- Preah Sihanouk Ministerial Declaration adopted at EAS Congress 2021 held December 1-2 -

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF; Minister MOON, Seong-Hyeok) announced that the Preah Sihanouk Ministerial Declaration was adopted at The East Asian Seas Congress(EAS Congress) 2021 by eleven PEMSEA* country partners, including Republic of Korea, to seek international cooperation on marine environment preservation.

* Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia

The EAS Congress, jointly organized by PEMSEA Resource Facility and one of country partners, is a triennial ministerial meeting to reinforce cooperation on the sustainable development of East Asian seas. Republic of Korea organized the fourth EAS Congress in 2012 in Changwon city, where the Changwon Declaration was adopted making commitment to Ocean-Based Blue Economy in the East Asian Seas.

This year’s event was co-organized by the Cambodian Ministry of Environment and Province of Preah Sihanouk under the theme “Charting a New Decade of H.O.P.E. (Healthy Oceans, People, and Economies)”.

In the 7th East Asian Seas Ministerial Forum, Minister MOON Seong-Hyeok ,as Head of Delegation, introduced Korean government`s policy to ensure sustainable ocean through Ministerial Statement. He shared government`s effort to reduce marine litter through establishing pan-governmental Marine Litter Management Commission and implementing Adopt-a-Beach program, while also developing zero-carbon vessel fuels and continuously restoring tidal flats to achieve 2050 carbon neutrality in oceans and fisheries sector.

This year’s Ministerial Forum successfully adopted the Preah Sihanouk Ministerial Declaration for healthy ocean, people, and economies. The Declaration stipulates the country partners’ commitment to protect ocean ecosystems from the threats of climate change, land-based pollution including marine debris, and unsustainable practices towards protecting health of oceans and strengthening costal resilience. It also contains the pledge of country partners to support local communities like capacity building program for facilitating communities` participation to sustainable use of marine resources and marine environment preservation.

Minister MOON, Seong-Hyeok commented that “This 2021 EAS Congress, held prior to the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, is expected to discuss a international instrument concerning marine litter, and lead meaningful agreement to share best practices on ocean management and promote knowledge exchange on preservatin and sustainable utilization of ocean ecosystems.” “As Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries of ROK puts efforts on international cooperation like launching East Asian Seas Initiatives on Clean Oceans with Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam, MOF will strengthen cooperation to accelerate international discussions on establishing marine plastic instrument.”, he added.