Highlights and images for 26 March 2019

Highlights for Tuesday, 26 March 2019

Delegates attending the second session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) convened for a second day on Tuesday, March 26, 2019. They met in an informal working group to consider issues related to marine genetic resources (MGRs), discussing:

•    objectives, principles and approaches;

•    types of benefits to be shared, specifically whether these would be monetary and/or non-monetary;

•    benefit-sharing modalities, including if benefits would be shared on a voluntary or other basis, and by whom;

•    the need for, and role of, a clearinghouse mechanism;

•    intellectual property rights (IPRs);

•    monitoring the utilization of MGRs;

•    access to MGRs; and scope

•    and scope.During the lunch break, two side-events were held: “Twenty-five years of International Seabed Authority (ISA’s) contribution to applying holistic approach to the protection of the marine environment in the Area,” presented by ISA, and “BBNJ Capacity Development in the Context of Climate Change,” presented by International Coastal and Ocean Organization.In the corridors, some delegations voiced their frustrations on the correct forum to discuss IPRs related to benefit-sharing, pointing to the number of fora charged with addressing these rights, but the lack of tangible progress on the issue over the years.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

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Informal Working Group on Marine Genetic Resources

View of the IGC-2 plenary session on the Informal Working Group on Marine Genetic Resources

IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore

Janine Coye-Felson, Belize, Facilitator of the 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, UN Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS

Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway

Lionel Yee, Singapore

Gabrielle Chin, New Zealand

Teresa Cruz Sardiñas, Cuba

Margo Deiye, Nauru, with Evan Bloom, US

Gillian Shirley Malielegaoi, Samoa

Khadeeja Ali, Maldives

Essam Yassin Mohammed, Eritrea

Carolina Caceres, Canada

Susan Whelan, Holy See

Justin Whyatt, Australia

Fred Sarufa, Papua New Guinea

Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation

Arnavaz Ghobadi Langroudi, Iran

Matthías Pálsson, Iceland

Harriet Harden-Davies, Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative

Marcel Jaspars, International Union for Conservation of Nature

Konrad Marciniak, EU

Anca Leroy, EU

L-R: Tevita Suka Mangisi, Tonga; Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh; Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway; Myeong-rae Park, Republic of Korea; Lowri Griffiths, UK; Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, International Seabed Authority; Yoshihisa Shirayama, Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and
Technology; and Jihyun Lee, International Seabed Authority

Delegates from the Philippines

L-R: Daniela Diz Pinto, WWF International; Duncan Currie, High Seas Alliance; and Barry Weeber, New Zealand