Regional State of Ocean and Coasts 2021: The East Asian Seas Region (VOLUME 1)
PUBLICATION DATE:
Thursday, December 02, 2021
PUBLICATION TYPE:
Books
STATUS:
Only Available Online
DESCRIPTION:
The ocean covers 70% of the surface of our blue planet and constitutes >95% of the biosphere. Life originated in the ocean, and it continues to support all life today by generating oxygen, absorbing carbon dioxide, recycling nutrients, regulating global climate and temperature, and providing food, energy, water, and other resources.
The ocean wealth of the EAS region.
Ocean in the national income accounts. The ocean economy in the EAS region is around US$1.5 trillion in value added in 2015.
Employment in the ocean economy. There are 61 million people directly employed in the ocean economy, however, more are dependent on the ocean for their livelihoods as small-scale, household, and informal activities are not included in the current accounts.
Blue capital and coastal and marine ecosystem services. The EAS region is home to a third of the world’s mangrove forests, seagrass beds, and coral reefs. These coastal and marine ecosystems, together with the tidal flats and salt marshes, are estimated to be worth around US$2 trillion. The blue carbon value is estimated to be US$68 billion for mangroves and US$40 billion for seagrass.
But our ocean is under stress… from climate change, pollution, habitat and biodiversity loss, overfishing and destructive fishing, and other unsustainable human activities. Bold and innovative actions are needed to protect ocean health, build more sustainable and resilient economies, reduce poverty, and help the most vulnerable.
Why blue economy?
The ocean has a major role to play in humanity’s future. As the EAS Region is gearing up to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Blue Economy offers a development strategy anchored on sustainable and inclusive prosperity, low-carbon growth, and protection of ocean ecosystems to ensure food security, jobs and livelihoods, resiliency, recreation, and wellbeing. The blue economy can help the region by:
- Creating nature-based jobs, such as aquaculture, ecotourism, restoration of coastal habitats, and managing protected areas
- Offering new economic opportunities and jobs to reduce poverty through the sustainable development of key oceanic sectors, such as fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, ports, shipping, shipbuilding, and marine renewable energy, and their value-chains, and supporting new industries like marine biotechnology
- Helping the region to mitigate and adapt to climate change through blue carbon, offshore wind and ocean energy, decarbonization, and new technologies
- Fostering nature-based infrastructure, such as mangroves, to provide protection from coastal erosion, flooding, storm surge, tsunami, and other natural disasters (as well as other ecosystem services)Improving fisheries by addressing the underlying causes of overfishing and IUU fishing, and addressing aquaculture sustainability, quality, and safety
- Mitigating the threats to human and ocean health due to marine pollution, including nutrients and marine and land-based plastics, through establishment of more wastewater treatment facilities with reuse applications, integrated solid waste management systems, and reuse of plastics and other recyclables
- Advocating the inclusion of women, small-scale fishers, informal workers (such as those in the aquaculture, ports, shipping, tourism, trade and logistics industries)Advancing connectivity and trade through ports, shipping, submarine communications, and digitalization
- Promoting science, innovation, and technologies to transform the ocean economic sectors to become sustainable, climate-smart, low-carbon, resilient, and more efficient and productive
- Promoting sustainable ocean financing and new financing modalities to support climate action, biodiversity conservation, and blue economy development.
- Informing policymakers and stakeholders about the value of the ocean, and the need for bold actions now for the benefit of the future generations
More information in the brochure. A Supplemental Report is also available.
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
PEMSEA Regional Methodology for Blue Carbon Project Accounting
A Harmonized Guide for Estimating Carbon Stocks, Sequestration, and GHG Reductions in Coastal Ecosystems
Differences in measurement methods, carbon pool inclusion, and monitoring frameworks have made blue carbon projects in East Asia hard to compare. PEMSEA’s Regional Methodology addresses this with a single accounting framework for mangroves, seagrasses, and salt marshes. It is designed to be compatible with national greenhouse gas inventories and technically aligned with voluntary carbon credit certification requirements.
