Monthly webinar dialogues for experts, policymakers, and practitioners in South and Southeast Asia to align efforts on ocean data, finance, and governance for a more sustainable and equitable ocean future. Organised by UMT & CSDR UNSW
Marine ecosystems globally are under growing pressure. Sustainable ocean development and management does not adhere to borders. Regional collaboration is essential.
By connecting national strategies with regional priorities and global commitments, the dialogues strengthen cooperation in the region.
Across South and South-East Asia, compound risks are multiplying. The data to understand these risks often exists, yet it rarely reaches the decision-makers who need it. This Dialogue brings together researchers, practitioners, and experts to examine the gap between data and governance action with a focus on the political, institutional, and epistemological challenges. Experts will discuss what it would take for compound risk evidence to inform policy in South and South-East Asia.
The South & South-East Asian Regional Dialogues are a multi-country initiative co-led by the Blue Economy Advancement Centre at the Universiti Malaysia Terengganu (UMT-BEACON) and the UNSW Centre for Sustainable Development Reform, with support from the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP).
Disaster risk data exist but rarely find their way into the Ocean Accounts and blue finance instruments that shape how ocean economies are measured. In this Session, experts explored how to integrate disaster risk data into Ocean Accounts and use this information to design blue bonds, resilience bonds and coastal insurance.
Guest speakers: Professor Ts. Dr. Mohd Fadzil Mohd Akhir, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Strategy, Performance and Corporate); Physical Oceanographer, Institute of Oceanography and Environment (INOS) at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.
Coastal ecosystems — mangroves, seagrass meadows, and coral reefs — are increasingly recognised as carbon and biodiversity assets, yet their critical role as disaster-risk infrastructure remains largely unquantified and unfinanced. During this session, guest panelists examined how nature-based solutions can be financed as core resilience assets, not merely as carbon offsets, and the methodological, institutional, and financial shifts needed to make that happen.
Guest speakers: James Tops, Project Specialist at World Economic Forum Blue Carbon Action Partnership, Dr Ben Milligan, Director of the Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP), Dr Trinh Thai Ha, Manager of NBCAP Secretariat at UNDP in Viet Nam and Dr. Siti Mariam muhammad nor, Researcher at Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.
This session focused on how to map and measure the institutions, legal rights, decision-making processes and responsibilities that shape transparent, equitable and accountable ocean governance. With practical examples and casestudies from Indonesia and Malaysia.
Guest speakers:
Mr Hadi Yoga Dewanto, PhD Candidate and Ocean Accounts Fellow, Global Ocean Accounts Partnership (GOAP) Secretariat, University of New South Wales. Mr Dewanto has over a decade of experience in Indonesia’s marine affairs sector, specialising in translating scientific evidence into scalable policy reform. His current work at the GOAP focuses on advancing ocean governance accounts to support sustainable blue economies.
Prof Dr Wan Izatul Asma Wan Talaat, Law Professor, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu. As a Law Professor and qualified Advocate & Solicitor of the High Court of Malaya, Prof Dr Wan Izatul Asma Wan Talaat is an expert in Public International Law and Law of the Sea with extensive experience in Marine Spatial Planning implementation and governance assessment across Southeast Asia.
This session explored how South, Southeast Asia and the Pacific regions can move beyond fragmented circular economy initiatives toward inclusive, investable, and scalable transitions. Regional experts discussed practical pathways to embed circular economy principles into municipal systems, identified viable business and investment models, and suggested ways to ensure transitions protect and empower informal-sector workers.
Guests speakers: Dr Premakumara, Director of the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies Centre Collaborating with UNEP on Environmental Technologies and Dr Kesaven, Professor, Faculty of Science and Marine Environment, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu.
This session highlighted how social and cultural dimensions can be systematically integrated into ocean governance. The conversation explored strategies for embedding community voices, non-market values, and equity considerations into ocean accounts and decision-making.
South and Southeast Asia are facing a dual challenge: surging energy demand and a growing need for decarbonisation. The region’s vast ocean territories hold enormous potential to meet these needs through marine renewable energy (MRE)—from offshore wind and tidal energy to wave and ocean thermal systems. In fact, South & Southeast Asia’s oceans could generate 2,000+ GW of clean power — enough to meet projected 2050 electricity demand and create millions of jobs.
This session highlights the potential of renewable energy in the region, the urgency and elements that will be essential to a just, transparent and inclusive transition.
This session spotlights real-world country experiences in embedding ocean accounts into governance systems, exploring how pilot findings are being translated into national legislation, integrated into development planning, and used to inform sustainable financing strategies.
Guest speakers: Dr Muh. Firdaus Agung, Directorate General of Ocean Management, Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (Indonesia) shared how ocean governance and plastic waste accounts are informing circular economy roadmaps and environmental policy integration; Mary Jane Magturo-Dela Rosa (Philippines) outlined the groundbreaking 2024 PENCAS law and its approach to institutionalising natural capital accounts; Assoc. Prof. Dr Hazman Samsudin (Malaysia) discussed aligning ocean data with the Blue Economy Blueprint to support blue financing instruments.
This interactive session will feature expert speakers and breakout sessions to share lessons learnt, challenges and solutions in data sharing and governance.
Participants unpacked how data standardisation, ethical frameworks, and institutional collaboration can transform ocean governance across our region. This session brought together experts and practitioners from Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Australia, among others. Thank you to speakers Dr Ben Milligan, Director at UNSW CSDR and the GOAP Secretariat, and Prof Dato Nor Aieni Mokhtar, Distinguished Research Fellow, Institute of Oceanography and Environment at UMT.
To join future sessions or suggest topics, please complete the interest survey below:
