State of River Basin Reporting: Establishing the Baseline and Mechanism to Track Progress in the Source to Sea Continuum

The session "Area-based Marine Ecosystem Management for the implementation of Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework", held on November 7, 2024, in Xiamen, China, highlighted innovative strategies to advance marine biodiversity conservation across the East Asian Seas. By addressing the Kunming-Montreal targets, including the ambitious 30x30 objective, the session aligned seamlessly with the EAS Congress theme, "Connecting People and Ocean for Resilient and Sustainable Seas."

The event brought together policymakers, researchers, and key stakeholders to foster collaboration, exchange expertise, and explore actionable pathways toward resilient and thriving marine ecosystems. With its focus on regional implementation linked to global biodiversity and ocean sustainability goals, the session contributed meaningfully to SDG 14, reaffirming a shared commitment to safeguarding marine resources for future generations.

The Marine Spatial Planning Utilizing a Big Data-driven Policy Simulator session addresses the increasing conflicts and overlaps in marine spatial utilization due to intensified activities. It aims to promote integrated marine space management that ensures sustainable and eco-friendly development. Experts from Korea, Japan, China, and Indonesia will share their knowledge on marine spatial management and discuss strategies for international cooperation. The session focuses on leveraging digital twin technology to simulate policy effects, contributing to the development of intelligent marine spatial policy tools for predicting activities and diagnosing policy impacts across the Asian region.

The Regional Workshop served as a collaborative platform for engaging key stakeholders in advancing Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) strategies across six ASEAN countries namely, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, and Vietnam. This workshop facilitated in-depth discussions on stakeholder dynamics, concerns, and engagement strategies tailored to the unique contexts of each country and their respective river basins. Key objectives included enhancing stakeholder participation in IRBM, and
identifying actionable strategies to improve stakeholder engagement in water resource management.

The conduct of baseline assessment of the Source-to-Sea (S2S) management continuum with a targeted outcome of improving understanding of governance, socioeconomic, ecological conditions, gaps and needs of priority river basins/sub-basins and associated
coastal areas through the State of River Basin (SORB) reporting system is one of the major outcomes of the implementation of the GEF/UNDP/ASEAN Project on Reducing Pollution and Preserving Environmental Flows in the East Asian Seas through the Implementation of Integrated River Basin Management (IRBM) in the ASEAN Countries. The SORB reporting system aims to:

a) Establish baseline conditions in a river basin/associated coastal area prior to the startup of the IRBM program, including changes that are climate related;

b) Assess progress, achievements and shortcomings of ongoing IRBM programs by determining changing conditions with respect to governance and social and economic conditions, including gender gaps as well as trends and/or emerging environmental issues; and

c) Develop recommendations for continual improvement of IRBM programs including recommendations on ensuring gender responsiveness and incorporating gender equality, where appropriate for consideration by national and local governments and other relevant stakeholders in each river basin/coastal area.

The world faces the Triple Planetary Crises (TPC)—climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution—which require integrated solutions rather than isolated approaches. Some solutions may conflict with others, while well-designed strategies can address multiple crises simultaneously. Identifying synergies and trade-offs is essential for effective action.

East Asian Seas countries have committed to tackling these challenges through global and regional frameworks, including the SDGs, KM-GBF, UNFCCC, UNEA, and ASEAN initiatives. However, many marine and coastal projects in the region remain fragmented, lacking coordination and missing opportunities for collaboration. Strengthening partnerships can optimize resources, enhance impact, and avoid duplication of efforts.

This session focuses on the efforts of regional marine environmental institutions in promoting coordination and collaboration for the sustainable governance of the East Asian Seas region. The session brought together strategic partners and stakeholders, including PEMSEA, IUCN, IOC-WESTPAC, ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity, amongst others, to move towards a future where coordination and integration is standard.