Promoting Better Services through PEMSEA Certified Documents

 

Manila, Philippines — One of PEMSEA's assets is its continuous efforts to pursue excellence and to deliver quality services to the countries of the East Asian Seas region. In order to better facilitate and guide the implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA), PEMSEA embarked on the development of PEMSEA codes, guidelines and good practices that will serve as key informative materials to the countries and various stakeholders in the region.

 

The 9th Executive Committee meeting held in October approved as PEMSEA Certified Documents the Port Safety, Health and Environmental Management (PSHEM) Code and PSHEMS Development and Implementation Guideline, and the Guidebook for the State of the Coasts (SOC) Reporting. These are the first two documents that were submitted to the Procedure for Review and Certification of PEMSEA Codes, Guidelines and other Informative Documents. The Procedure was adopted by the EAS Partnership Council in 2010 and involves review and validation by external expert working groups, the EAS Partnership Council, and the Executive Committee.

 

The PSHEM Code and PSHEMS Development and Implementation Guideline aims to serve as a standard for voluntary use by port authorities and those companies operating in the port. The Code includes process requirements specified in ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and OHSAS 1800. It also assesses the conformance of ports to relevant international standards, codes, and guidelines for safety, health and environment. The PSHEM Code and Guidelines will be published and disseminated to the countries in the East Asian region, as well as to the international organizations, agencies and association concerned with the maritime industry, the safe operation of ships and ports and the protection of the marine environment. As part of the East Asian Seas Congress 2012 and the Yeosu International Exposition, a special event involving governments, the port sector and international organizations will be organized to launch the PSHEM Code and Recognition System.

 

The Guidebook for State of the Coasts (SOC) Reporting outlines the steps and requirements for the preparation of SOC reports in integrated coastal management (ICM) sites. The SOC reporting system provides local governments with a regular monitoring and evaluation and reporting tool in their integrated coastal management (ICM) programs. It is designed to facilitate systematic monitoring of the progress and impacts of local governments' ICM implementation, as well as serve as a scorecard with respect to the local contribution towards national, regional and international sustainable development targets. The SOC reports of 8 national ICM demonstration sites are targeted to be ready and published in time for the East Asian Seas Congress in July 2012.