Highlights for Monday, 26 August 2019
Horse eye jacks from Cuba, photo by Marcelo Halpern
The third session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) met throughout the day on Monday, 26 August 2019, in informal working groups on capacity building and the transfer of marine technology (CB&TT), and on cross-cutting issues. Delegates also met in two closed-door “informal-informals,” to discuss aspects related to environmental impact assessments (EIAs), and area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs).For the better part of the day, they considered types of CB&TT, whether and where to include a potential list of these activities in the new High Seas agreement, as well as matters related to monitoring and review, definitions, and the list over types of CB&TT in the annex. They also considered, as part of CB&TT, the clearing-house mechanism, discussing the types and functions of such a mechanism.
Highlights of the day included, among others:
Informal-informals on EIAs, which focused on matters regarding monitoring, reporting, and review;
Informal-informals on ABMTs, including MPAs, focusing on the objectives of ABMTs as well as aspects related to monitoring and review;
Discussions in the informal working group on CB&TT, on aspects of a clearing-house mechanism, specifically the types and modalities of such a mechanism; and
Discussions in the informal working group on cross-cutting issues, addressing other aspects of the clearing-house mechanism.
In the corridors, one exasperated developing country delegate was adamant about the need for “hard rules to guide capacity building and the transfer of marine technology” for the effective implementation of the new High Seas treaty, adding that CB&TT needs to be understood as being driven by developing countries. Commenting on the closed-door sessions, another delegate opined that “the format and time constraints prevent us from addressing crucial linkages,” still remaining optimistic that “we will get there.”For more 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 ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from BBNJ IGC-3. 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
Olai Uludong, Palau, Facilitator of the informal working group on CB&TT
L-R: Alice Hicuburundi, Jessica Howley, and Lika Diouf, UN Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS)
Kimberly Louis, Saint Lucia, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM )
Ana Elizabeth Villaita Vizcorra, El Salvador, on behalf of the Like-Minded Latin American Countries
Sunan Rustam, Indonesia
Terje Lobach, Norway
Tetsuya Yoshimoto, Japan
Oleg Rykov, Russian Federation
Evan Bloom, US
Marco D'Alessandro, Switzerland
Amanda Richards, New Zealand
Fuad Bateh, Palestine, on behalf of the G-77/China
L-R: Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, in conversation with Mohamed Lamine Sidibé, Guinea
Generoso Calonge, the Philippines
Sujin Seo, Republic of Korea
Harriet Harden-Davies, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC-UNESCO)
Fakasoa Tealei, Tuvalu, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (P-SIDS)
Hiroko Muraki Gottlieb, International Council of Environmental Law
Blaise Kuemlangan, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO)
Yang Liu, China
Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group
Katie Hamilton, Australia
Carl Grainger, EU
IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore, and Facilitator of the informal working group on Cross-Cutting Issues
Olai Uludong, Palau, Facilitator of the informal working group on CB&TT
L-R: Olai Uludong, Palau, Facilitator of the informal working group on CB&TT, Joan Yang, Nauru; and Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS
Delegates from Belize in consultation
L-R: Gemma Andreone, Italy, and Eva Vázquez, Spain
IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore, with UNDOALOS Secretariat staff and UNDOALOS Fellows
IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore, with delegates from Nigeria
Closed-door informal-informals