SCS Project Newsletter 1

1 INTRODUCTION

This is an update of activities in the UNEP/GEF South China Sea Project. It is the first in a series aimed at providing you with a monthly overview of progress and new developments in the project. It also aims to provide guidance regarding how we can all use our website for sharing information and experiences about reversing environmental degradation trends in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand.

2 WEBSITE INFORMATION FROM THE PROJECT CO-ORDINATING UNIT

2.1 Visitors to www.unepscs.org

The new project website was launched at the 2nd Regional Scientific Conference in November 2005. Since then the homepage has had over 18,000 visitors from more than 50 countries, or approximately 150 visitors a day. The most frequently visited pages are:

1. SCS GIS and Meta-Database (460 hits)

2. Habitat Demonstration Sites and Pilot Activities Index (377 hits)

3. Koh Chang Habitat Demonstration Site (265 hits)

4. Phu Quoc Habitat Demonstration Site (245 hits)

5. Regional Working Group and Task Force Index (211 hits)

6. Partner Network Index (173 hits)

7. SCS Meta-database Online (News Item) (165 hits)

8. Regional Working Group - Coral Reefs (163 hits)

9. Bolinao Habitat Demonstration Site (144 hits)

10. Regional Working Group - Fisheries (136 hits)

We aim to build our daily visitor rate to 500+ visitors a day over the next year, or 200,000 new visitors by 17 March 2007.

The website is a good tool for building interest in the work being done by the South China Sea network at the country and regional levels, and we encourage members to:

review the content in this newsletter,

visit www.unepscs.org,

make some small contributions to the website,

organise a link to www.unepscs.org on the websites of your organisations,

share information contained in these updates with your National Committees, and

share our web address with your colleagues and friends.

2.2 Usernames and Passwords Issued

Each network member has now been registered as a user of the website, and the PCU has recently e-mailed each member a username and password that can be used to log onto the site. Logging onto the website lets you post messages on the e-forums, edit your online profile and contact details, submit web links to the sites, contribute to the South China Sea E-Journal (or 'Blog') and search detailed information about project partners. Please contact the PCU if you have not yet received your username and password.

2.3 Website User Manual

To make the use of the website as easy as possible for you, a user manual has been prepared that can be downloaded from the project website by clicking here. The user manual has been tested by several project staff, but please do not hesitate to contact the PCU should you experience any problems. >

2.4 Project Partner Use of the Website

The following project partners have recently logged in to the site and spent some time familiarising themselves with the features of the site: Dr. Gil Jacinto, Ms. Marlynn Mendoza, Professor Xiaoping Huang, Dr. Dao Manh Son, Ir. Parlin Tambunan, Mr. Ke Vongwattana, Mr. Jingfa Liu, Dr. Marco Nemesio E. Montano, Dr. Sy Ramony, Dr. Ampai Harakunarak, Dr. Do Dinh Sam, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Niem, Dr. Nguyen Hoang Tri, Khun Somsak Chullasorn, and Dr. Huming Yu (PEMSEA). >

2.5 South China Sea Links

We now have 54 links to websites relating to the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand in the links section of the website – you can click here to access this part of the site. Members can easily contribute web links to the website by logging onto the site and clicking on the Submit Web Link option of the User Menu on the homepage.

2.6 Important Note Regarding the Editing of Contributions to the Website

Please be advised that everything you submit to the project website online is sent to Chris Paterson for review, English editing, and final approval before being made public. Please do not worry about any English editing of your materials, and certainly do not let any concerns you have about your written English ability prevent you from contributing to the site. We will be far happier to receive contributions from you that require editing than receiving nothing from you at all.

3 NEW TOOLS AND RESOURCES ONLINE

3.1 The South China Sea Meta-Database

The Internet-based South China Sea Meta-Database is now online – please click here. An information document on this new tool can be downloaded by clicking here.

National Technical Focal Points and Focal Points for the Project Components have been assigned rights to edit existing metadata entries and to add new metadata to the database. Usernames and passwords have been sent to each of these individuals by e-mail. Please contact the PCU if you feel you should have access to update the meta-database and have not yet received a username and password from the PCU.

3.2 User Manual for Updating theSouth China Sea Meta-Database

The PCU and SEA START RC are working hard to ensure all metadata is available online, but this new tool enables you to have greater control over the metadata entries for the project components in your countries. Since the longer-term sustainability of the meta-database will depend on contributions of metadata from your countries, and reviews of metadata quality conducted at the national level, the PCU would like to encourage you to check the accuracy and completeness of the metadata entries and promote the use of this new tool as widely as possible in your countries. To assist you with this, the PCU has prepared a user manual for updating the meta-database that can be downloaded by clicking here.

3.3 Meta-Database Template Available Online Soon

For those of you wishing to create your own online and updatable meta-databases, the South China Sea Meta-Database is currently being packaged by the SEA-RLC of SEA START RC as both Windows and Linux-based templates that can be downloaded from www.unepscs.org and easily customised for any use. A user manual designed for persons with minimal experience in the use and creation of databases is also being prepared and will be made available for downloading with this template.

4. NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS

To assist in promoting national language reports, the covers of 66 reports held by the PCU are displayed in the National Publications Section of the SCS Project Photo Album. Contact details for the Project Component Focal Points responsible for these publications are provided with each cover. The PCU hopes that this will help those interested in obtaining copies of your reports to make contact with you.

Covers for new publications submitted to the PCU by the following components in each country have been added to the project website over the past month:

China

China Wetland Sub-Component Report - please contact Professor Chen Guizhu.

China Seagrass Sub-Component Report - please contact Professor Xiaoping Huang.>

Indonesia

Report of the Seminar on Conserving and Rehabilitating Mangroves of the South China Sea - please contact Mr. Nyoto Santoso.>

Philippines

National Report on Wetlands

Review of Legislation and Policies on Philippine Wetlands

Philippine Wetlands in the South China Sea: Conservation Priorities

Please contact Ms. Marlynn Mendoza regarding the 3 mangroves reports above.

Thailand

Thailand's National Action Plan for the Management of Seagrass in the Gulf of Thailand - please contact Dr. Suvaluck Satumanatpan.

Thailand's Action Plan for the Management of Coral Reefs in the Gulf of Thailand - please contact Dr. Thamasak Yeemin.

Thailand's GIS Database of Coral Reefs in the Gulf of Thailand - please contact Dr. Thamasak Yeemin.

Vietnam

Coral Reefs of Vietnam - please contact Mr. Nguyen Van Long.

5. SCS PROJECT IN THE NEWS

We recently contacted the entire partner network requesting that copies of news and journal articles relating to project activities be submitted to the PCU for posting to the project website.

We received a remarkable response from China and Vietnam, especially in relation to the Fengchenggang Mangrove, Hepu Seagrass, Shantou Wetlands, and Phu Quoc Coral Reef/Seagrass Demonstration Sites. Thank you Dr. Hangqing Fan, Mr. Jingfa Liu, Professor Xiaoping Huang, Mr. Siming Liang, Professor Chen Guizhu, Mr. Yisheng Peng, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Niem for your good contributions.

Materials submitted by the responsible focal points and demonstration site managers have since been loaded to the document repository and linked to the respective demonstration site pages on the project website.

To ensure that your contributions get maximum exposure, we are also placing an overview of new additions of news items on the South China Sea Blog with a prominent link in the new information section on the homepage.

An example of the Fengchenggang Demo Site page can be viewed by clicking here. The newsletters for this site can be downloaded from the 'News Articles and Presentations' folder of the SCS Documents section of the website.