| Conference Opening and Introduction by Conference Co-Chairs
and High-level Segment |
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Biliana Cicin-Sai,
Director, Gerard J Mangone Center for Marine Policy (CMP),
University of Delaware (left), said the conference aims at
operationalizing strategies, and forming 'alliances' among
governments, IGOs and NGOs to advance WSSD targets. (Listen
to her statement)
Patricio Bernal, Executive Secretary, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
(right), said the conference is an open platform bringing
together a wide range of stakeholders committed to ocean,
coast and island issues, and expressed hope that participants
would further support and add value to implementing relevant
targets agreed upon at the WSSD. (Listen
to his statement)
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| UNEP
Executive Director Klaus Toepfer
recognized the importance of ocean, coast and island issues, noting
they are adequately represented in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation
(JPI) and through various WSSD partnership initiatives. He said
that ocean issues should be linked with the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs), particularly the fight against poverty and the work
of the Commission of Sustainable Development (CSD). He also called
for the Global Forum to work towards a common implementing programme.
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David
Osborn, Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the
Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (UNEP-GPA)
(right), said that WSSD targets are not self-implementing
and that work needs to be done for them to be met. He added
that the Forum needs to find ways to link with other international
processes addressing water issues. (Listen
to his statement)
José
Luis Arnaut, Minister Assistant to the Portuguese Prime Minister
(left), highlighted Portugal's commitment to developing
national ocean policy and stressed the importance of cooperation
at the national and international level to achieve good oceans
governance. He noted Portugal's support for the JPI's action
to increase scientific and technical collaboration in marine
science, and to establish by 2004 a process for global assessment
and reporting on the state of the marine environment.
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| Special Address: Sylvia Earle, Executive Director, Global
Marine Programs, Conservation International, Challenges to the
Global Oceans Environment |
| Calling
for a constant review of the state of the marine environment,
Sylvia
Earle listed the following current threats: loss
of wildlife, fisheries depletion, degradation of coral reefs,
and lack of awareness on ocean issues. She urged participants
to take action to stop the destruction of sea mounts, reform fisheries,
create a network of MPAs, assess marine biodiversity, and achieve
the WSSD targets. (Listen
to her statement) |
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Special Address: Tullio Treves, Judge, International
Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) and Professor, University
of Milan, Status and Prospects of the Law of the Sea at the
20th Year Anniversary
Tullio
Teves, Judge, International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
(ITLOS),
presented on the status and prospects of the law of the sea.
He said UNCLOS represents a major success of codification of
international law and mentioned the adoption of additional agreements
since its signature. Treves explained that UNCLOS entrusted
new functions to existing organizations and established new
ones such as ITLOS, the International Seabed Authority or the
Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf.
(Listen to his statement)
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Special Address: Jon Van Dyke, Professor, University
of Hawaii William S. Richardson School of Law, Challenges
to the International Ocean Regime
Jon
Van Dyke, Professor, University of Hawaii Law School, US
addressed
challenges facing the international ocean regime, focusing
on the evolving balance between navigational freedoms and
protection of the marine environment and its resources. Citing
several international cases, he noted that coastal states
were increasingly taking unilateral initiatives against based
on the precautionary principle against illegal fishing, commercial
and military vessels to protect their coastal environments
and security interests. (Listen
to his statement)
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Co-Chairs Biliana Cicin-Sai and
Patricio Bernal present the
Announcement of a Special Award from the Global Forum on Oceans,
Coasts, and Islands to H.E. Judge Tuiloma Neroni Slade, former
Chair, AOSIS, and Permanent Representative of Samoa to the
UN; currently, Judge, International Criminal Court, The Hague
Judge
Slade wasn't able to attend the Conference but will receive
the award in Mauritius in 2004
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| Session I: Problems and Opportunities in the
Implementation of WSSD Commitments: Ministerial Perspectives |
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Daniel
McDougall, Director-General of Oceans, on behalf of the
