The 2015 East Asian Seas (EAS) Ministerial Forum took place in Da Nang last Friday.

At the event, ministers and high-ranking government officials from the 11 member nations of the Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA) together signed the Da Nang Compact.  Its intention is to commit to strengthening ocean management at both regional and national levels within the priorities, goals and capacities of each member country. 

The signing of the Compact marked an important milestone in promoting the sustainable development of East Asian countries, as well as highlighting EAS’s vital role in setting some of the United Nations’ sustainable development goals. 

The forum in progress (Source: cadn.com.vn)

The Chairwoman of the EAS Partnership Council, Ms Mary Seet-Cheng, said that the Da Nang Compact has set 4 targets for each member country to achieve over the next 5 years:

Target 1: By 2017, PEMSEA will become a self-sustaining organisation to manage its own resources, services and financing mechanisms in order to promote the implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA) at local, regional and national levels.

Target 2: By 2018, a system of regional coastal and ocean reports will be set up to monitor progress, impacts and benefits, as well as to continually improve the planning and management of the SDS-SEA implementation. 

The Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Mr Chu Pham Ngoc Hien, signing the Da Nang Compact

Target 3: By 2021, national coastal and ocean policies will be established and implemented in all PEMSEA partner countries in accordance with their international environmental sustainable development commitments.

Target 4: By 2021, integrated coastal management (ICM) programmes for the sustainable development of coastal and marine areas will be implemented along at least 25% of the region’s coastline and in its adjacent river basin areas.