The 2021 PNLG Forum with the theme “Networking for a New Ocean Decade of Hope” was hosted by the Provincial Administration of Preah Sihanouk (Cambodia) and co-organized by the PNLG Secretariat and PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF). The forum, which convened PNLG members for a General Assembly, was conducted on 1 December 2021 as part of the East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2021 through a blended online approach and face‐to‐face meeting for the PNLG members and observers in Cambodia.

A total of 206 participants attended the Forum, representing:

a) 24 PNLG member local governments from 9 countries, namely Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Philippines, RO Korea, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam;

b) 3 PNLG associate members, namely the First Institute of Oceanography (FIO) of the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR) of China and the Coastal and Ocean Management Institute (COMI) and Fujian Institute for Sustainable Oceans (FISO) of Xiamen University (XMU) in China;

c) guests from PEMSEA’s Executive Committee, PEMSEA country- and non-country partners, PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers (PNLC), other local governments, various national governments, the private sector, and media;

d) the PNLG Secretariat; and e) the PRF.

Since 2003, the EAS Congress has served as an intellectual marketplace and forum on the sustainable development of the seas of the world's fastest-growing region. This triennial event provides a platform for ministerial and high-level technical discussions along with opportunities for knowledge sharing and networking between different sectors of society from international organizations, multilateral banks, and local governments down to the scientific community, youth sector, private firms, academe, civil society, and other development partners.

The 2021 EAS Congress came at a fitting time as the EAS region goes through a new normal while nearing the completion of the 2018-2022 Implementation Plan (IP) of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA). Armed with greater public awareness on the links between ocean health and human health, the region is one and aligned with the global recognition to act on pressing socioeconomic, ecological, and climate change issues, and sustain the momentum of building meaningful and transformative solutions for a sustainable ocean-based economy.

The Seventh East Asian Seas (EAS) Ministerial Forum was held on 02 December 2021 as part of the EAS Congress 2021, which was held through a hybrid mechanism, with country delegations convening in their respective countries and connected via Zoom. The Ministerial Forum was hosted by the Royal Government of Cambodia through the Ministry of Environment, with support from the Provincial Administration of Preah Sihanouk, Cambodia and co-organized with PEMSEA.

Carrying the theme, “Advancing our Sustainable Development Agenda: Road to 2030 for Healthy Ocean, People, and Economies”, the Seventh Ministerial Forum, a) highlighted the progress made by the EAS region through the PEMSEA partnership on the implementation of the region’s common framework of action- the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA); b) recognized the impacts as well as the opportunities to build back stronger and greener from the global pandemic, as well as other persistent and emerging concerns in the region; and c) endorsed the PEMSEA Roadmap to 2030 that is anchored on the SDS-SEA vision, shared commitment to the Blue Economy strategy and on the overall sustainable development agenda.

Eleven countries were represented at the Seventh Ministerial Forum, namely: Cambodia, PR China, DPR Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Philippines, RO Korea, Singapore, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam. The event was participated by the PEMSEA Chair Emeritus, Executive Committee members, representatives from the PEMSEA Non-Country Partners, and various PEMSEA networks from the local governments, academe, and youth as observers. Representatives from PEMSEA’s developing partners from the regional and international level, including from UNDP, were also present, together with other observers from PEMSEA collaborators. The PEMSEA Resource Facility served as Secretariat to the Forum.

Following the Seventh Ministerial Forum, a 30-minute virtual Press Conference was held, wherein MOE Minister Say Samal, PEMSEA Council Chair Mr. Arief Yuwono, and PEMSEA Executive Director Ms. Aimee Gonzales served as panelists, together with media representatives from the different PEMSEA member countries.

The Seventh East Asian Seas (EAS) Senior Government Officials’ Meeting (SGOM) was held on 25 November 2021 via Zoom. Senior Government Officials from 11 PEMSEA Country Partners participated in the meeting, namely: Cambodia, PR China, DPR Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Philippines, RO Korea, Singapore, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam. The PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) served as the Secretariat for the Meeting.

The 27th PEMSEA EC Meeting was held virtually on 26 October 2021 through a Zoom conference call. Representatives from 10 PEMSEA country partners (CPs)—namely Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Philippines, RO Korea, Singapore, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam—attended the meeting along with representatives from PEMSEA non-country partners (NCPs), namely; International Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas (EMECS) Center, IPIECA, Korea Marine Environment Management Corporation (KOEM), Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP), Ocean Policy Research Institute – The Sasakawa Foundation (OPRI-SPF), Oil Spill Response Limited (OSRL), and PEMSEA Network of Local Governments (PNLG). The PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) served as the Secretariat for the meeting.

