Summary
On Friday, 8 April 2016, the PrepCom met in the morning to finalize discussions on principles and approaches. Chair Eden Charles (Trinidad and Tobago) verbally outlined a procedural roadmap to PrepCom 2, including that the meeting will: hold a short opening plenary, without general statements; convene five four-hour informal working groups; reconvene in plenary to further discuss and possibly agree to “park” issues that garner consensus for inclusion into the internationally legally binding instrument; and discuss the next steps for PrepCom 3. He proposed working groups on: marine genetic resources; area-based management tools; environmental impact assessments; capacity building and technology transfer; and crosscutting issues, including scope, principles and institutional mechanisms. Chair Charles also proposed, and delegates agreed, that an indicative list of substantive issues, as well as a Chair’s summary of PrepCom 1, be circulated to facilitate preparations prior to PrepCom 2.
During the closing plenary, many delegations expressed appreciation for a successful start of the PrepCom, with Chair Charles encouraging them to keep up the good spirit as discussions “get tougher.” Chair Charles gavelled the meeting to a close at 1:44pm.
IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, is providing daily web coverage and daily reports from the 1st Session of the Preparatory Committee Established by the UN General Assembly Resolution 69/292 “Development of an International Legally Binding Instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.” In addition, IISD Reporting Services, has published a summary and analysis report of the meeting, which is available in HTML and PDF formats.
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