United Kingdom, as well as interested parties in marine management and policy. Representatives from each of GCRF Blue Communities 10 partner organizations and institutions were invited to present their work and participate in panel sessions sharing lessons learned from:

● Facilitating collaborative exchange among international partners to deliver and build capacity in interdisciplinary research

● Applying relevant research tools to address the challenges of coastal communities

● Disseminating the research findings to support coastal management decisions, and informing future efforts

This event provided a forum for the presentation and discussion of:

● The ecosystem services from natural capital in the Southeast Asia region

● Predicted changes in marine resources due to climate change, and how to prepare for the changes

● Trade-offs between conflicting demands on marine resources from different users

● Links between the marine coastal environment, ecosystems and human health

● Strategies for effective communication with, and engagement of stakeholders

The issue of marine plastic pollution has become internationally prominent in both public and policy circles. Eight million tons enter the ocean annually and consumption is expected to increase. East Asia is reported to produce over half of the plastic waste entering the oceans according to a 2015 report by Ocean Conservancy. Recognizing the region’s role in the plastic pollution crisis, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) issued the Bangkok Declaration on Combating Marine Debris in June 2019 to signify the commitment of ASEAN countries to take concrete actions and collaborate on preventing and significantly reducing marine debris, including plastic waste. The PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG) has also issued a declaration towards combating the issue (https://dev-pemseaorg.pantheonsite.io/publications/agreements-and-publications/pemsea-network-local-governments-sustainable-coastal). These statements include the application of scientific knowledge to combat marine debris, such as by monitoring to support science-based policy and decision-making.

Much plastic waste in the ocean originates from land, and therefore a ‘source-to-sea approach’ is needed to handle marine plastic pollution. Additionally, monitoring guidelines and tools must be properly configured to the local context based on institutional capacity and socioeconomic and environmental circumstances. In this regard, collaboration between different countries and communities is crucial for sharing best practices and practical yet innovative solutions to understand how they might be replicated or scaled-up in new areas.

This collab highlighted the lessons learned from the ASEAN-Norwegian Cooperation Project on Local Capacity Building for Reducing Plastic Pollution in the ASEAN Region (ASEANO), and from other efforts in the region to reduce the flow of plastic waste into the ocean. Various projects shared examples of approaches to understanding and tackling the monitoring of plastic pollution issues, while providing peer-to-peer knowledge sharing between presenters and attendees.

As the largest international industry-funded oil spill response organization, Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL) plays a significant role in the promotion of the use of industry good practices to prepare for and respond to any oil spill incidents, through engaging various key stakeholders which may be involved in an incident.

OSRL collaborated with Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) and Global Initiative – South-East Asia (GISEA) to deliver a virtual workshop on Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA) and Spill Impact Mitigation Assessment (SIMA) to support the Gulf of Thailand (GoT) Cooperation.

Purpose of the workshop is to introduce the concept of Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA) and Spill Impact Mitigation Assessment (SIMA) as an engagement tool to understand impacts of oil spill to the local community, compare the benefits of different response strategies and thereby reducing the overall impact to cultural, ecological, and socio-economic resources during an oil spill incident.

This workshop was held from 2:00 PM to 5:30 PM on 9th Sept 2021 and consists of presentations, worked examples walkthrough and scenario-based discussions. Please refer to Annexes A and B for the workshop programme and link to the presentations, respectively.

The workshop was attended by thirty-six participants from the littoral states of GoT sub-region, namely Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The delegation was headed by the national contact points and was also well-represented by a diverse group of stakeholders to provide an alternative perspective to the NEBA/SIMA discussion. Please refer Annex C for the full list of participants.

A team of five resources speakers and moderator were headed by OSRL and GISEA, with technical support from PEMSEA.