Danang Gears up for the 2007 PNLG Forum

Danang City, Viet Nam — Danang City is all set to welcome the participants of the 2007 Forum of the PEMSEA Network of Local Governments for Sustainable Coastal Development (PNLG) scheduled for 5-7 September. The theme of the Forum is "Addressing Coastal Security by Investing in Natural and Man-made Hazards Prevention and Management." The forum is expected to serve as an effective venue for sharing experiences, lessons learned and knowledge, particularly in integrating "hazard thinking" into the various aspects of local governance.

 

Twenty-four local governments from eight countries of the region are participating in the forum in addition to regional experts on disaster risk reduction, donor representatives, the private sector and other interested stakeholders. Local government executives from the 29 coastal provinces of Viet Nam have also been invited, including national and local experts on integrated coastal management (ICM). The event will benefit the host local government in two ways — it will showcase the City's achievements in implementing ICM for the past seven years and at the same time learn from other local governments, various strategies and measures that they utilize to reduce vulnerability to impending hazards. The forum, as in previous ones, will also demonstrate the value of knowledge sharing and networking, setting an example for future gatherings to further build upon.The forum is divided into three major parts: the General Assembly Meeting, the Technical Workshop and the PMO Director's Meeting. One of the highlights of the General Assembly meeting is the signing of Klang (Malaysia) and four local governments from PR China (i.e., Dongying, Haikou, Fangchenggang and Quanzhou) of the PNLG Charter, which was adopted by 18 local governments during the East Asian Seas Congress in Haikou City, PR China in December 2006. This brings PNLG membership to 23. The PMO Director's meeting on the other hand will focus on identifying future strategies for sustaining the network and expanding its role to support local ICM implementation and scaling up. With the scaling up of ICM in various countries in the region, it is anticipated that a corresponding increase in the membership of the PNLG will be triggered.