New PEMSEA Partners on Board

Manado City, Indonesia — The PEMSEA Partnership has grown bigger with the inclusion of two new non-Country Partners. During the First East Asian Seas (EAS) Partnership Council Meeting in Manado City, the International Ocean Institute (IOI) and the Swedish Environmental Secretariat for Asia (SENSA) were officially introduced and welcomed as members of PEMSEA.Abiding by the provisions of the Partnership Operating Arrangements, the three entities submitted formal requests for inclusion as Partners. IOI and SENSA also executed an agreement or cooperation with PEMSEA in line with the implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA). The Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) also submitted a request for inclusion as PEMSEA Partner and was, in principle, approved to be a new member subject to the signing of the Letter of Cooperation with the PEMSEA Resource Facility.The IOI is an independent, nongovernmental, non-profit organization that aims to ensure the sustainability of the Oceans as the source of life, to uphold and expand the principle of the common heritage, and to promote the concept of Peace in the Oceans for the benefit of future generations. SENSA is an entity that promotes regional cooperation for the sustainable development of the environment in Southeast Asia and strengthened cooperation between the Southeast Asian region and Sweden/Northern Europe. NOWPAP is a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Regional Seas Programme that promotes wise use, development, and management of the coastal and marine environment to obtain utmost long-term benefits for the populations of the Northwest Pacific regional sea while securing the region's sustainability.The EAS Partnership Council believes that the inclusion of the new members will contribute significantly in the efforts to implement the SDS-SEA given their expertise and experience in developing, implementing and managing marine environmental programs, projects and initiatives.PEMSEA Partners now consist of 11 countries, namely, Cambodia, PR China, DPR Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Philippines, RO Korea, Singapore, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam) and 14 non-Country Partners. The non-Country Partners are Conservation International (CI) Philippines; Coastal Management Center (CMC); Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Regional Secretariat for the Western Pacific (IOC/WESTPAC); IOI; Korea Environment Institute (KEI); Korea Maritime Institute (KMI); Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI); Ocean Policy Research Foundation (OPRF); Oil Spill Response and East Asia Response Limited (OSRL/EARL); Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML); SENSA; UNDP/GEF Small Grants Programme (SGP); UNEP Global Programme of Action (UNEP/GPA); and UNDP/GEF Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem Project (YSLME).