PEMSEA Shares Experiences on SDS-SEA Development and Implementation

Azores, Portugal — PEMSEA participated in the Seminar on Maritime Policies and Globalization in Azores, Portugal from 9 to 10 July. The seminar was one of the series of three seminars organized by the Government of Portugal in preparation for its accession to the Chairmanship of the European Commission.During the session on "Integrated maritime policies are set up from one continent to another," PEMSEA Regional Programme Director Dr. Chua Thia-Eng delivered a paper about PEMSEA's experience on the Development and Implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA). Some 150 senior officials from 29 countries were in attendance, consisting of experts and practitioners from various fields such as environment, transport, nature conservation, shipping, oil and gas exploitation, ports, fisheries, aquaculture and maritime policy/governance.The seminar was able to arrive at the following major conclusions:the green paper on maritime policy for the European Union should be supported;integrated policies are absolutely necessary;the current trend is to play more emphasis on partnership building and policy and functional integration instead of mere coordination;there is a need to strengthen scientific research to develop the necessary knowledge for ocean management;a review of ICM initiatives showed that there have been some successes but most are largely terminated when funding support ends;to meet new economic challenges, oceans will play greater role in the future economy of Europe;more attention needs to be paid to tidal and wind energy development, as oil and gas supplies will be limited;climate change is a priority concern requiring a response;regional and global governance of the seas should be looked into seriously.The seminar noted the need to take stock of the achievements and good practices with respect to ocean and coastal governance in different regions of the world. PEMSEA has responded to this challenge by coming up with various publications and studies to highlight its role in coastal and ocean governance in the East Asian region. In recent years, it has undertaken the following activities to encapsulate best practices in coastal and ocean governance in the region:A review of national coastal and marine policies of six countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, PR China, Korea) was published in the Tropical Coasts December 2000 issue.Case Studies on the National Coastal Policy Development in PR China and RO Korea were published and disseminated in 2003.A review of national coastal and marine policy of selected countries (Indonesia, Japan, The Netherlands, Australia and Malaysia) incorporated in the Framework for National Coastal and Marine Policy Development was published in 2005.