Volume 8 Issue No. 6
PEMSEA NEWS
22nd International Coastal Cleanup: Volunteerism at Work
Manila and Batangas City, Philippines On 15 September, volunteers in Batangas province and Manila Bay gathered in selected
coastal areas to participate in the 22nd Annual International Coastal Cleanup.
In Manila Bay, around 3,000 volunteers gathered along the stretch of Roxas
Boulevard in the cleanup organized by the Manila Bay Environmental
Management Project (MBEMP) and the Coastal Marine Management Office
under the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources
(DENR).
Volunteers from schools and universities, government offices, the private
sector, and civil society groups joined in the cleanup. The heavy rains that
morning did not prevent the volunteers from partaking in the noble mission of
clearing rubbish from the coastal waters of the Manila Bay. Majority of the
volunteers, composed of students and faculty members, collected the
accumulated trash along the shore. Other volunteers boarded tugboats and
assisted in the efforts facilitated by the Philippine Coastal Guard, Manila Yacht
Club, the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the Marine Group of the Philippine
National Police (PNP). The private sector, including Unilever Philippines, the
Land Bank of the Philippines, JP Morgan and OSG Shipping, as well as staff from the United States Embassy also participated in the
cleanup. The PEMSEA Resource Facility joined the event, along with Philippine members of its East Asian Youth (EASy) Network.
Approximately 2,000 sacks of garbage, composed mostly of driftwood, packaging and fishing nets, were hauled and loaded onto dump
trucks.
The Manila City Government provided the necessary supplies for the activity, and equipment for the disposal of the collected rubbish.
In Batangas province, 30,000 volunteers composed of students, the private sector, and community organizations participated in the
cleanups organized by the Provincial Government-Environment and Natural Resources Office of Batangas.
The International Coastal Cleanup is held annually every third Saturday of September.
Available online through http://www.pemsea.org/about-pemsea/pemsea-news/22nd-international-coastal-cleanup-volunteerism-at-
work/
Philippines Implements IIMS Nationwide
Manila, Philippines The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) has adopted the Integrated Information
Management System for Coastal and Marine Environment (IIMS) as its database platform for the Philippines.
Through the issuance of Department Administrative Orders 315-2005 and 240-
2007, the various planning offices of the bureaus and offices have established
IIMS units as part of their regular offices. A number of staff has been assigned
to manage the units. Initial implementation of the IIMS will be at the DENR
Central Office, bureaus and regional offices of Regions 2, 4 and NCR.
In support of the initiative, a training course was conducted by the PEMSEA
Resource Facility and the MBEMP on 11-14 September. The training course
was attended by about 40 participants from the various offices of DENR
including Regions 3, 4, and NCR, Environmental Management Bureau, Forest
Management Bureau, Mines and Geosciences Bureau, Protected Areas and
Wildlife Bureau, Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau, National
Mapping and Resource Information Authority, National Water Resources
Board, National Solid Waste Management Commission, Pasig River
Rehabilitation Commission, Coastal and Marine Management Office, River
Basin Control Office and the Management Information System Division of DENR. The training course covered basic information
management concepts, requirements for establishing and sustaining IIMS, IIMS establishment and applications, including web-based
applications. It also provided the participants with the necessary knowledge and skills in the operations of IIMS and how the IIMS can
be applied in the management of the country's environment and natural resources.
At the end of the training course, the participants drew an action plan on the establishment and sustainability of IIMS at their
respective offices, taking into account management issues and applications of the system. It is expected that with the use of IIMS,
access and packaging of information for decision-making and planning will be enhanced.
Available online through http://www.pemsea.org/about-pemsea/pemsea-news/philippines-implements-iims-nationwide/
Strengthening Networking among Local Governments: A Way forward for ICM Scaling up
Danang City, Vietnam The 2007 Forum of the PEMSEA Network of Local Governments for Sustainable Coastal Development
(PNLG) was successfully organized and conducted as a result of the joint efforts of the People's Committee of Danang, the PNLG
Secretariat, and the PEMSEA Resource Facility, with financial support from the Swedish Environmental Secretariat for Asia. The forum
was held in Danang City on 5-7 September, under the theme, "Addressing Coastal Security by Investing in Natural and Man-made
Hazards Prevention and Management."
