2A Meeting Room – EAS Congress 2024

PEMSEA and ACB Partnership Renewal

The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) has been a long-standing non-country partner of the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA).

At the East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2024, ACB and the PEMSEA Resource Facility (PRF) shall renew their shared commitment to pursue collaborative actions aligned with global and regional agreements to help conserve and promote the sustainable use of biological diversity, including the equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of such natural treasures by imparting and delivering knowledge and tools to better manage biodiversity.

This programme aims to present the above commitments through a Letter of Cooperation between ACB and PEMSEA signed in October 2024 while discussing its collaboration through the UNDP / GEF / ASEAN project entitled Effectively Managing Networks of Marine Protected Areas in Large Marine Ecosystems in the ASEAN Region (ASEAN ENMAPS).

The collaborative action specifically focuses on strengthening the enabling environment for the management and governance of Marine Protected Area (MPA) networks through training and capacity development activities, linking Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) and other area-based management tools like marine spatial planning and ecosystems-based fisheries management through learning exchange, knowledge management and peer-to-peer networking.

Programme
TIME	AGENDA	NOTE
8:00 – 8:05	Opening and introduction to the programme and opening speaker	ACB emcee
8:05 – 8:10	Opening remarks	Akiko Yamamoto, Regional Team Leader, Nature, Climate, Energy and Waste Team, UNDP Asia-Pacific
8:05 – 8:10	ACB-PEMSEA History of Partnership Brief introduction on LOC	Aimee Gonzales, PEMSEA Executive Director
8:10 – 8:20	Introduction of ASEAN ENMAPs project and presentation of the signed MOA followed by a video presentation	Dr. Sheila Vergara, ASEAN ENMAPs Regional Project Manager, ACB
8:20 – 8:25	Group photo
8:25 – 8:30	Closing Remarks	Dr. Theresa Mundita Lim ACB Executive Director

ST 2.8: Reducing Marine Plastics in the East Asian Seas Region: Innovative Solutions and Good Practices at Local Level

Overview

Plastic pollution is a severe global challenge, threatening the health of our planet and its diverse species. The IUCN Issue Brief (May 2024) reveals that annually, approximately 460 million tons of plastic are produced, with 20 million tons ending up in the oceans. This influx has devastating effects, including suffocation, starvation, and injury to marine life, leading to declines in populations and even the extinction of some species. Furthermore, plastic pollution has far-reaching economic impacts, affecting industries such as tourism, fishing, and shipping, while also contributing to the depletion of natural resources and biodiversity, both crucial for human well-being and economic prosperity.

The East Asia Seas region is particularly vulnerable to marine plastic pollution, with countries in the area being among the largest contributors to this global issue. A study by the Ocean Conservancy (Stemming the Tide, 2015) identified five Southeast Asian countries – China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam – as responsible for 60% of the plastic waste entering the ocean worldwide.

In response to this pressing issue, Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF) of the Republic of Korea have launched an Official Development Assistance (ODA) project titled “Reducing Marine Plastic Litter in the East Asia Seas” in 2023, a six-year (2023-2028) initiative with total funding of US$9M from MOF.

The ODA project aims to improve local governance on marine plastic management, demonstrate best practices and innovative solutions for reducing marine plastics and marine plastic management, conduct beach monitoring on marine plastics and litter, and raise capacity and awareness and improve communication among stakeholders and public on the impact of marine plastics on the environment, human health and economy. This endeavor involves collaboration with Local Government Units (LGUs), including six LGUs in the Philippines (Bulan Municipality, Puerto Princesa City, Calbayog City, Daanbantayan Municipality, Dipolog City and Tandag City) and four municipalities in Timor-Leste (Dili, Atauro, Manatuto and Liquica).

Objectives

Objectives of this session include:

1. Report the outputs of the 2 years of implementation at local sites;
2. Share experiences and lesson learned at the local sites; and
3. Discuss way forward on the project implementation

