The Meeting, held from 16-18 May 2005 in Metro Manila, Philippines, was convened to formulate the PEMSEA Partnership Agreement and the Partnership Operating Arrangements on the transformation of PEMSEA into a self-sustaining regional implementing mechanism for the SDS-SEA.

The 4th Subregional Meeting of the Gulf of Thailand Project Task Team was held at the Montien Riverside Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand, from 2 to 4 February 2005. The Marine Department, Ministry of Transportation, Royal Government of Thailand hosted the Meeting. The PEMSEA Gulf of Thailand (GOT) project aims to build capacity in combating sea-based sources of marine pollution, particularly in promoting the partnership among the countries of the subregion in oil spill preparedness and response. Building on the progress made since the 3rd Subregional Project Task Team (PTT) Meeting in July 2004, this Meeting was expected to provide guidance to further strengthen project implementation, with special focus on the development of a multilateral cooperative framework in oil spill preparedness and response in the subregion. The Meeting was attended by delegates from Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, observers from East Asia Response Pte Ltd (EARL), ECOTHAI Consultants Co. Ltd (ECOTHAI) and Oil Industry Environment Safety Group (IESG), and PEMSEA RPO staff.

On 12 December 2003, the Seas of East Asia region adopted a common framework for the environmental management and protection of its shared seas. The historic event was capped by ceremonial signing of the Ministerial Declaration on Regional Cooperation on the Sustainable Development of the Seas of East Asia by the honorable ministers and officials from PEMSEA countries—Brunei, Cambodia, China, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam—before a gathering of distinguished guests from various governments, research institutions and international organizations. The Declaration embodies the commitment of the countries to adhere to and implement the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA), which formally brings together national and stakeholder efforts under a collaborative platform for partnerships to implement commitments made under international agreements pertaining to coasts and oceans, including the recommendations from the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD), Millennium Development Goals (MDG) and Agenda 21. This paper revisits the approaches and processes undertaken to generate the regional consensus needed to develop the SDS-SEA. Working on existing information documents, it chronicles the outcomes of several consultations conducted, particularly during the 1st Senior Government Officials’ Meeting and the 9th Programme Steering Committee in Pattaya, Thailand, the final national review by PEMSEA countries and the feedback from various stakeholders on the SDS-SEA.

Following a Preparatory Meeting for the Working Group on the Implementation of the SDS-SEA that was held on 29 March–1 April 2004, in Chengdu, China, a Working Group meeting was organized by the PEMSEA Regional Programme Office (RPO) and hosted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), in Manila, Philippines, from 23 to 26 August 2004. Participants at the meeting included representatives from 10 participating countries, along with two resource persons and representatives from UNDP, World Bank and the Secretariat. This report contains the proceedings of the Meeting, which includes discussion on SDS-SEA implementation such as targets, approaches, modalities and funding implications, taking into account the specific national and local conditions.

The Senior Government Officials' Meeting (SGOM) on the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia was held at the Dusit Resort, Pattaya, Thailand, from 4 to 5 August 2003. It was organized by the Regional Programme Office (RPO) in collaboration with the Marine Department, the Royal Government of Thailand. The Meeting was held to finalize the draft third revision of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA) and the draft Declaration of Regional Cooperation on the Sustainable Development for the Seas of East Asia, for their endorsement by the countries and adoption by the Ministerial Forum to be held on 12 December 2003. Represented at the SGOM were the twelve PEMSEA participating countries, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, People's Republic of China, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as the executing agency of PEMSEA, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and its Regional Programme Office (RPO).

This publication presents the summary of the proceedings of the workshop and the key technical/scientific papers presented during the two-day event. It discusses the concept and approaches, methodologies, application and case studies, research needs and priorities in environmental carrying capacity or effective/permissible carrying capacity in tourism (ECC) research. The recommendations focus on the roles of the policymakers, scientists, and research managers and provide useful insights and future opportunities in advancing ECC research and application. It is hoped that through this effort, better cooperation in terms of sharing knowledge and research outputs among the countries in the East Asian region and with other parts of the world would be promoted.

The Experts’ Meeting on Strategies for Better Coastal and Ocean Governance was held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 18-20 November 2002. The Meeting was organized to review strategies to address priority coastal and ocean governance issues at subnational, national, and regional levels; and examine measures to develop a regional pool of expertise in coastal and ocean governance. The meeting has taken into account the outcomes of high-level policy fora related to coastal and marine affairs, particularly those from the recent APEC Ocean Ministerial Meeting (Seoul, 25-26 April 2002) and the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD, Johannesburg, 26 August to 4 September 2002). In addition, the meeting forms part of the technical preparation for the Ministerial Forum on the Sustainable Development of the Seas of East Asia and the International Conference on the Sustainable Development of the East Asian Seas: Towards a New Era of Regional Collaboration and Partnerships to be held on 8-12 December 2003. The meeting was co-organized by PEMSEA and the Maritime Institute of Malaysia (MIMA). Experts with diverse disciplinary backgrounds from the different countries of East Asia representing government and nongovernment institutions (specifically Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, P.R. China, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam), participated in their individual capacities in the meeting. Also participated were experts from other institutions in the region such as the Asia Pacific Centre for Environmental Law and the United Nations Development Programme.