Twenty-three local governments from eight countries across the East Asian
Region participated in the forum, in addition to regional/international
experts/resource speakers on disaster reduction, donor representatives,
private sector representatives and local government executives from several
coastal provinces in Vietnam, as well as experts on integrated coastal
management (ICM) in Vietnam.
One of the highlights of the forum was the signing of the PNLG Charter by
Klang (Malaysia) and four local governments from PR China (i.e., Dongying,
Haikou, Quanzhou and Fangchengang), bringing the membership of the
network from 18 to 23 local governments implementing ICM. The expressions
of interest of the Province of Guimaras (Philippines) and Hue City (Vietnam) to
become part of the network in the future signaled the increasing recognition of
ICM as a framework to achieve sustainable development goals. Through the
lessons learned and good practices shared by existing members, more local
governments are seeing the value of joining the network. A commitment to implement an ICM program as a prerequisite to joining the
network not only ensures expanding the network and further strengthening it, but also promotes scaling up of ICM.
The forum generated a wealth of information with regard to mainstreaming risk reduction and hazard management into ICM practices.
In general, a majority of the local governments have some form of disaster response mechanisms in place. The experiences shared by
the ICM sites also showed how various programs on disaster risk reduction and hazard management are integrated into the ICM
framework and process. As in the previous forum, the 2007 forum demonstrated the value of knowledge sharing and networking,
setting an example for future gatherings to further build upon.
One striking feature of the PNLG is the commitment of the host local government, as well as the PNLG members in organizing and
attending the forum using their own financial resources. Members of the PNLG take turns in hosting the forum. The Municipality of
Sihanoukville (Cambodia) will have the opportunity to carry out this practice as well as in showcasing its achievements in ICM
implementation with the confirmation of its commitment to host the 2008 PNLG Forum, on behalf of the Ministry of Environment. The
2008 PNLG Forum is tentatively scheduled in November 2008.
Available online through http://www.pemsea.org/about-pemsea/pemsea-news/strengthening-networking-among-local-governments-a-
way-forward-for-icm-scaling-up/
Successful First Meeting of Executive Committee Chairs
Manila, Philippines The First Executive Committee (EC) Meeting of the PEMSEA regional mechanism was held at the new PEMSEA
Office in Quezon City, Philippines, on 14-15 September. Mr. Hiroshi Terashima, Technical Session Chair for the EAS Partnership Council
served as the Acting Chair of the Meeting. Among the priority issues discussed during the gathering were: a) The Global Environment
Facility's approval of the new project on Implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA);
b) recruitment of the Executive Director, and c) PEMSEA's legal personality.
The PRF has been experiencing delay in the GEF's approval and endorsement
of the Project Document. While the current project's funding would be able to
cover the operations of the existing project until December 2007, further
delays will significantly affect the project operations. Dr. Anna Tengberg,
Regional Technical Advisor of the UNDP Regional Centre in Bangkok, has
agreed to facilitate the immediate approval and endorsement of the GEF/UNDP
Project Document by the GEF.
With regard to the recruitment of a new Executive Director, it was agreed that
the EC be involved or consulted in the process of recruitment or selection of
the PRF Executive Director. In view of various commitments from October to
December 2007 and the possible delay in the appointment of the Executive
Director as the PRF awaits the approval of the Project Document, Dr. Chua,
outgoing Regional Programme Director and Interim Executive Director, sought
the agreement of the EC to assign Mr. Adrian Ross as the Acting Regional
Programme Director and Interim Executive Director for the said period. Mr. Ross having efficiently served PEMSEA and its pilot phase
over the past 12 years was identified as the most suitable person to lead PEMSEA during this critical period.
