The East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress is a triennial event that serves as a platform for various stakeholders, partners and collaborators to share knowledge, build partnerships, monitor progress and undertake collaborative planning to support the implementation of the shared regional framework, Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA), towards a common vision of promoting Healthy Oceans, People and Economies.
The EAS Congress 2024 will be held in collaboration with Xiamen World Ocean Week (XWOW) from 6 to 8 November 2024 in Xiamen, China. This year’s EAS Congress is hosted by PEMSEA and the People’s Republic of China through its Ministry of Natural Resources, the Xiamen Municipal People’s Government and the Xiamen Municipal Bureau for Ocean Development, which also serves as the Secretariat for XWOW.
The EAS Congress aims to:
- Showcase positive results and outcomes for replicating and scaling-up Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) across the region – whether local blue economy entrepreneurship programs, solid waste management, Eco-DRR, blue carbon, community-led habitat restoration projects or policy instruments like payments for ecosystem services.
- Facilitate knowledge exchange between multiple stakeholders pursuing cutting-edge advancements in areas like renewable ocean energy, utilizing AI-powered solid waste systems, crowdsourced monitoring using smartphones and drones, climate adaptive infrastructure designs, blockchain-enabled traceability for responsible fisheries, innovative measures to mitigate marine debris and other solutions. The Congress helps promote and amplify their wider applications within the region through existing partnerships, plus collaborative arrangements and networks.
- Quantify and consolidate the progress achieved over the past three years of implementing SDS-SEA across dozens of distinct indicators tied to habitats, communities and ecosystems while also pinpointing specific actions to be elevated moving forward on harder-to-tackle issues.
Blue Synergy for a Shared Future: One Sustainable and Resilient Ocean
The East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2024 theme is Blue Synergy for a Shared Future: One Sustainable and Resilient Ocean and resonates strongly with the vision and approaches of the SDS-SEA. Adopted in 2003 and updated in 2015 in response to the adoption of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the SDS-SEA is reviewed and updated every five years and provides an integrated framework centered on synergizing efforts across sectors and stakeholders to pursue healthy oceans, people and economies in the East Asian region.
The SDS-SEA 2023-2027 Implementation Plan outlines priority actions under the four pillars of effective governance, healthy oceans, healthy people and healthy economies to be pursued through partnerships and collaboration.
The Congress will also assess progress made and challenges faced in actualizing regional and national targets, as it looks ahead at pathways for building greater collective action through cooperation, coordination and knowledge exchange amongst various stakeholder groups.
The Congress theme captures this emphasis on harnessing collective synergies across governments, organizations and local communities to secure the sustainability and resilience of our shared ocean resources. The Congress will assess progress made and challenges faced in actualizing regional targets and global commitments as it looks ahead at pathways for building greater collective action through cooperation, coordination and knowledge exchange among various stakeholder groups to secure sustainable and resilient oceans for all.
Working towards ‘A Shared Future’ signals the desire and collective results the Congress aims to generate – that by synchronizing our efforts, we can find a balance between utilizing marine resources, maintaining environmental integrity and taking into account social imperatives, so that shared resources may be enjoyed by present and future generations.
The EAS Congress expects to produce:
- Validated and novel best-practice models and locally-optimized solutions for sustaining the ocean while enabling prosperity, with such innovations amplified through regional knowledge sharing.
- Expanded connections between innovators across borders to accelerate the development application of technologies and approaches that drive ‘triple wins’ for environmental, social and economic gains.
- Renewed momentum and mobilization of partnerships and resources to fulfill the collectively-endorsed SDS-SEA vision, with progress gaps overcome through concerted near-term actions that countries shall agree to through the 8th Ministerial Declaration, plus other Congress commitments.
Schedule of the EAS Congress 2024
| November 6, 2024 (AM) | Opening Ceremony, Ministerial Forum, Opening of EAS Congress Exhibition |
| November 6, 2024 (PM) | Opening of the International Conference, Plenary 01 and Parallel Sessions |
| November 7, 2024 | Continuation of the International Conference, Plenary 02 and Parallel Session |
| November 8, 2024 | Closing of the International Conference |
| PNLG General Assembly | |
| PNLC General Assembly | |
| Field Visits |
Download the EAS Congress 2024 briefer here.
