Section 5: Asia mangrove forests and mud flats, estuarine waters and sandy shores (Perera, 2005). and mud flats, estuarine waters, and sandy shores (Perera, 2005). MPAS in Sri Lanka are part of a broader ICM framework that includes other management designations under the national Coastal Zone Management Plan. In Bangladesh, four marine reserves were designated in 2000 covering 698 km of fishing ground in the Bay of Bengal. Several MPAS, including international designations such as WHS and Biosphere Reserves, contribute to the protection of the Sundarbans mangroves and tidal areas, which is the pre-eminent MPA in the region. Pakistan has a number of MPAS including 19 Ramsar Sites designated for the protection of coastal areas, marine mammals, turtle nesting grounds, and mangrove habitats'. COSTA. The aim of the criteria is to promote a coordinated and harmonised approach to the establishment and management of MPA networks in the region, and the criteria were subsequently incorporated in the Vientiane Action Programme 2004-2010 that was adopted and endorsed at the tenth ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Lao PDR in 2004. A further regional programme. Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PROSEA) also contributes to strengthening the enabling environment for MPA networks. For example, the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA), endorsed at the Intergovernmental Meeting of PERSIA in 2002 and launched at the East Asia Seas Congress in 2003 has a target of implementation of ICM programmes in at least 20% of the Region's coast by 2015, and MPA networks will be discussed at the 2009 East Asia Seas Congress. 52. EAST ASIAN SEAS REGION The East Asian Seas (EAS) Region, as recognised by the UNEP-RSP, is focused on the five member countries of the Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN), namely Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia, which adopted the East Asian Seas Action Plan (EAST) in 1981. The Plan was revised in 1994, when Australia, Cambodia, the People's Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and Vietnam also became members. The Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA), through its Bangkok-based Secretariat oversees the implementation of EAST The Plan includes a range of activities, many of which relate to MPA management, as well as two regional COBSEA projects, initiated in 2002, that contribute directly to the implementation of MPAS: The OCEAN Demonstration-target Sites Project: Involved the exchange of experiences on management of coral reefs under three themes: MPAS, community-based management and sustainable tourism; The UNEPGEF Project "Reversing Environmental Degradation Trends in the South China Sea and Gulf of Thailand: Includes a component on establishing fisheries refugia to preserve critical habitats such as mangrove forests, seagrass beds and coral reefs. In 2002, the ASEAN Environment Ministers adopted two sets of criteria for MPAS, one for nationally important MPAS and one for ASEAN Marine Heritage Areas'" or regionally important sites, which had been prepared by the ASEAN Working Group on the Coastal and Marine Environment in collaboration with The waters of the East Asian Seas Region are closely linked with the South-west Pacific, particularly in the area of the 'Coral Triangle' which covers some 57 million km2 and includes the waters of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Timor-leste, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands. This region has the richest marine biodiversity in the world, with over 600 coral species (more than 75% of all known coral species), 53% of the world's coral reefs, 3,000 fish species, and the greatest extent of mangrove forests of any region in the world. The Coral Triangle also serves as the spawning and juvenile growth areas for the largest tuna fishery in the world. In December 2007, the six countries of the region agreed on a plan of action to implement a programme known as the Coral Triangle Initiative (CTI) that is aimed at developing sustainable marine resource use, and will include support for several of the developing MPA networks described below. The Tri-national Governmental Partnership for Western Pacific Leatherback Turtles, signed by Indonesia, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands in August 2006, is aimed at the development of an MPA network for the conservation of the critically endangered and migratory Leatherback Turtle. The network design will include other conservation features, such as coral reefs and other important coastal habitats, and even pelagic, high seas MPAS, and will use a similar process to that developed for the SAME (WWF-SAME Program, 2004). There are numerous initiatives underway to establish " MPA networks in this region, many of which address the four LMES that it encompasses the Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea, Sulu-celebes Sea, and the Indonesia LME. 70 httpwwwramsarorgkeysiteiisthtm " httpwwwaseansecorgcme Asean20criteria20for% 20Nationai20l1paspdf " httpwwwaseansecorgcme Asean20criteria20for% 20Marine20heritage20areaspdf " httpwwwaseansecorgvap-10th20asean20summitpdf