World Oceans Day 2019: gender and the ocean

 

In this year’s World Oceans Day, we explore gender equality in ocean related activities.

 

PEMSEA is pleased to introduce some remarkable women, who all play important roles in helping ensure the conservation and effective management of the ocean and coasts across the East Asian Seas region.

 

 

Dr. Praparsiri Barnette is university professor and the head of the Department of Marine Science in Burapha University, Thailand. Her expertise includes aquaculture, fisheries and environmental science to which she has conducted and published numerous research projects. Dr. Praparsiri also leads the PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers, which is committed to promoting sustainable development of coastal and marine resources, and providing technical assistance and expertise through trainings and research.

 

 

Ms. Pham Thi Chin is the Director of Da Nang Agency for Seas and Islands of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, Viet Nam. She is one of the pioneers of ICM implementation in Viet Nam, particularly in Da Nang City when it was selected as a national ICM demonstration site in 2000. Ms. Pham Thi Chin continues to help provide practical experiences and lessons to support and strengthen efforts in scaling up ICM.

 

 

Ms. Nancy Bermas has extensive working experience in the region developing, implementing and scaling up ICM, and providing capacity development advice and technical support to stakeholders in the application of ICM processes and tools. Ms. Bermas has researched and written extensively on ICM and has numerous published works on the sustainability issues of the seas and coasts. She is currently the Interim Project Manager for the SDS-SEA in the PEMSEA Resource Facility.

 

 

Mrs. Noraini Binti Roslan is currently the President of Subang Jaya Municipal Council and the PEMSEA Network of Local Governments. She helps promote multi-sectoral and government collaborations to achieving sustainable blue economy. Holding a master’s degree in regional planning, she has 29 years of experience in processing development proposals for planning permissions, land development and building.

 

 

Dr. Karenne Tun is the Director of the Coastal and Marine Branch at the National Biodiversity Centre, National Parks Board (NParks). Her work covers issues related to the management and conservation of Singapore’s coastal and marine environment, and the biodiversity they support. Her previous involvements include developing tools for coral reef monitoring and management, studying the impacts of anthropogenic activities on coral reef, and coordinating coral reef monitoring efforts in the Southeast Asian region.

 

 

Ms. Masako Otsuka is the Director of International Ocean Institute (IOI) Japan. She was a president of a small communications company when she first encountered IOI and became inspired of its mission to promoting peaceful and sustainable management of the ocean for future generations. Since then, Ms. Otsuka became involved on ocean policy related projects and has been supportive of Japan’s ICM activities, specifically on one of the ‘Future Cities’ under UN SDGs- Shima City.

 

 

Dr. Zhang Haiwen has been working with the State Oceanic Administration since 1999 and is currently the Director General of China Institute for Marine Affairs. Her expertise includes international marine affairs and marine legal issues. She took part in amending and drafting ocean-related law and regulations such as the Marine Environmental Protection Law of China, Sea Area Use Management Law of China, and Islands Protection Law of China, among many others.

 

 

Ms. Arlette Depamaylo from Guimaras Environment and Natural Resources Office (GENRO) has been actively involved in projects including critical habitat conservation, marine protected areas management, community awareness on environmental concerns and the strengthening of ICM implementation in Guimaras, Philippines. She was also engaged in drafting and finalizing of the Guimaras State of the Coasts Report and the ordinance adopting ICM as a strategy towards the sustainable development of their coastal and marine environment of the province.

 

 

Ms. Lince Dessy is a lecturer at the Fisheries Department of the Universidade Oriental Timor Lorosa’e, Timor- Leste since 2013, and is now the coordinator of the university to the PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers. Over the years, she has been active in assisting in the implementation of the SDS-SEA program in Timor-Leste where she helped assess the fisheries resources of several municipalities and conduct community consultations for the preparation of coastal strategies and implementation plans.

 

 

Ms. Sally Nay works at the Foreign Affairs Office of Sihanoukville, Cambodia. She is the ICM Program Assistant of the province, which is a national ICM demonstration site. She has helped facilitate local capacity development, provide practical solutions to coastal and marine management issues, and address issues including pollution reduction and waste management in the Sihanoukville for the past ten years.

 

 

Ms. Chindavanh Souriyaphack is a technical officer at the Department of Water Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment and the SDS-SEA Project Coordinator in Lao PDR. She has been actively involved in the Sedone Integrated River Basin Management Project, which promotes an interprovincial and multisectoral approach to managing resources. She also took part in the approval of their updated Water and Water Resources Law, which covers the comprehensive management of the country’s water resources, mitigation of water-related disasters and management of wastewater discharges.

 

 

Ms. Irene Aditya Yuniarti is the Head of the Section for Quality Standard, Marine and Coastal Pollution and Degradation Control, Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MOEF), Indonesia. She acts as the focal point of MOEF to the PEMSEA Network of Local Government Strategic Action Plan and other SDS-SEA related activities. Ms. Yuniarti has helped facilitate training and development of local capacities and strengthen institutional mechanisms to enhance the implementation of local and national coastal and marine programs and align them with international commitments and targets.