Marine Spatial Planning Regional Training Workshop for the East Asian Seas

Date: 20-22 July 2026
Location: Bangkok
Venue: tbc

BACKGROUND

The Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs) in the East Asian Seas host some of the world’s richest marine biodiversity and most productive waters. At the same time, the region is densely populated, fast-growing, and highly vulnerable. Many coastal nations rely heavily on the ocean for food security, employment, economic development, and cultural identity. Yet competition among various sectors for ocean space is escalating.

The identified challenges underscore the urgency of advancing Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) efforts across the region. MSP is increasingly recognized as an effective approach for managing growing pressures on marine and maritime areas while safeguarding ocean ecosystems. In 2021, a review of the marine and coastal spatial planning policies in the East Asian Seas was conducted to advance marine and coastal spatial planning in the region which identified key recommended actions towards an enabling policy environment for marine and coastal spatial planning, ecosystem-based management and sustainable blue economy approaches. In 2022, a United Nations Ocean Decade Action 21: Accelerating Marine Spatial Planning in the Western Pacific was launched to promote MSP in the region. A Marine and Coastal Ecosystems Framework in the East Asian Seas was adopted in 2023 with marine and coastal spatial planning as one of its thematic focus areas. More recently, an Action Framework for Accelerating Marine Spatial Planning in the Western Pacific and its Adjacent Areas (2025-2030) was adopted in 2025, setting out a suite of enabling actions to accelerate MSP implementation, support ecosystem-based management, a sustainable blue economy, and progress toward national and global ocean commitments.

GEF IW:LEARN contributes to knowledge exchange among International Waters (IW) projects by organizing targeted in-person learning activities at global and regional scales. These events enhance the skills of project teams and stakeholders while fostering long-term networking and experience sharing. Two trainings on MSP, co-organized by IW:LEARN, took place in 2025; the first one on 18–19 February 2025 in Panama for Latin American and Caribbean participants, followed by a virtual regional workshop for the Atlantic coast of West, Central, and Southern Africa region on 27–28 May 2025. Following on these trainings co-organized notably with the MSPglobal programme, in collaboration with regional GEF-funded IW projects and partners, the forthcoming MSP training workshop in the East Asian Seas will mark the third event in this series.

ORGANIZING PARTNERS 

This training workshop is co-organized by IW:LEARN, MSPglobal and South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand Strategic Action Programme (SCS-SAP) Project, in collaboration with the UNEP Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA) and UNESCO/IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC). 

OBJECTIVES OF THE TRAINING 

The face-to-face regional training workshop in Southeast Asia aims to: 

• Strengthen the understanding and capacities on MSP concepts, processes, and practical implementation approaches, as a way to help accelerate the implementation of MSP in the region; 
• Enhance awareness on existing national and regional MSP mechanisms and their linkages to global frameworks 
• Train participants on the application of the newly developed practical approach to integrate MSP and sustainable blue economy into the TDA/SAP process implemented at the scale of the LMEs. 

TARGET PARTICIPANTS 

The training will target GEF IW projects, national authorities and supporting institutions engaged in MSP initiatives, regional organizations, representatives of government and academia. 

SET-UP 

The training will take place in-person over three days. It will combine theoretical sessions with hands-on practical/simulation exercises and interactive sessions. The training will be delivered in English by MSPglobal and GRID Arendal staff as partners to IW:LEARN. The total number of participants will take into consideration the optimal number of participants for the MSP Challenge Game (30-35 people at a given time).

More information here: IW:LEARN | Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) regional training workshop for the East Asian Seas