The document contains the proceedings from the PNLC Executive Committee (EC) held 22 July 2024 in Puerto Princesa, Palawan, Philippines.

The meeting was participated in by the President and Vice-President of the PNLC, the PEMSEA Executive Director the PNLC Secretariat from IPB and the PEMSEA Resource Facility. The agenda included:

·       Review of the PNLC Workplan
·       PNLC Secretariat Turnover MOA to CCMRS-IPB
·       Updates and plans on PNLC Financial Sustainability Efforts
·       New PNLC Membership Applications
·       PNLG-PNLC Joint Session at the EAS Congress 2024
·       4th PNLC General Assembly Agenda

The meeting was organized jointly by the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) and the Center for Coastal and Marine Resources Studies (CCMRS) of the IPB University, Indonesia with support from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of the Philippines.

The Second 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
organized back-to-back with the 24th Meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Water Resources
Management (AWGWRM) on 2 July 2024 through a hybrid format, i.e., in-person at Bayon Era
Hotel in Siem Reap, Cambodia and online via Zoom.

Hosted by the Royal Government of Cambodia through the Ministry of Environment (MOE),
the meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Oudomsack Philavong, Chair of the ASEAN Working Group
on Water Resources Management (AWGWRM) 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 the
ten (10) ASEAN Member States (AMS), i.e., Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao
PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam, the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC),
the East Asian Seas Executive Committee (EAS EC) and UNDP-BRH. The Regional Project
Management Unit (RPMU), hosted by PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) and MOE Cambodia
served as Secretariat to the RSC meeting.

The 16th EAS Partnership Council Meeting was held on July 23-24, 2024, at Costa Palawan Resort, Puerto Princesa, Philippines, and via Zoom. Onsite participants included the EAS PC Chair; the Intergovernmental Session Chair and Co-Chair; the Technical Session Co-Chair ; the Executive Director of the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF); country partners from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Philippines, Timor-Leste and Vietnam; non-country partners from the ASEAN Center for Biodiversity (ACB), Oil Spill Response Ltd. (OSRL), PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG), and PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers (PNLC) as an observer.

Online participants included the EAS PC Co-chair, Technical Session Chair, country partners from RO Korea and Singapore; non-country partners from the International Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas Center (EMECS), International Union for Conservation of Nature - Asia Regional Office (IUCN-ARO), Korea Institute for Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM), Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI-SPF), Ipieca and the National Marine Hazard Mitigation Service (NMHMS).

The meeting covered various topics including updates on the EAS Congress 2024, progress report on SDS-SEA Implementation 2023-2027, updates on the Blue Carbon Program, and preparations for the 8th Ministerial Forum. Key outcomes included approving NMHMS as a new non-country partner, discussing the draft Ministerial Declaration, and approving the PRF Work Plan and Budget for 2024-2025. The meeting concluded with recommendations for enhancing regional cooperation and sustainable coastal management in the East Asian Seas region.

The 32nd PEMSEA Executive Committee (EC) Meeting was conducted virtually on 19 March 2024 via Zoom. Participants of the meeting included the EC members , particularly the Chair and Co-Chair, Intergovernmental Session Chair and Co-Chair, the Technical Session Chair of the EAS Partnership Council (PC), and the Executive Director of the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF). Observers from the China PEMSEA Center, Ministry of Environment (MoE) of Cambodia, and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) of the Philippines also attended the meeting. PRF served as the Secretariat of the meeting.

The 2023 Forum of the PNLG with the theme, “Developing Coastal Cities, Fostering Blue Partnership” was hosted by the PNLG and PEMSEA and co-organized by the PNLG Secretariat, PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) and Coastal and Ocean Management Institute (COMI) of Xiamen University (XMU). The forum was conducted on 8-11 November 2023 in Xiamen, China. The PNLG Forum was one of the key events of the Xiamen World Ocean Week. 

The Forum was participated by over 130 participants from: 

• 23 members from seven countries, namely: Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, RO Korea, and Timor Leste,
• 4 PNLG Associate members, namely the First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources, China; Coastal and Ocean Management Institute (COMI) and Fujian Institute for Sustainable Oceans (FISO) of Xiamen University (XMU), China, and National Ocean Technology Center (NOTC) of the Ministry of Natural Resources, China;
• resource speakers and other invited experts,
• the PNLG Secretariat, and  
• the PRF.
   

The document contains the proceedings of three back-to-back activities that were conducted in Seoul, Republic of Korea from 31 October to 3 November 2023.

The activities include:

• The 6th Geo Blue Planet Symposium on Digital Solution for Sustainable Ocean Community on October 31
• PEMSEA Learning Exchange on Good Practices in Implementing Biodiversity Conservation-Focused Ecosystem and Area-based Management Approaches on November 1
• The 3rd PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers (PNLC) General Assembly Meeting on November 2

The activities were organized by the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) with support from RoKorea Ministry of Ocean and Fisheries, the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI), and the Korea Management Corporation (KOEM), and the Korea Blue Carbon Research Center.

Participants include 39 representatives from 17 of the 21 PNLC members, officers, and staff from KMI, KOEM, the Korea Blue Carbon Research Center, and the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF).

The Ad-hoc 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 in ASEAN Countries (IRBM Project) was held on November 24, 2023 via video conference (Zoom). 

The meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Inthavy Akkharath, Chair of the ASEAN Working Group on Water Resources Management (AWGWRM) and Mr. Gerd Trogemann, Manager of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Bangkok Regional Hub. RSC members representing the National Focal Points (NFPs) of the AWGWRM from 6 participating ASEAN Member States (AMS), namely Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam, the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC), the East Asian Seas Executive Committee (EAS EC) and UNDP Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific and Bangkok Regional Hub attended the meeting. 

The Regional Project Management Unit (RPMU), hosted by PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF), served as Secretariat to the RSC.

A seminar on 'Creating a Safe Workplace Environment: A Discussion on Sexual Harassment was conducted on 8 December 2023 in Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The seminar was participated by PEMSEA Resource Facility management and staff.

The objectives of the seminar were to:

1. Describe behaviours that constitute sexual harassment in the workplace;
2. Suggest practical guidelines in dealing with sexual harassment in the workplace and in promoting a safe work environment that caters to diverse staff;
3. Discuss the dynamics of power, provilege and social relations in the workplace in understanding and unpacking sexual harassment issues; and,
4. Express their commitment in promoting a safe and violence-free work environment.

Attached is a copy of the proceedings of the seminar which also helped inform the refinement of PRF's Sexual Harassment Policy and Guidelines.