The PEMSEA Story
PUBLICATION DATE:
Wednesday, December 01, 2021
PUBLICATION TYPE:
Books
STATUS:
Available
DESCRIPTION:
The PEMSEA Story: 28 years of collaboration for the Seas of East Asia chronicles the partnerships’ journey of transformation which started as a fledgling pollution project in 1993 to become a regional coordination mechanism with an international legal personality.
PEMSEA works on a range of coastal and marine management programs such as biodiversity conservation, climate change and disaster risk reduction, marine pollution and solid waste management and cross cutting programs on ocean governance, capacity development and knowledge management and blue economy and sustainable financing under the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA).
This book provides an updated narrative on why strategic partnerships and integrated management solutions are important elements in establishing a regional partnership mechanism to manage large marine ecosystems. It focuses on the successes and lessons learned from PEMSEA’s experience at the local, national and regional levels to protect, manage and restore coasts and ocean, aligned with international agreements and targets such the UN SDGs, the Aichi Biodiversity Agreement, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, among others.
The story was developed primarily by consolidating and updating information provided by the UNDP/GEF Scaling Up Implementation of SDS-SEA project’s knowledge products and reports and supplemented by interviews with key partners, collaborators and stakeholders.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Proceedings of the 1st Blue Carbon Technical Working Group Meeting
The First Blue Carbon Technical Working Group meeting was held on February 25, 2025, online via video conference (Zoom). The meeting was chaired by the Technical Session Chair and Co-Chair of the East Asian Seas (EAS) Partnership Council (PC) and participated by PEMSEA country partner designated representatives from China and the Philippines; non-country partner representatives from the National Marine Hazard Mitigation Service (NMHMS), Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI-SPF), Conservation International (CI), Korean Maritime Institute (KMI); PNLC members, Xiamen University, University of the Philippines Marine Science Institute (UP-MSI); and other collaborators, such as the China Green Carbon Foundation and OceanPixel.
PEMSEA eBulletin - February 2025
Dear PEMSEA community,
As we step into a new month, we are thrilled to share some remarkable milestones and collaborative efforts that highlight PEMSEA’s ongoing commitment to environmental sustainability.
The month began with PEMSEA receiving recognition from the DENR-EMB for the strong collaboration particularly through the MOF/PEMSEA ODA Marine Plastics Project in the Philippines. In the Arafura and Timor Seas, representatives from Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Timor-Leste came together in Australia to tackle the ghost net crisis.
Discover how the IRBM Project is fostering transparency and accountability with its new Grievance Redress Mechanism, empowering voices to be heard. Learn more about the data-driven efforts in the Philippines and Timor-Leste, where beach monitoring is shaping policies to tackle marine plastics.
And don’t miss the update from PEMSEA’s inaugural Blue Carbon Technical Working Group meeting, where stakeholders across the region came together to advance the Blue Carbon Roadmap and set the direction of the program.
IRBM Stories - Reviving the Vibrance of Ciliwung River
The Ciliwung River Basin, located in Indonesia, originates in the Bogor Regency and flows 118.25 kilometers to the Java Sea, passing through the cities of Bogor, Depok, and Jakarta. Covering 421.47 square kilometers, it supports over 3,852,000 people and provides essential resources for agriculture, livelihoods, and transportation. The Ciliwung Dam, constructed in 1911, irrigates 333 hectares of rice fields and contributes to the region's renowned tea plantations. The river basin faces significant pollution challenges from domestic and industrial waste. The Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) Project aims to mitigate these issues through improved governance, community engagement, and sustainable waste management practices.
PEMSEA Brochure 2025
This PEMSEA e-brochure provides a quick introduction to the partnerships, its role, its networks and the services it offers. For more detailed information, please go to the homepage and browse the various sections of the website.
PEMSEA Network of Local Governments Forum (PNLG) 2024 Annual Forum Proceedings
The 2024 Forum of the PNLG with the theme, “Blue Synergy for a Shared Future: One Sustainable and Resilient Ocean” was hosted by PNLG and PEMSEA and co-organized by the PNLG Secretariat and Coastal and Ocean Management Institute (COMI) of Xiamen University. The forum was conducted on 6-8 November 2024 in Xiamen.
About one hundred participants from:
- 21 PNLG member local governments;
- 5 PNLG Associate members;
- PNLC members;
- resource speakers and other invited experts,
- the PNLG Secretariat,
- the PNLC Secretariat, and
- the PRF attended the forum.
They are from eight countries, namely Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, RO Korea, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam.