ILOILO City – An international multi-sector meeting that aims to discuss challenges in marine conservation in East Asia is expected to gather some 1,000 attendees at the Iloilo Convention Center in Mandurriao district.
The 2018 East Asian Seas Congress will be held from Nov. 27 to 30.
Around 900 have confirmed their attendance as of Monday, according to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region 6.
The host agency estimated that 37 percent of those who have confirmed were local delegates and 63 percent were international delegates.
“Challenges in marine and ocean conservation and protection” in the East Asian region will be tackled, according to Katherine Rose Aguiling, coordinator of the Partnership in Environment Management for the Seas of East Asia, or PEMSEA, a cohost of the event.
East Asia comprises 11 countries: Cambodia, China, North Korea, South Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Singapore, Timor Leste, Vietnam, and the Philippines.
The EAS Congress aims to “address ocean and coastal area degradation through the sustainable management and use of marine resources, seas and oceans, and also to further strengthen the implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia at the regional, national and local levels, with focus on the Sustainable Development Goal No. 14 (Life Below Water), which targets the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources, seas and oceans.”
This year’s EAS Congress has the theme “25 Years of Partnership for Healthy Oceans, People and Communities. Moving As One with Global Ocean Agenda.”
Representatives from national and local governments, the United Nations system, other intergovernmental organizations, bilateral and multi-lateral projects, international financial institutions, nongovernment and civil society organizations, academic and scientific institutions, and the private sector are expected to attend.
Aside from the DENR-6 and the PEMSEA, cohosting the EAS Congress were the local governments of Iloilo City and Iloilo and Guimaras provinces.
The event will feature sessions that will cover topics including climate resiliency, blue economy, marine pollution, and sustainable fisheries, among others.
Day 1 will focus on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, specifically on No. 14 (Life Below Water), stated a press release the DENR-6 gave out during a news conference Monday.
Day 2 will cover “Blue Economy: Sustainable Fisheries, Ocean Plastics and Water Security” and the blue carbon ecosystems (mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and tidal marshes), which “host other ecosystem services that benefit the coastal areas” and have a “critical role in regulating the global climate.”
A special event on Day 2 will be the launching of the book “Local Solutions to Global Sustainable Development Agenda: Case Studies in Integrated Coastal Management in the East Asian Seas Region.”/PN
