Original article by United News. It can be read here.
Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) is organizing a roundtable dialogue on June 8, 2021 (World Oceans Day) aimed at supporting collaborative actions to harness blue economy in post-pandemic recovery plans. Called “Towards a Blue Economy Pathway for the East Asian Seas,” the event is the first of a series of collabs that will culminate in the East Asian Seas (EAS) Congress 2021 on December 1-2.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the temporary shutdown or restriction of activities in many ocean-related industries, such as fisheries, transport, manufacturing, and tourism. Negative environmental impacts such as the proliferation of plastics pollution and illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing have also been reported.
PEMSEA is thus calling for the mainstreaming of a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient ocean economy as an alternative development pathway for economic recovery and as a significant driver of economic growth and progress by creating employment and enhancing investment opportunities while at the same time protecting natural capital, enhancing resource efficiency, and reducing carbon footprint.
The roundtable dialogue will convene senior level officials from PEMSEA’s Country Partners, representatives from PEMSEA’s non-country partners, and other stakeholders to explore the challenges and opportunities with case studies of best practices in accelerating the region’s transformation into a blue economy against the backdrop of the new normal and present policy recommendations that will feed into the development of the EAS Roadmap to 2030.
The Roadmap is an integral part of the 7th Ministerial Declaration of the EAS Partnership, to be adopted on December 2, 2021. It aims to combine the values, principles, and key achievements that were carefully cultivated and replicated through years of transforming PEMSEA from a regional marine pollution project into a leading regional collaborative mechanism as well as the available opportunities that will enable the organization to maintain its relevance and fit for purpose.
Confirmed speakers include:
- Mr. Say Samal, Minister of Environment, Cambodia
- Ambassador Peter Thomson, Special Envoy for the Ocean, UN
- Atty. Analiza Rebuelta-Teh, Undersecretary for Finance, Information Systems and Climate Change, Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), Philippines
- Engr. Zhang Zhanhai, Director General, Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR), PR China
- Mr. Nguyen Que Lam, Deputy Director-General, Viet Nam Administration of Seas and Islands (VASI)
- Mr. Arief Yuwono, Chair, EAS Partnership Council, and Senior Advisor, Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Indonesia
The Ocean Roundtable Dialogue to be held on June 8 is OPEN TO THE PUBLIC and interested participants can sign up here from May 17 to June 4, 2021 to receive the Zoom link and other updates to the event.
The dialogue is one of the pre-Congress events called “Collabs” (technical and public-oriented discussions, workshops, and training) to be organized by PEMSEA’s partners, networks, and other organizations. A typical Collab can be in the form of a roundtable discussion, TedX type of seminar, presentation/s with panel and/or breakout sessions, film showing, poster presentation with open discussion, debate, or training. For more information, visit the EAS Congress 2021 website at https://dev-eas-congress-2021.pantheonsite.io.
