Policy, legal and institutional reforms for public–private partnerships needed to sustain large marine ecosystems of East Asia

The legacy of overfishing, destruction of coastal habitats, and accelerated pollution loading has dramatically reduced the biomass and diversity of marine waters in East Asia. Coasts can no longer support the numbers of people migrating to them, thus risking future economic benefits and social stability. Some countries are adopting needed reforms while, in others, less priority is given to reforms. National budgets for the environment, as well as international financial flows for environmental sustainability, remain disappointing. In the water sector alone, a global shortfall of US$100 billion annually will frustrate the achievement of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The paper argues that reforms are essential in the North and the South in order to reverse the gloomy outlook for East Asia, including global trade reforms and reduction of agricultural/fisheries subsidies in the North. Reforms to facilitate creation of public–private partnerships and their international support may be the only viable options for improving water service delivery, sewage/industrial effluent treatment, fisheries, and maritime transport to reduce impacts on coastal and marine waters to meet MDGs. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has supported a series of projects since 1991, totaling US$657 million for East Asia, with an emphasis on practical application of integrated coastal management for the large marine ecosystems. Among reforms identified to mobilize the private sector are revolving funds, reinsurance facilities, sub-sovereign lending, risk mitigation, partnerships, and corporate responsibility. GEF advocated these reforms in the run-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development and is supporting a new generation of projects for countries desiring to pursue them.