Welcome to the May edition of PEMSEA’s E-Update! During a month of important environmental occasions, we’re happy to announce that the official website for the EAS Congress 2018 is now available, providing more information about our event this November. For the International Day for Biological Diversity we cover the work of Enggar Wardani, a previous EAS Youth Forum participant who has been planting mangroves and educating school children in Indonesia. Also covered in this newsletter is the establishment of the Romblon Sustainable Development Council, a provincial body in the Philippines dedicated to overseeing ICM. In between newsletters, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA) for the latest updates.

The second half of 2018 brings you the July edition of PEMSEA’s E-Update! We are currently evaluating the challenges and pressures facing the Seas of East Asia in the near future, and would appreciate your input via a short survey. For a look at the near past, feel free to look through our Annual Report 2017, which was released this month. Also included in this newsletter is an initial summary of our recent Ocean Leadership Roundtable, as well as reports on two Philippine projects PEMSEA is involved with. In between newsletters, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA) for the latest updates.

June saw a number of international environmental days that highlighted the need for developing a sustainable blue economy. On World Environment Day, PEMSEA published a timeline highlighting our progress towards building a blue economy for the East Asian Seas. On World Oceans Day, we looked at the issue of plastic waste, outlining some simple steps everyone can take, and highlighting examples of plastic initiatives PEMSEA has supported. We are proud to share a story about the impact of Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) projects in the Tangerang Regency of Indonesia, and to have participated in the 6th GEF Assembly which finished today.

The global plastic problem is growing more acute, while the effects of China’s plastic waste import ban are only beginning to be felt. One way to deal with plastic waste is to close the “plastic loop”, reducing the waste that flows into the ocean and impacts coastal communities. Such waste management initiatives require the expansion of blue finance initiatives to maximize their impact and reach. Finance in the form of public private partnerships have proved useful in ensuring MPA management. With green bonds becoming more closely linked with the SDGs, WWF has set up the Asia Sustainable Finance Initiative to promote environmentally sustainable finance throughout Asia.

GEF projects focused on achieving tuna fishery sustainability in the high seas are coming to an end as a new study reveals over half of high seas fishing relies on subsidies. Sustainability for wild fisheries will benefit from 20 years of research providing a mathematical model for calculating maximum sustainable yield, as well as from evidence in the Gulf of Thailand of the effectiveness of fisheries refugia. Aquaculture is also set to be improved by integrated multi-trophic techniques being applied in the Yellow Sea. Other facets of the blue economy are also being explored by the GEF, whose Blue Forests project is providing a global assessment of the value of blue forest ecosystem services. The value of such “forests” are already visible in places like Qingdao, China, where seaweed aquaculture is an important economic activity.

The importance of ICM is highlighted by new research showing that a loss of coral reefs will result in increased flood damage to coastal areas. Such environmental risks have prompted Indonesia to declare that its next five-year development plan will be low-carbon and take into account environmental carrying capacity, while the global shipping industry is considering numerous ways it could reduce its own carbon emissions.

Follow the latest updates on blue economy and coastal sustainable development in East Asia on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA). We welcome your feedback, and please let us know if there are other blue economy topics you would like to see in future newsletters and programs.

Progress towards a sustainable blue economy is becoming a more important issue, not only for specialists and policy-makers, but also for civil society, as blue economy issues continue to increase within the public awareness. PEMSEA and its partners, who this year celebrate 25 years of progress in working towards a shared vision of healthy oceans, people and economies, welcome you to the second Blue Economy Bulletin of 2018!

PEMSEA’s triennial East Asian Seas Congress, to be held in Iloilo City, Philippines, from November 27-30, is drawing closer. With the theme “25 Years of Partnerships for Healthy Oceans, People and Economies: Moving as One with the Global Ocean Agenda”, the EAS Congress 2018 is expected to engage over 1,000 participants from national and local government, academia, business, international organizations and NGOs. It will feature an International Conference and Environmental Exhibition, the Fifth EAS Youth Forum (YF5), PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG) Forum 2018, and will culminate with the Sixth Ministerial Forum. The call for applications to the Fifth EAS Youth Forum (YF5) has been released, and PEMSEA asks any youth from the region aged 18-25 who are working or interested in the sustainable development of coasts and oceans to consider applying.

Real change happens on the ground, so we were pleased that PEMSEA’s work in Bataan, Philippines, was featured in a video celebrating protection of our oceans for Earth Day 2018. PEMSEA also welcomed recent developments in the Philippine’s Romblon province, where Local Government Units (LGUs) have incorporated integrated coastal management thinking into their development plans.

In global news, IMO member states agreed to a 50% reduction from 2008 levels in greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The World Ocean Summit 2018 saw the release of 14 Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Principles, while over 100 global corporations had emissions reductions plans approved by the Science Based Targets initiative. The U.S. called for marine mammal bycatch mitigation plans from fisheries by 2022 as a requirement for these fisheries to access U.S. markets. Scientists  discovered an enzyme that can digest polyethylene terephthalate (PET), a key component of modern plastics, which could prove to be a crucial new tool to address ocean plastic pollution.

