PEMSEA organized and conducted a regional training workshop on risk and vulnerability assessment (VA) from March 4 to 5, 2019. The main purpose of this workshop was to introduce the Coastal VA tools that were locally developed that the participants may consider in conducting VA on target sites for each member country. A total of nineteen (19) participants consisting of representatives from ICM learning centers in Indonesia, Thailand and Timor Leste, as well as representatives from the Local Governments Units (LGUs) of Pampanga, Bataan, Cavite, Oriental Mindoro, and Guimaras attended this workshop. Three VA tools were presented by speakers from the Marine Science Institute: (a) CIVAT (Coastal Integrity Vulnerability Assessment Tool), (b) TURF (Tools for Understanding the Resilience of Fisheries), and (c) ICSEA Change (Integrated Coastal Sensitivity, Exposure and Adaptive Capacity for Climate Change). These tools have incorporated bio-physical attributes that are unique to tropical ecosystems such as the importance of coastal habitats for maintaining coastal integrity and the dependence on reef fisheries. This suite of Coastal VA tools was developed to assess the vulnerability of coastal ecosystems to climate change. Specifically, these tools aim to evaluate biodiversity, fisheries, and coastal integrity based on various factors of Sensitivity, Exposure, and Adaptive Capacity. They are semiquantitative, incorporating a degree of technicality with ease of use.

The 2nd Ocean Leadership Roundtable with the special theme of ‘Future Outlook of the East Asian Seas’ was organized as a special event at the Partnership Council Meeting on 26 July 2018 at The Peninsula Manila, Makati City, Philippines. The Roundtable was convened by PEMSEA with support from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Philippines.

The Roundtable was chaired by Dr. Antonio La Viña, Chair of the EAS Partnership Council. Delegates from the 10th EAS Partnership Council Meeting comprising of eight countries (China, Japan, Lao PDR, Philippines, RO Korea, Singapore, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam) and representatives from nine Non-Country Partners, namely ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB); Conservation International (CI) Philippines; International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM); Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology (KIOST); Ocean Policy Research Institute Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI,SPF); Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL); Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML); and PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG), together with the members of the PEMSEA Executive Committee participated in the roundtable. Representatives from the Philippine media were also present during the Roundtable. PEMSEA Resource Facility served as Secretariat.

The resource persons for the Roundtable were: Dr. Chua Thia-Eng, EAS Partnership Council Chair Emeritus; Dr. Laura David, Professor, UP Marine Science Institute and; Ms. Deborah Robertson, Natural Resources Specialist, Pacific Department, Asian Development Bank.

DOCUMENT NUMBER    DOCUMENT TITLE
OLR/18/DOC/01             Science, Research and Development Outlook – Dr. Laura David, UP Marine Science Institute
OLR/18/DOC/02             Economic and Development Outlook – Ms. Deborah Robertson, Asian Development Bank
OLR/18/DOC/03             Ocean Governance: Past, Present and Future – Dr. Chua Thia-Eng, EAS Partnership Council, PEMSEA
OLR/18/DOC/04             PEMSEA Post-2020 Framework – Ms. Aimee Gonzales, PEMSEA
 

The Project Steering Committee Meeting of the GEF/UNDP/PEMSEA Project on Scaling up Implementation of the SDS-SEA was held at The Peninsula Manila, Makati City, Philippines on July 24, 2018. The Meeting was attended by representatives from seven project participating countries, namely: China, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Philippines, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam. Representatives from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Philippines and the UNDP Regional Hub Bangkok were present on behalf of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) served as the Secretariat for the Meeting.

The PSC Meeting focused on the key findings and recommendations of the Project Mid-Term Review, the key accomplishments in countries, and the project work plan and budget for 2018- 2019.

DOCUMENT NUMBER    DOCUMENT TITLE
PSC/18/DOC/01              Country Progress Report: Cambodia
PSC/18/DOC/02              Country Progress Report: China
PSC/18/DOC/03              Country Progress Report: Indonesia
PSC/18/DOC/04              Country Progress Report: Lao PDR
PSC/18/DOC/05              Country Progress Report: Philippines
PSC/18/DOC/06              Country Progress Report: Thailand
PSC/18/DOC/07              Country Progress Report: Timor-Leste
PSC/18/DOC/08              Country Progress Report: Viet Nam
PSC/18/DOC/09              Regional Progress Report: Self-Sustainability
PSC/18/DOC/10              Regional Progress Report: Capacity Development
PSC/18/DOC/11              Regional Progress Report: Gulf of Thailand and Oil Spill Preparedness Response
PSC/18/DOC/12              Regional Progress Report: PSHEMS
PSC/18/DOC/13              Mid-Term Review Report
 

The PNLG Forum 2017 was hosted by the Local Government of Sanya City, Hainan, PR China, from December 5-6, 2017 at the Sanya Visun Royal Yacht Hotel. With the theme, “Conservation to Ecological Restoration of Coastal Areas for Blue Economy” the PNLG Forum gathered over 120 delegates from 31 local governments in 9 countries (Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, RO Korea, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam), as well as representatives from the PNLG associate members (Coastal and Ocean Management Institute and First Institute of Oceanography of the State Oceanic Administration of China).

The Regional Planning Workshop on the Development of a State of Oceans and Coasts (SOC) Report for the Seas of East Asia was held on 31 March – 1 April 2016 at the PEMSEA Building in the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) Compound in Quezon City, Philippines. Representatives from 15 international organizations and regional programmes participated, and shared their views and perspectives on blue economy and the SOC report. They provided suggestions on key topics and indicators to be included in the SOC report, and pointed out the issues, challenges, solution options and examples of good practices. Available information and studies from their respective agencies and other sources of information were also discussed.

The RegionalAgreement was reached on the outline of the SOC report. The participants will share information and their expertise to provide technical guidance and contribute to the development of the regional SOC report. The next steps include: (a) the development of the template, with Philippines as the pilot country; (b) organizing national teams for the development of National SOC reports; (c) organizing a regional Technical Working Group; (d) presentation of draft SOC reports at the Blue Economy Conference in November 2017 to get feedback; and (e) presentation and dissemination of SOC reports at the next East Asian Seas Congress in 2018.