Post-Congress Report of the East Asian Seas Congress 2021

 

Missed the East Asian Seas Congress last year?

 

Then no worries! Just head over to https://dev-pemseaorg.pantheonsite.io/eas-congress/ for the proceedings, recordings, and details of all our events, including the Post-Congress Report. (The report is also available in Chinese.)

 

With the theme "Charting a New Decade of H.O.P.E. (Healthy Ocean, People, and Economies)", the Congress came at a fitting time as the East Asian Seas (EAS) region goes through a new normal while nearing the completion of the five-year implementation plan of the shared regional marine strategy called the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA). Armed with greater public awareness on the links between ocean health and human health, the region is one and aligned with the global recognition to act on pressing socioeconomic, ecological, and climate change issues, and the critical need to sustain the momentum of building meaningful and transformative solutions for a sustainable ocean-based economy.

 

The 2021 EAS Congress paved the way for the following achievements:

 

✔️ Signing of the Preah Sihanouk Ministerial Declaration affirming PEMSEA partners’ commitment to the regional collaboration on sustainable coastal and ocean development;

 

✔️ Expanded and strengthened partnerships and investments in the EAS region;

 

✔️ Start of preparations for the SDS-SEA Implementation Plan 2023-2027;

 

✔️ Adoption of the 2022-2030 Strategic Action Plan (SAP) of the PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG) and the Charter of the PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers (PNLC);

 

✔️ Commitment to engage in the multi-country, multi-year EUR 15 million IKI/IMO Blue Solutions project titled “Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Maritime Transport Sector in the EAS Region”;

 

✔️ Launch of The PEMSEA Story: 28 Years of Collaboration for the Seas of East Asia; and

 

✔️ Completion of the 2021 Regional State of Ocean and Coasts: The East Asian Seas Region and its supplemental report.

 

The Congress was held on 1-2 December 2021 with pre-Congress events happening from April to November. This was hosted by the Royal Government of Cambodia and co-organized by the Ministry of Environment in Cambodia, Provincial Administration of Preah Sihanouk (SHV), and Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) Resource Facility.