The Main Methodology sets out project eligibility and additionality, boundaries and stratification, baseline and project scenarios, uncertainty management, a tiering system, leakage, permanence and risk management, and monitoring, reporting, and verification. Five technical annexes provide the field and analytical detail:
- Annex A – Mangrove Ecosystems: carbon stock and sequestration assessment methods
- Annex B – Seagrass Ecosystems: carbon stock and sequestration assessment methods
- Annex C – Salt Marsh Ecosystems: carbon stock and sequestration assessment methods
- Annex D – Mapping Blue Carbon Ecosystems: remote sensing, validation, and change detection
- Annex E – Monitoring Environmental Parameters: the environmental conditions that influence blue carbon ecosystems
The methodology was prepared under the guidance of the Blue Carbon Technical Working Group of the EAS Partnership Council, with contributions from experts across the region. It is intended for project developers, national agencies, researchers, and verifiers working to bring high-integrity blue carbon projects to market.
INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON BLUE CARBON ECOSYSTEM VALUES: Accounting and Crediting Guidance Frameworks
The Korea Maritime Institute (KMI) and Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) convened the International Seminar on Blue Carbon Ecosystem Values in Busan, Republic of Korea. The seminar gathered representatives from six East Asian countries, academic institutions, and regional partners to validate enhancements to the Regional Blue Carbon Accounting Protocol (RBCAP), review biodiversity accounting and crediting approaches, and define PEMSEA’s role in governance, verification, and market development. Key outcomes included expert recommendations to strengthen the RBCAP, shared insights on biodiversity crediting pathways, and a clearer vision of PEMSEA’s added value as a regional platform for advancing blue carbon and biodiversity markets.
The 2026 PEMSEA Network of Local Governments for Sustainable Coastal Development (PNLG) and PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers (PNLC) Joint Learning Forum
The 2026 PEMSEA Network of Local Governments for Sustainable Coastal Development (PNLG) and PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers (PNLC) Joint Learning Forum, themed “Empowering Coastal Cities for a Blue Future,” was organized by the PNLG and PNLC in collaboration with the Korea Maritime Institute (KMI), the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST), Coastal 500, and the PEMSEA Resource Facility. The Forum was hosted by the Metropolitan City of Busan, Republic of Korea. The Joint Learning Forum took place on 8 September 2026 at Paradise Hotel Busan as part of the 2026 PNLG Annual Forum (8-10 September 2026). It featured two panel discussions: Local Pathways for Blue Carbon and Nature-Based Solutions, and Capitalizing on Coasts: Financing and Innovating Local Blue Economies.
Proceedings of the 5th PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers (PNLC) Executive Committee Meeting 2026
The document contains the proceedings from the PNLC Executive Committee (EC) held 9 September 2026 in Busan, Republic of Korea.
The meeting was participated in by the President and Vice-President of the PNLC, the PEMSEA Executive Director, and the PNLC Secretariat from IPB and the PEMSEA Resource Facility. The agenda included:
- Workplan 2026-2027
- Updates on PNLC Expenditure and Financial Sustainability
Other Business:
- PRF Project Updates
- 2027 EAS Congress
- ICM Report
- Nature-based Solutions Capacity-building
PEMSEA Blue Carbon Program Updates
PEMSEA eBulletin - September 2026
September connected regional decisions with local action—from a new declaration in Busan to community-led work across the region.
In Busan, the 2026 PNLG General Assembly adopted the Busan Declaration on Promoting Local Coastal Resilience and Sustainable Blue Economy and welcomed Atauro Island, Timor-Leste, as the Network’s newest member. Meanwhile, PEMSEA Founder Dr. Chua Tia-Eng returned to the PEMSEA Resource Facility for a discussion with colleagues on PEMSEA’s history, lessons, and continuing role in advancing sustainable coastal and ocean governance.
PEMSEA project updates include the GEF/UNDP/ASEAN IRBM Project advanced planning for food and biodegradable waste management in the Pasac-Guagua Watershed, while the PRICELESS Project brought stakeholders together in Regions 3 and 4A to tackle challenges and priorities for the Philippine Rise.
In the Philippines and Timor-Leste, MEP partners under the MOF/PEMSEA Marine Plastics ODA Project mobilized communities, schools, government agencies and civil society organizations for International Coastal Cleanup activities, turning awareness of marine plastic pollution into action on the ground.