Preparations for the 2nd East Asian Seas Partnership Council Meeting

Quezon City, Philippines — Preparations for the 2nd East Asian Seas Partnership Council Meeting are being undertaken by the PEMSEA Resource Facility. The PC Meeting will review the progress on the implementation of the Sustainable Development for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-Sea) and build consensus on future work plans. Included in the Meeting Agenda are the GEF/UNDP/UNOPS Project on the Implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA), the GEF/World Bank Pollution Reduction Investment Fund, Recognition of PEMSEA's Legal Personality, the East Asian Seas Congress 2009 preparations, and other regional/subregional transboundary initiatives.The Technical Session of the Meeting will focus on the joint planning and coordination among Partners through exchange of information such as transboundary and critical issues encountered during the implementation of the SDS-SEA. The Intergovernmental Session of the Meeting will focus on PEMSEA's transformation from a project-based initiative to self-sustained regional mechanism with a recognized legal personality.As part of preparations for the Council meeting, the Executive Committee of the EAS Partnership Council held its second meeting on 14–15 at the PEMSEA Office Building in Manila, Philippines. The EC approved the provisional agenda of the 2nd EAS Partnership Council Meeting.