PRF Secretariat Services Set to Work

Quezon City, Philippines — After several months of rigorous recruitment, the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) Secretariat Services is now fully operational. The PRF Secretariat Services is set to work to provide secretariat support to the PEMSEA regional mechanism, which includes the EAS Partnership Council, the Ministerial Forum, the Regional Partnership Fund, the EAS Congress and the PEMSEA Resource Facility. Moreover, the PRF Secretariat will also facilitate knowledge transfer and capacity building as well as monitor, evaluate and report on adopted work programs and time-bound targets related to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA).Recognizing the significance of the PRF, PEMSEA Country Partners have expressed their commitment and support to the PRF Secretariat Services. The Governments of PR China, Japan, and RO Korea in particular have provided financial support for the operation of the PRF Secretariat Services. Equally significant, the Government of the Philippines, which has hosted the PEMSEA secretariat since 1994, through the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), has constructed a new addition to the PEMSEA Office Building.To ensure efficient operations, the PRF Secretariat has initiated a number of activities in the 4th quarter of 2007, such as drafting a communication plan in support of the SDS-SEA implementation, preparing work plans and schedules for the organization of the EAS Congress 2009, organizing and conducting a meeting of the Executive Committee, and planning the Second EAS Partnership Council Meeting in July 2008.