As for PEMSEA's legal personality, the purpose of the discussion was to gather inputs on the need to establish the legal personality of
PEMSEA. Key persons who lent their expertise during this special session of the EC were Prof. Merlin Magallona, University of the
Philippines College of Law; Dr. Wilfrido Villacorta, Asian Institute of Management; Dr. Tony La Viņa, Ateneo School of Government; Mr.
Woo Dong-Sik, Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, RO Korea; Dr. Tengberg; Mr. Kyo Naka, UNDP Manila; Ms. Amelia Dulce
Supetran, UNDP Manila; Ms. Clarissa Arida, UNDP Manila; and Assistant Secretary Analiza Rebuelta-Teh, Department of Environment
and Natural Resources, Philippines. Several options were reviewed and evaluated within and outside of the UN framework. Hence, it
was agreed by the discussants that the PRF create a Task Force or Working Group of policy and legal experts to develop a work plan
for the PEMSEA Transformation phase and the establishment of PEMSEA's legal personality.
Available online through http://www.pemsea.org/about-pemsea/pemsea-news/successful-first-meeting-of-executive-committee-chairs/
2007 Twinning Workshop to Focus on Policy Reform, Sustainable Financing and Investment for Pollution Reduction
Tianjin, PR China The Seminar on Policy Reform, Sustainable Financing and Investment for Pollution Reduction in the East Asian
Seas, to be held 17-19 October in Tianjin, PR China, aims to enable participants to consider and incorporate in project formulation and
implementation adequate strategies and approaches to policy reform in managing impacts from river basins and coastal seas, as well
as addressing bottlenecks in financing and making investments for pollution reduction.
Participants include PEMSEA focal agency staff in project coordination;
representatives of local governments in the proposed project sites planning for
the improvement of public waste management facilities, especially through
involvement of corporate/private partners; proposed project site managers and
professionals; and resource persons in and outside the region.
The workshop will be divided into three themes. The first theme on Policy
Reform in managing impacts from river basins to coastal seas will deal with
policy, legal and organizational arrangements in managing the impacts of
ecological and socioeconomic interactions between the upstream and
downstream of catchment areas.
The second theme addresses restructuring public waste management
mechanisms and services in response to the challenges of water pollution
reduction deals with policy, legal and organizational reforms to facilitate
involvement of corporate and private sectors in waste (e.g., garbage and sewage) management.
The third theme will include discussions on enhancement of local government capacity in financing and revenue generation for
pollution reduction addresses capacity development at the local level in developing market-based incentives and tools in supporting and
financing the improvement and reform of waste management services and infrastructure.
PEMSEA has organized two workshops in 2005 and 2006 to examine major challenges and response strategies needed to facilitate
capacity development in site specific ecosystem-based management programmes in the region, and knowledge transfer through
twinning arrangements across the sites.
Available online through http://www.pemsea.org/about-pemsea/pemsea-news/2007-twinning-workshop-to-focus-on-policy-reform-
sustainable-financing-and-investment-for-pollution-reduction/
PEMSEA Welcomes New PRF Secretariat Services Staff
Manila, Philippines PEMSEA welcomes Dr. Won-Tae Shin, Ms. Kazumi Wakita, Ms. Magnolia Uy and Ms. Jesusa Defensor of the
PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) Secretariat Services and Ms. Vanessa Bautista as library assistant.
Dr. Won-Tae Shin joins PEMSEA as Programme Specialist for the PRF
Secretariat Services. Before joining PEMSEA, Dr. Shin worked at the Ministry of
Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (MOMAF) in RO Korea. Under MOMAF, Dr. Shin
gained extensive working experience with PEMSEA and other UN regional
organizations, such as YSLME, NOWPAP and COBSEA.
Dr. Shin has Doctor of Philosophy degree in Environmental Engineering from
the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA. As Programme Specialist,
Dr. Shin will provide secretariat support to the East Asia Seas Partnership
Council, East Asian Seas Congress, Ministerial Forum, and Executive
Committee, including monitoring, evaluation and reporting of the 2007-2010
work programme adopted by Council.
