PR China Launches SDS-SEA Implementation

Shandong, PR China — The country's State Oceanic Administration (SOA), PEMSEA and Ocean Bureau officials from nine provinces and eleven cities launched the third phase of the SOA-PEMSEA cooperation at the "National Inception Workshop for the Development and Implementation of SDS-SEA in China" on 5-6 June in Dongying, Shandong, PR China. The highlight of the event was the signing of the three agreements for the third phase of SOA-PEMSEA between Director-General of International Cooperation Dr. Zhang Zhanhai of SOA and Prof. Raphael P.M. Lotilla, Executive Director of PEMSEA. Key messages were delivered by Administrator Sun Zhihui of SOA, Vice Governor Jia Wanzhi of Shandong, Secretary Zhang Qiubo of Dongying People's Congress, EAS Partnership Council Chair Dr. Chua Thia-Eng and Prof. Lotilla.

 

The first meeting of the National Project Coordinating Committee Meeting followed, chaired by Dr. Zhang Zhanhai. Highlights of the meeting included an overview of the SDS-SEA implementation programme in China, presentations on the three projects that are being implemented under the programme, and designation of the institutional arrangements for overseeing, implementing and monitoring the programme.The three projects reviewed and endorsed by the Meeting included:Development and Implementation of National SDS-SEA/ICM Scaling up Programme in PR China;Integrated River Basin and Coastal Area Management (IRBCAM) with a Special Focus on Pollution Reduction and Investment in the Bohai Sea; andScaling up of ICM Implementation in Xiamen.Agreements were signed between SOA and ten coastal cities, namely: Panjin, Leting, Qingdao, Dongying, Lianyungang, Quanzhou, Yangjiang, Fangchenggang, Haikou and Wenchang, for the implementation of integrated coastal management (ICM), as well as between SOA and four provinces (i.e., Liaoning, Shandong, Hebei, Tianjin) and Dongying city for the implementation of the IRBCAM project.The partnership programme will be supported by a National Expert Steering Committee composed of three technical working groups. Following the Meeting, the Dongying government (www.dongying.gov.cn/eng) hosted a field trip to a wetlands/ecotourism area near the mouth of the Yellow River, a mariculture complex being developed in Kenli County, and an integrated river basin management project in the Guangli River.