A consultative committee in the Philippines intends to strengthen environmental rights in a new constitution, and the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR) held its first hearing against major corporate carbon emitters. Due to overcapacity, the Philippines and Thailand have both closed popular tourist destinations for a number of months. Indonesia plans to launch an excise on plastics in May and has deployed its military to clean up the Citarum river, while China’s Environment Ministry has announced that it intends to tackle plastic pollution in the Yangtze river.

Follow the us on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA) for the latest updates. We welcome your feedback, and please let us know if there are other blue economy topics you would like to see in future newsletters and programs.

The E-Update arrives in your email every other month with the latest information on PEMSEA’s activities and news and events relevant to sustainable development of coasts and oceans in the region. The March 2018 edition includes updates on the latest Blue Economy Webinar on sustainable seafood suuply chains, PEMSEA joining Closed Loop Ocean to tackle ocean plastic pollution, planning for the East Asia Seas Congress, and more.

2018 promises to be a pivotal year for blue economy development in the Seas of East Asia, as PEMSEA and its partners celebrate 25 years of progress in working towards a shared vision of healthy oceans, people and economies. We are excited to share the first issue of the Blue Economy Bulletin for 2018.

Preparations are underway for PEMSEA’s triennial East Asian Seas Congress to be held in Iloilo City, Philippines from November 27-30. As calls for private sector funding to contribute to the SDGs continue to increase, the 6th EAS Congress will focus on ushering in better, stronger and smarter regional actions, aligned with the global ocean agenda. Applications are open for organizations to host “Partnership Hub” side events, deadline for applications is March 16th.

Kicking off the year, Thailand held its National Inception Workshop in February to mobilize scaling up of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia. PEMSEA joined the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources and other key environmental groups in the launch of the International Year of the Reefs. At the joint ADB, UN Environment and UN ESCAP workshop on integrating environmental SDGs, PEMSEA's Executive Director Aimee Gonzales shared how the UN Ocean goal is implemented at the local level.

Elsewhere in the region, Brunei explored bilateral opportunities for blue economy development. The UN announced a Business Action Platform for the Ocean, and calls for private sector funding to contribute to the SDGs increases, including blended capital approaches to support sustainable fisheries. Green bonds, which hold promise for financing sustainable development of marine assets, are under the spotlight for accountability and transparency.

Follow the us on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA) for the latest updates. We welcome your feedback, and please let us know if there are other blue economy topics you would like to see in future newsletters and programs.

Welcome to the first edition of the e-Update for 2018! PEMSEA kicks off its 25th anniversary year by welcoming a new Executive Director, Aimee Gonzales. 2018 promises to be a full year as PEMSEA reflects on the successes and lessons of two-and-a-half decades of partnerships for healthy oceans, people and economies in the the East Asian Seas, and sets its sights on the next 25 years.

Follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA) for the latest updates.

Welcome to the final issue of the Blue Economy Bulletin for 2017! Thank you for your continued interest in blue economy news and events in East Asia and around the world.

Wrapping up a busy year for PEMSEA, the province of Cavite in the Philippines launched its State of the Coasts Report. In Bangkok, experts from both the public and private sectors participated in PEMSEA’s Blue Economy Forum to discuss the state of ocean health and blue economy growth in the region. Meanwhile, local capacity building continues to advance through PEMSEA’s Traineeship Programme, which included topics on blue economy and investment. Under the PEMSEA Blue Economy Webinar series, Dr. Jenna Jambeck presented on tackling ocean plastic waste in the seas of East Asia.

As the urgency to address plastic pollution increases, research continues to emerge on the impact of the problem, for instance, a report showing that some fish are attracted to plastic particles covered in algae, mistaking these for food. Experts continue to develop new solutions to manage plastic waste as the critical role of the private sector in marine protection becomes even more apparent. In sustainable finance, Fiji has successfully issued a green bond to boost climate resilience. Clarmondial and WWF release a new report on how conservation organizations can better mobilize private investment for positive environmental results. Discussions at the COP 23 highlighted the link between oceans and climate change.

2018 will be an exciting year, marking PEMSEA’s 25th anniversary and the triennial East Asian Seas Congress! We look forward to stronger partnerships as we work together towards the sustainable development of our shared seas.

Follow the latest updates on blue economy and coastal sustainable development in East Asia on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA). We welcome your feedback, and please let us know if there are other blue economy topics you would like to see in future newsletters and programs.

Welcome back to PEMSEA's E-Update, your source for the latest information on PEMSEA’s activities and news and events relevant to sustainable development of coasts and oceans in East Asia.

PEMSEA is getting ready for the Blue Economy Forum in Bangkok, Thailand, to highlight the value of blue economy growth in the region. Check out this infographic to understand how industries are dependent on healthy oceans. PEMSEA officially joined the International Partnership for Blue Carbon to advance awareness of the value of blue carbon for oceans and climate. With its practical solution to address one source of plastic pollution in our seas, Sip PH was announced as the winner of PEMSEA's Youth Small Grant for 2017.

In between newsletters, follow us on Facebook and Twitter (@PEMSEA) for the latest updates.