Highlights and images for 25 March 2019

Summary

Highlights for Monday, 25 March 2019

IGC-2 participants observing a moment of silence in honor of the victims of the recent tragedies in Ethiopia and Indonesia and the passing of Amb. Virachai Plasai, Permanent Representative of Thailand to the UN

The second session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) opened on Monday, March 25, 2019.



Delegates first engaged in a general exchange of views, broadly related to the key features of an ILBI, including their priorities based on issues to be discussed as contained in the President’s Aid to Negotiations. They then began their deliberations on the President’s Aid, focusing their attention on benefit-sharing in relation to marine genetic resources.



During the lunch break, two side-events were held: “Towards an Effective High Seas Treaty: Building on and Strengthening Regional Ocean Governance” presented by Germany and the STRONG High Seas Project; and "No fish left behind: fisheries under BBNJ” presented by the Nippon Foundation.



In the corridors, many participants agreed that the President’s Aid to Negotiations is inclusive and helpful in driving the negotiations forward. Some expressed concern about gaps in the options laid out in the document, stressing that these will need to be covered during the following two weeks, if future treaty text is to be comprehensive.For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin.

IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from BBNJ IGC 2. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon

For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.

View of the opening plenary
IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore
Miguel de Serpa Soares, Secretary-General of the IGC, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel




Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS)
Fuad Bateh, Palestine, on behalf of the G-77/China
Janine Coye-Felson, Belize, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group
Delegates from the EU consulting
Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Island Forum (PIF)
Sira Swangsilpa, Thailand
Andreas Papaconstantinou, EU
Arnavaz Ghobadi Langroudi, Iran, on screen
Mohamed Atlassi, Morocco
María Juliana Tenorio, Colombia
Franck Kokou Kpayedo, Togo
Gou Haibo, China
Shanti Utami Retnaningsih, Indonesia
Generoso Calonge, the Philippines
Duncan Currie, High Seas Alliance
Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, International Seabed Authority
Hiroko Muraki Gottlieb, International Council of Environmental Law
Ariel Hernán Troisi, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO)
Lydia Slobodian, International Union for Conservation of Nature
Takehiro Nakamura, UN Environment Programme
Informal Working Group on Marine Genetic Resources
L-R: Janine Coye-Felson, Belize, Facilitator of the informal working group on marine genetic resources; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS

Barbara Boechat, Brazil
Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland
Evan Bloom, US
Salaseini Tagicakibau, Fiji

Participants