Ms. Kazumi Wakita from Japan is Programme Officer for Partnership
Programmes at PRF Secretariat Services. Kazumi has a Masters of Science in
River Engineering and brings to PEMSEA over 10 years of scientific and technical experience in coastal development and planning.
Wakita began her professional career as Coordinate Associate of Coastal Planning for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government in 1996. She
then moved to promote integrated coastal management through capacity building of local governments and relevant stakeholders while
working for the Foundation Systems Research and Development Institute of Japan (SRDI) and the Japanese Association for Coastal
Zone Studies (JACZS) from 2001. As Programme Officer, Ms. Wakita will be responsible for developing work programs, collaborative
activities and capacity-building activities with PEMSEA Partners towards the implementation of the ten-year rolling work plan for the
implementation of the SDS-SEA.
Ms. Magnolia Uy joins the PRF Secretariat Services as Technical Officer for Communications and will be responsible for planning,
coordinating, operationalizing and monitoring the implementation of the Communication strategy of the Sustainable Development
Strategy for the Seas of East Asia. Maggie has a Masters in Business Administration and a Bachelor in Fine Arts major in Visual
Communication from the University of the Philippines. Prior to joining PEMSEA, she worked for a multinational company and a local IT
company as brand manager and product manager, respectively.
Ms. Jesusa Defensor is Administrative Assistant for the PRF Secretariat Services and will provide support in the execution of
administrative actions, overseeing ongoing activities in several administrative areas in support of substantial programme activities.
Susan obtained a BA in Organizational Communication from the University of the Philippines. Prior to joining PEMSEA, she worked for a
Japanese trading firm providing administrative and human resource support.
Ms. Vanessa Bautista is a licensed librarian. Van obtained her Bachelor's degree in Library and Information Science from the University
of the Philippines in Diliman. She was Makati Hope Christian School's Librarian for two years prior to joining PEMSEA.
Available online through http://www.pemsea.org/about-pemsea/pemsea-news/pemsea-welcomes-new-prf-secretariat-services-staff/
PEMSEA Library Expands Collection and Facilities
Manila, Philippines PEMSEA announces the opening of the new PEMSEA Library. Located in the new PEMSEA building, the PEMSEA
Library has a bigger space, and is complete with a reading area and computers to accommodate researchers.
The PEMSEA Library collection focuses mainly on subjects such as coastal zone
management, aquaculture, environmental management, integrated coastal
management, and sustainable development strategies. It houses more than
21,000 titles and volumes of print materials (monographs, references, annuals,
programmes and project brochures, publications and product catalogues,
periodicals, conference brochures, research institutions, and reprints); 250
electronic resources (CD-ROMs); and more than 200 titles and volumes of
PEMSEA publications and unpublished reports and studies.
The initial collections of the library were from personal collections of Dr. Chua
Thia-Eng, PEMSEA Regional Programme Director, that were donated to the
library. These were composed of books, reprints, reports and periodical
subscriptions. It was supplemented with PEMSEA publications and another
personal collection donated by Mr. James N. Paw of the International Maritime
Organization, who was also former PEMSEA Technical Programme Officer.
Additional titles to the initial collection are obtained through purchases and donations and contributions from different organizations
and agencies.
The Library serves as a repository of knowledge from the past, present, and the future of PEMSEA. It serves as a technical support
department as it links the information and the researcher and it provides relevant literature from the existing collection to the
requesting staff.
Aside from lending library materials and assisting staff in literature searching, the library also provides the following services to the
PEMSEA Regional Programme Office (RPO).
·
Current Awareness Services by sending a list of newly-purchased or received library materials that are available in the library
to the RPO staff every end of the month.
·
Selective Dissemination of Information is a library service which provides a requesting client (usually outside PEMSEA) with
the list of bibliographic references available in the library on a specified topic of interest through email. This is to make sure
that the client's query matches available material in the library beforehand.
·
Information Sharing enabled circulation of new researches, fact sheets and policy, etc., that are relevant to PEMSEA. This is
shared through the PEMSEA Sharepoint.
