This featured the inauguration of the PEMSEA Network of Learning Centers (PNLC) as facilitated by the signing of the network’s Charter that formalized the PNLC and specified the ground rules on membership and identified joint activities and outputs amongst its members as well as options for sustainability and funding support.

This convened PNLG members for a General Assembly focused on the review of the 2021 work summary and 2022 work plan of the PNLG Secretariat; adoption of the 2022-2030 PNLG Strategic Action Plan (SAP); election of new PNLG officers; induction of Busan, RO Korea as a new PNLG member; and announcement of Tangerang Regency, Indonesia as the local government host of the 2022 PNLG Annual Forum.

The Main Conference featured a keynote address from the Minister of Environment of Cambodia; a plenary consisting of TEDx style talks on a number of crosscutting topics, followed by a moderated discussion; the presentation of the conclusions and recommendations from the plenary and the six-month long collabs of the Congress; and a cultural presentation from Cambodia.

A total of 23 collabs or knowledge-sharing workshops, training, and seminars were conducted under the EAS Congress 2021. These covered 5 subthemes as follows: (1) securing food, income, and livelihood in line with a blue economy; (2) fostering social inclusion; (3) managing and restoring natural capital; (4) reducing marine pollution and solid waste; and (6) averting climate change and promoting social resilience.

The Congress culminated in the signing of the Preah Sihanouk Ministerial Declaration by senior government officials in PEMSEA’s country partners. Among other things, the Declaration endorsed the PEMSEA Roadmap to 2030, which aims to combine the values, principles, and key achievements that were carefully cultivated and replicated through years of transforming the EAS Partnership from a regional marine pollution project into a leading regional collaborative mechanism and the available opportunities that will enable the Partnership to maintain its relevance and fit for purpose in the region.