Programme

MC: Klyra Orbien, PEMSEA

Time	Agenda	Note
OPENING
10:00-10:10	Welcome remarks	Ms. Aimee T. Gonzales Executive Director PEMSEA
	Congratulatory remarks	Hon. Ms. Donalyn U. Minimo Assistant Secretary OIC – International Finance Group (IFC) Department of Finance Philippines
	Congratulatory remarks	Hon. Mr. Yoon Hyunsoo Deputy Minister / Commissioner Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Republic of Korea
	Congratulatory remarks	Hon. Mr. Domingos da C. dos Santos Secretary of State for Fisheries Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Forestry (MALFF), Timor-Leste
10:10-10:20	Signing Ceremony MOU between MALFF of Timor-Leste and PEMSEA on Marine Plastics ODA Project Implementation	Mr. Domingos da C. dos Santos representing the government of Timor-Leste and Ms. Aimee Gonzales representing PEMSEA
PART 1. KEY NOTE PRESENTATION
10:20-10:40	Plastic Pollution in the East Asian Seas Region: Status and Perspectives	Dr. Maria Antonia Tanchuling Dean, College of Engineering University of the Philippines
10:40-11:00	Group photo and coffee break
PART 2. MAJOR OUTPUTS OF THE ODA PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION
11:00-11:10	Project Brief on Reducing Marine Plastics in the East Asian Seas Region	Dr. Won-Tae Shin Regional Project Manager MOF/PEMSEA ODA Project PEMSEA
11:10-11:30	The role of NGOs in Marine Plastics Management: Marine Environment Protector Program of the ODA project	Mr. Mamerto Q. Rodrigo Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer (MENRO) Daanbantayan Municipality, Philippines
11:30-11:50	Marine plastics beach monitoring: Findings and Lessons learned from Timor-Leste	Mr. Walter Oliveira Soares Beach Monitoring Coordinator National University of Timor-Leste Dili, Timor-Leste
11:50-12:00	Questions and answers
12:00-14:00	Lunch break
14:30-15:00	Local Actions Toward Enhancing Marine Plastics Management	Mr. Mikhail Paolo D. Rosil MENRO Office Bulan Municipality Philippines
15:00-15:30	Pilot project proposals on innovative solutions for effective management of marine plastics	Ms. Haidee Piniero Consultant PEMSEA
15:30-16:00	Coffee break
PART 3. OPEN DISCUSSION
16:00-17:00	Discussion Topics Innovative solutions suitable for local situations Suggestions on beach monitoring for improvement Elements for improving the Marine Environment Protector Program	Moderator: Dr. Won-Tae Shin Regional Project Manager MOF/PEMSEA ODA Project PEMSEA Representatives of the Project sites are encouraged to share their ideas of the pilot project
CLOSING
17:00-17:30	Conclusions and Recommendations	Dr. Won-Tae Shin Regional Project Manager MOF/PEMSEA ODA Project PEMSEA

ST 3.1: Marine Spatial Management Utilizing a Big Data-driven Policy Simulator

Background

With recent increases in intensity of marine spatial utilization and various activities, conflicts and activity overlaps among stakeholders are deepening. Particularly, there is a demand for establishing means of integrated management of marine space to promote rational development and utilization, and to induce eco-friendly and sustainable marine activities.

In this session, experts from each country such as Korea, Japan, China, and Indonesia will share their expertise and know-how in marine spatial management, and build an international cooperation basis to realize sustainable marine space utilization. With the expected effect of contributing to the development of intelligent marine spatial policy simulation technology based on a marine digital platform for predicting Asian marine activities and scenario-based spatial changes and policy diagnosis.

Session Objective:

Securing scientific policy support technology to diagnose policy effects by performing simulations in a virtual reality (digital twin) environment.

This session aims the:

Derivation of marine space policies and development of simulation evaluation indicators for each policy
Policy simulation scenario development
Development of policy simulator for maritime digital twin
Verification and utilization of policy simulator based on maritime digital platform

Program

TIME	AGENDA
	Registration
14:30 – 14:40	Opening address · Kwon, Suk-Jae (Research Scientist, Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology, and Technical Session Co-Chair, PEMSEA) Group Photo
	Presentation Session 1
14:40 – 16:40	Presentation 1: Marine Spatial Planning and Offshore Wind Power Generation in Korea: A Data-Driven Approach Through an Environmental Information Platform · Kim, Choongki (Senior Research Fellow, Korea Environment Institute) Presentation 2: Development of Simulator for Ship Activity Conflict and Future Demand · Son, Woo-Ju (Postdoctoral Researcher, Korea Maritime and Ocean University) Presentation 3: Analysis of Characteristic Factors Affecting Changes in Catch of Inshore and Offshore Fisheries Areas in South Korea using a Spatial Panel · Nam, Jong-Oh (Professor, Pukyong National University) Presentation 4: Development and direction of policy simulators as decision-making tools · Kang, Seungwon (Senior Research Scientist, Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology) Presentation 5: Development of marine policy-supportive simulator for assessing the impact of coastal development on physical environments · Son, Donghwi (Researcher, Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology) Presentation 6: Comparisons of Two Catch-Quota Management Regimes: An Experimental Investigation · Zhi Li (Professor, Xiamen University)
16:40 – 17:00	Break
17:00 – 17:30	Panel Discussion · Chair: Luky Adrianto (Professor, Bogor University Panel · Panel 1. Kim, Choongki (Senior Research Fellow, Korea Environment Institute) · Panel 2. Son, Woo-Ju (Postdoctoral Researcher, Korea Maritime and Ocean University) · Panel 3. Nam, Jong-Oh (Professor, Pukyong National University) · Panel 4. Kang, Seungwon (Senior Research Scientist, KIOST) · Panel 5. Son, Donghwi (Researcher, Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology) · Panel 6. Zhi Li (Associate Professor, Xiamen University)