DENR Region XI

(Davao City) The 12th Programme Steering Committee (PSC) Meeting of the Regional Programme on Partnership in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) officially opened Last Tuesday, August 1, 2006 and will end today at the Waterfront Insular Hotel. The meeting is hosted by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and was organized by the PEMSEA Regional Programme Office. PEMSEA is sponsored by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), implemented by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and executed by the intergovermental, inter-agency and multi-sectoral partnership as the vehicle to achieving this goal.

Twelve countries are represented at the meeting - Cambodia, China, DPR Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Laos PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, RO Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. DENR Secretary Angelo T. Reyes personally welcome the participants during the event.

The four-day Meeting addressed matters related to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA). The SDS-SEA was adopted by the PEMSEA-participating countries in 2003. The Strategy serves as a road map and common platform of regional cooperation and partnership building in achieving a shared vision for sustainable development of marine and coastal resources. Through the implementation of the Strategy, stakeholders at the local, national, regional and global levels are being engaged as implementing partners, with corresponding benefit derived to environmental, social and economic sectors, including pollution reduction, conservation and rehabilitation of living resources, job creation, human health protection, and creation of investment opportunities.

During the Meeting the proposed Partnership Agreement and Partnership Operating Arrangement for the implementation of the SDS-SEA was reviewed and which are scheduled to be signed by Ministers of PEMSEA partner organizations at the Ministerial Forum of the East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2006, to be held at Haikou City, Peoples Republic of China, from December 12-16, 206. The Partnership Agreement will transform the present regional programme into a "regional mechanism for the implementation of the SDS-SEA". An EAS Partnership Council will be established, composed of governments of the region, international agencies and organizations, NGOs, private sector, scientific institutions, and other stakeholder groups. The Council's principal role will be to direct and oversee the implementation of the SDS-SEA, through the mobilization and coordination of the resources and programs of the different partners. The GEF will be sponsoring the implementation of the SDS-SEA through this transitional period.

The Meeting was attended by representatives from UNDP Manila, UNDP-GEF Regional Center in Bangkok, IMO London, and 12 observer organizations namely, EastAsia Response Pte Ltd (EARL), UNEP/Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-Based Activities (UNEP/GPA), UNEP East Asian Seas Regional Coordinating Unit (EAS/RCU), Coordinating Body of the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), UNDP/GEF Small Grants Programme, UNDP GEF Yellow Sea Project, Food and Agriculture Organization-Asia, IW:LEARN, Japan Association of Marine Safety, Korea environment Institute, Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP), Ocean Policy Research Foundation (OPRF)of Japan, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, and WWF Sulu-Sulawesi Marine Ecoregion Coordination Unit.