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, Harsh
K. Gupta, Secretary, Department of Oceans Development,
India, Chair Magnus Johanneson, Secretary-General,
Ministry for the Environment, Iceland, Sun
Zhihui, Deputy Administrator, State Oceanic Administration,
China, William J. Brennan, Deputy
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Affairs, NOAA,
US, and Lord Julian Hunt, Professor
and Fellow of Royal Society, UK, and Chairman, Advisory Committee
on Protection of the Sea |
| Harsh
K. Gupta, Secretary, Department of Oceans Development,
India (left) and William J. Brennan,
NOAA, US, and Lord Julian Hunt, Professor
and Fellow of Royal Society, UK (right) |
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| Sun
Zhihui, Deputy Administrator, State Oceanic Administration, China,
Chair Magnus Johanneson, Secretary-general, Ministry
for the Environment, Iceland, and William J. Brennan, Deputy Assistant
Secretary of Commerce for International Affairs, NOAA, US |
| Session 2: Implementation of WSSD Commitments at the Regional
Level |
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Harry
Coccossis, Professor, University of Thessaly, Greece, New Developments
in Integrated Coastal Area Management in the Mediterranean Region,
addresses delegates
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Cristelle
Pratt,
Oceans and Islands Programme, SOPAC, Toward a Regional Ocean
Policy for the Pacific
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Chua
Thia-Eng,
Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East
Asia (PEMSEA), WSSD Implementation in East Asia (left) and Gunnar
Palsson, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Iceland, and Chair,
Senior Arctic Officials, Progress and Challenges Faced by the
Arctic Council in Addressing WSSD Commitments
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Cristelle
Pratt,
Oceans and Islands Programme, SOPAC, Gunnar
Palsson, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Iceland, Chair
Phil Burgess, Co-Chair, UN Open-ended Informal Consultative
Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (UNICPOLOS), Australia,
Harry Coccossis, Professor, University
of Thessaly, Greece, Iouri oliounine,
Executive Director, International Ocean Institute, Regional
Cooperation in the Caspian Sea, Margaret
Hayes, Director of Oceans Affairs, US Department of State,
WSSD Implementation in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean
Basin, Kenneth Sherman, Supervisory
Research Oceanographer, US National Marine Fisheries Service,
The Large Marine Ecosystem Network Approach to WSSD Targets,
and Olle Hagstrom,
Directorate General, Environment, European Commission
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| Session 3: Small Island Developing States: The Issues
in Mauritius 2004 |
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Herman
Belmar,
Bequia Community High School, St. Vincent and the Grenadines,
and Small Islands Voice Coordinator, Youth's Concerns and Inputs
to Mauritius 2004, Pynee Chellapermal,
Director, Centre for Documentation, Research and Training on
the South-West Indian Ocean, Mauritius, and Small Islands Voice
Coordinator, Civil Society's Concerns and Inputs to Mauritius
2004, Chair Diane Quarless, Chief,
SIDS Unit, UNDESA, Tiare Holm,
Assistant Director, Palau Conservation Soceity, Palau, and Small
Islands Voice Coordinator, The General Public's Perspective
on Issues and Inputs to Mauritius 2004, Ambassador
Jagdish Koonjul, Mauritius, Chair of AOSIS, and Nirmal
Jivan Shah, Chief Executive, Nature Seychelles
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Jadish
Koonjul, Chairman, Alliance for Small Island States (AOSIS),Mauritius
(above left),
noted
the special case of SIDS with regards to sustainable development
and the environment, particularly the marine ecosystem, and
the constraints SIDS face due to their smallness, remoteness
and vulnerability to natural disasters. He emphasized that
SIDS need to, inter alia: develop integrated coastal management
policies; establish new institutional and administrative arrangements
to implement these policies; develop legal frameworks for
fishery management; strengthen regional capacity; develop
national and regional action plans; and ensure the implementation
of international agreements, such as UNCLOS. (Listen
to his statement)
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| Tiare
Holm, Assistant Director, Palau Conservation Society,
presented on a community survey carried out in Palau in 2002,
identifying eight areas of concern: economic development; eroding
traditional values; rapid increase of foreign laborers; healthcare;
education; good governance; environment; and crime and substance
abuse. She said sustainable development should begin with local
communities, noting that local communities in Palau were responsible
for establishing and managing most of the countries protected
areas. |
| Robin
Mahon,
Senior Lecturer, University of the West Indies, Barbados (left)
and Chair Quarless and Tiare Holm (right) |
| Chair
Quarless (left), Nirmal Jivan Shah,
Chief Executive, Nature Seychelles, and Andrew
Dahl, Director, Global Islands Network (right) |
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