·
PEMSEA Library is also envisioned to networking with local, national and regional libraries with collections related to
sustainable development and coastal and marine environmental management.
For any comments, suggestions, or enquiries, please email the librarian at vbautista@pemsea.org or info@pemsea.org.
Available online through http://www.pemsea.org/about-pemsea/pemsea-news/pemsea-library-expands-collection-and-facilities/
PARTNER NEWS
Second Workshop of the Yellow Sea Partnership hosted by NOWPAP
Busan, RO Korea The Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) Regional Coordinating Unit (RCU) hosted and organized the second
Workshop of the Yellow Sea Partnership (YSP) on 1 October in Busan, Republic of Korea.
The workshop was attended by representatives of YSP members including
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) NOWPAP, United Nations
Development Programme/Global Environment Facility (UNDP/GEF) Yellow Sea
Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) Project, Birds Korea, European Union-China
Biodiversity Project, the Nature Conservancy (PR China) and the Yellow Sea
Eco-region Support Project.
The Meeting reviewed the activities carried out by the YSP members and
discussed joint activities for the future. The next YSP workshop is being
considered to be held in 2008 when the Ramsar Convention Conference is
convened in the Republic of Korea.
In other news, NOWPAP has also launched an activity on integrated coastal
and river basin management (ICARM). The ICARM activity was launched
during a workshop in Toyama, Japan. The NOWPAP Pollution Monitoring RAC
(POMRAC), working in cooperation with other NOWPAP Regional Activity Centres (RACs), leads this activity. PEMSEA is enjoined to
share its experiences in the field of pollution monitoring.
Available online through http://www.pemsea.org/partnerships/partner-news/2nd-workshop-of-the-yel ow-sea-partnership-hosted-by-
nowpap/
NOWPAP partners joined hands in promoting International Coastal Cleanup
Busan, RO Korea An International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) campaign was organized on 29 September in Busan, RO Korea, with kind
sponsorship of the Korean Ministry of Maritime and Fisheries (MOMAF).
Participants in the campaign and an associated workshop were from the
Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) and Coordinating Body on the Seas of
East Asia (COBSEA) countries (namely, China, Japan, Korea, Russia, Thailand,
Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia and Malaysia), the COBSEA secretariat and the
United Nations Development Programme/Global Environment Facility
(UNDP/GEF) Yellow Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (YSLME) Project. Several
nongovernmental organizations and research institutions also participated,
including the Ocean Conservancy (the founder of the ICC), Korea Ocean
Research and Development Institute, Japan Environmental Action Network,
Korean Marine Rescue Centre, and the Korean National Fisheries Research and
Development Institute. During the Workshop, focused on sharing information
on marine litter, participants also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding between the Ministry of Environment, MOMAF and four local
authorities in RO Korea for the Nakdong River Basin Marine Litter
Management, which contributes to the reduction of marine litter input from the
river.
Available online through http://www.pemsea.org/partnerships/partner-news/nowpap-partners-joined-hands-in-promoting-international-
coastal-cleanup/
The First NEAR-GOOS-NOWPAP Joint Training Course on Remote Sensing Data Analysis
Nagasaki, Japan NOWPAP Special Monitoring and Coastal Environmental Assessment Regional Activity Centre (CEARAC) organized
the first NEAR-GOOS-NOWPAP Joint Training Course on Remote Sensing Data Analysis at Nagasaki University, Japan on 3-7
September, jointly with the International Oceanographic Commission Regional Secretariat for the Western Pacific (IOC/WESTPAC).
Twenty-three trainees, composed of postgraduate students and professional
researchers from eight different countries, learned the status of ocean remote
sensing techniques and applications of remote sensing data for monitoring and
assessment of marine and coastal environment.
The course consisted of lectures by specialists and hands-on practical sessions
on the analysis of satellite data and introduced practical satellite remote
sensing applications, especially related to eutrophication, red tides and oil
spills.
Available online through http://www.pemsea.org/partnerships/partner-
news/the-first-near-goos2013nowpap-joint-training-course-on-remote-sensing-
data-analysis/