Launched in Thailand as part of the World Oceans Day celebration, the ASEAN ENMAPS project, a joint regional initiative by ACB and UNDP aims to achieve sustainable fisheries, enhance climate resilience, and secure better livelihoods for coastal communities throughout the ASEAN region, contributing to ‘Our One ASEAN Sea’.
BANGKOK, Thailand—The Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP) of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) and the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB) launched the national-level implementation of the project Effectively Managing Networks of Marine Protected Areas in Large Marine Ecosystems in the ASEAN Region (ASEAN ENMAPS). The National Inception Workshop was held on 11 June 2025 while the First National Steering Committee (NSC) Meeting was held on 13 June 2025.
The back-to-back events served as a major step towards aligning Thailand’s marine conservation goals with regional objectives through the ASEAN ENMAPS Project. It also laid the groundwork for building a robust NSC framework, validating key conservation indicators, and charting priority actions to protect Thailand’s invaluable marine ecosystems.
In Thailand, the project implementation is coordinated through the MNRE, which serves as the national executing agency. It collaborates with relevant directorates, national park authorities, and site officers under the guidance of the national project manager.
ACB’s Finance and Administration Director, Atty. Genalyn Bagon-Soriano delivered the welcome remarks on behalf of Executive Director Dr. Jerome L. Montemayor. She highlighted the importance of integrated conservation strategies, noting that, “Thailand’s ASEAN Heritage Parks with coastal and marine linkages offer powerful platforms for seamless integrated conservation between terrestrial-wetland-marine conservation and community-based protection. Several of these AHP sites are also ASEAN ENMAPS demonstration areas—the Muko Similan National Park, Muko Surin National Park, and Tarutao National Park. Information gathered from sites enables us to implement landscape-seascape approaches that highlight ecological connectivity and regional cooperation.”
Dr. Sheila Vergara, ASEAN ENMAPS Project Manager and Chief Technical Adviser, emphasised the importance of the project’s scientific foundation. “Through ASEAN ENMAPS, we are advancing a science-based approach to marine conservation that recognises the vital importance of ecological connectivity alongside the active stewardship and gender-responsive and inclusive engagement of local communities and stakeholders. By protecting networks of marine protected areas and its corridors as well as the migration routes that link them, we help sustain fish populations, support coastal livelihoods, and ensure the long-term resilience of our region’s fisheries’’, she said.
The back-to-back events brought together representatives from Thailand’s key government offices and departments, including the Office of the Permanent Secretary; Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation; and Department of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives.
A fitting celebration of World Ocean Day 2025: Reinforcing marine conservation and sustainable fisheries
The inception of the ASEAN ENMAPS project in Thailand aligned closely with the 2025 World Oceans Day theme, Wonder: Sustaining What Sustains Us, which underscores the ocean’s vital role in supporting life on Earth and calls for a renewed sense of responsibility towards its conservation. Celebrated annually on 8 June, World Oceans Day encourages collective actions to stop overfishing and to protect the ocean.
Accordingly, ASEAN ENMAPS seeks to strengthen MPAs and promote effective, inclusive, and science-based ocean governance across Southeast Asia. By launching the project in Thailand—a country rich in marine biodiversity and deeply committed to regional collaboration in ocean conservation—ASEAN ENMAPS reinforces the call to action for safeguarding marine ecosystems that are critical to climate resilience, food security, and sustainable livelihoods.
In June last year, the regional launch of the ACB’s ASEAN ENMAPS Project was held in Manila, Philippines. The event brought together ASEAN Member States—led by the participating countries of Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand—along with UNDP and the ACB to initiate collective efforts in strengthening marine biodiversity conservation across the region.
Mr. Gerd Trogemann, Manager, Regional Programme and Global Policy Network, UNDP Bangkok Regional Hub for Asia and the Pacific, noted how ASEAN ENMAPS underscores UNDP’s commitment and advances the blue economy in Southeast Asia in line with the UNDP Ocean Promise. “By enhancing marine conservation and sustainable management practices, we’re safeguarding biodiversity and supporting local livelihoods, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal 14 on Life Below Water, SDG 13 on Climate Action, and others,” according to Trogemann.
Moreover, the ASEAN ENMAPS project is designed to complement and strengthen national priorities, especially in countries like Thailand, which has a long-standing commitment to marine biodiversity. The project supports Thailand’s implementation of its national key initiatives, including the Marine and Coastal Resources Action Plan (2023–2027) that emphasizes ecosystem rehabilitation, marine spatial planning, and blue carbon; the Marine and Coastal Protected Area Master Plan that gives leverage to ASEAN ENMAPS to scale up MPA network planning and enhance seascape-level conservation; the ongoing Bay of Bengal Large Marine Ecosystems (BOBLME) Phase II activities that support ecosystem-based management and transboundary cooperation; and Thailand’s Blue Carbon Initiative, among others.
About ASEAN ENMAPS Project
The project 𝘌𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘔𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘈𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘔𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘌𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘈𝘕 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘰𝘯 (𝘈𝘚𝘌𝘈𝘕 𝘌𝘕𝘔𝘈𝘗𝘚) aims to improve marine protected area (MPA) and MPA network management in key Large Marine Ecosystems across Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. It applies science-based strategies to conserve biodiversity and sustain fisheries. The project also aims to strengthen governance, build the capacity of stakeholders, promote knowledge sharing, and advance sustainable financing for long-term conservation. ASEAN ENMAPS is implemented by the United Nations Development Programme through the funding of the Global Environment Facility, and with the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity as the executing agency.
To know more about the ASEAN ENMAPS, log on to https://enmaps.aseanbiodiversity.org.
About the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity
The ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity (ACB), established in 2005, is ASEAN’s response to the challenge of biodiversity loss. It is an intergovernmental organisation that facilitates cooperation and coordination among the 10 ASEAN Member States and regional and international organizations on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of such natural treasures.
To know more about the ACB, log on to www.aseanbiodiversity.org.
About the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment
The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MONRE) has as its vision “to return the natural environment to the Thai people and to work towards the incorporation of natural resources and the environment in the Government’s national agenda as these provide the basis for social and economic development”.
The MONRE vision supports proactive integration of the administrative management of natural resources, environmental protection, and biological diversity, based on the principles of public participation and good governance.
About the United Nations Development Programme
UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, the organization helps nations build integrated, lasting solutions for people and the planet.
Learn more about UNDP at www.undp.org or follow at @UNDP.