The GEF-UNDP-IMO GloFouling Partnerships Project is aimed at catalyzing government action, industry innovation and capacity building in order to reduce the transfer of Invasive Aquatic Species (IAS) from international shipping and other marine sectors in a holistic approach. While the reach is global, all the intended outcomes, outputs and activities are directly geared towards the national and regional levels with a view to improving maritime institutions, technologies and operations as well as achieving improved monitoring and impact mitigation in the participating developing countries. The Regional Seminar on Biofouling Management and Invasive Aquatic Species was jointly organized by the GloFouling Partnerships Project and the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) on June 23, 2021 via the Zoom platform to:

• Raise awareness on the issue of minimizing the transfer of invasive aquatic species through biofouling and capacitate government representatives to participate in future meetings and negotiations on the issue;
• Exchange information and knowledge on biofouling management, approaches, best practices and innovation that are currently available in the region;
• Identify existing challenges, knowledge and technical gaps in the region; and
• Examine and consider elements and options for regional cooperation and coordination of biofouling management measures that could feed into a strategy to promote regional harmonization of biofouling management.

The regional seminar served as a preparatory meeting for a regional workshop that will be conducted later in the year with the goal of defining a regional strategy for biofouling management.

Recognizing the importance of strengthening national and sub-regional systems for oil spill preparedness and response in the Gulf of Thailand, the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) in collaboration with the IOPC Funds, ITOPF and International Group of P & I Clubs organized a 3 day virtual training workshop on Claims and Compensation for Oil Pollution from Ships on April 20-22 via Zoom.

The workshop aimed to capacitate relevant personnel on the technical aspects of claims and compensation for oil pollution from ships specifically in the preparation and submission of claims. At the end of the 3 day workshop, participants were expected to come up with measures on how claims and compensation for oil pollution in respective countries be made more efficient.

Claims and compensation from oil spills has been a challenging task both for governments and claimants where the oil spill incident occurs and to the insurers and organizations, which provide compensation for oil pollution damage resulting from spills. Hence, this training workshop is one of the priority activities in the Gulf of Thailand Strategic Action Plan 2017- 2021. However, recognizing the importance of this subject to other countries, invitation to the workshop was extended to the PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers and PEMSEA Network of Local Governments, who are directly involved in oil spill related programs.

This event is part of a series of national inception workshops being held with participating countries of the International Climate Initiative/ International Maritime Organization/Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (IKI/IMO/PEMSEA) Project on Reducing Maritime Transport Emissions in East and Southeast Countries (Blue Solutions Project). This is a follow-on to the regional kick-off meeting for the preparation phase of the overall project held on 18 June 2021. These national inception workshops will initiate the country-specific discussions on the preparation of the full proposal for a pilot project within each country.

The national inception workshop for the Philippines was held virtually from 12-13 August 2021. It was jointly organized by the Department of Transportation (DoTr), which serves as the National Focal Agency for the Project, the IMO, and PEMSEA.

The aims of this workshop were to:

• Introduce the scope, objectives, and components of the Blue Solutions project, including the timeline and implementing arrangements for the national project preparation;
• Understand the principal targets and challenges to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction in the maritime sector in the Philippines; 
• Discuss the identification of a national GHG reduction pilot demonstration project in the Philippines; and 
• Delve into the national assessment of GHG emissions in the maritime sector in the Philippines.
   

The national inception workshops in participating countries including Vietnam are follow-on activities to the regional kick-off meeting for the preparation phase of the International Climate Initiative/ International Maritime Organization/Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (IKI/IMO/PEMSEA) Project on Reducing Maritime Transport Emissions in East and Southeast Countries (Blue Solutions Project)  that was conducted on June 18, 2021 to initiate the country-specific discussions on the preparation of the full proposal for the aforementioned project.

The national inception workshop for Vietnam was held virtually on August 19 and 20, 2021 and jointly organized by the Vietnam Maritime Administration (VINAMARINE), which serves as the National Focal Agency for the Project, the IMO and PEMSEA.

The 1.5-day national inception workshop was organized to:

• Introduce the scope, objectives and components, including timeline and implementing arrangements for the national project preparation;
• Understand the principal targets and challenges to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction in the maritime sector in Vietnam; 
• Discuss the identification of a national GHG reduction pilot demonstration project in Vietnam; and 
• Delve into the national assessment of GHG emissions in the maritime sector in Vietnam.