17th Meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process
on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (ICP-17) - Marine Debris, Plastics and Microplastics

Visit the full ENB+ web coverage for Thursday, 16 June 2016

On Thursday morning, delegates to the seventeenth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (ICP-17) continued consideration of this year’s topic: “marine debris, plastics and microplastics.”

On inter-agency cooperation and coordination, delegates engaged in discussions following presentations from: Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Counsel, in his capacity as the UN-Oceans Focal Point, on UN-Oceans work; Dmitry Gonchar, UNDOALOS, demonstrating the new UN-OCEANS online inventory; and Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, Co-chair of the Ad Hoc Working Group of the Whole of the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects, on the First Global Integrated Marine Assessment. Delegates also heard an update on the financial status of the Voluntary Trust Fund from UNDOALOS Director Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli.

Continuing with a general exchange of views that began on Monday morning, delegates then heard statements by countries, and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, before considering the process for the selection of topics and panellists, and issues that could benefit from attention in future work of the UN General Assembly on ocean affairs and the law of the sea.

The meeting then adjourned to provide time for the Co-Chairs and secretariat to prepare the draft Co-Chairs’ summary to be reviewed by delegates on Friday.

Visit the full ENB+ web coverage for Wednesday, 15 June 2016

On Wednesday, delegates to the seventeenth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (ICP-17) continued their discussions under the theme: “marine debris, plastics and microplastics.”

Discussion panels took place throughout the day on the topic: “challenges, lessons learned, best practices and way forward to prevent, reduce and control pollution from marine debris, plastics and microplastics.”

In the morning, delegates heard six presentations on: the UNEA-2 outcome on marine debris; the role of the World Bank’s Pollution Management and Environmental Health (PMEH) Trust Fund in strengthening solid waste management to protect marine environments; scaling recycling through zero-interest loans to cities and investments in waste companies; market-based and design change solutions to address the impact of lost and discarded fishing gear; and market-focused sustainable packaging initiatives.

In the afternoon, delegates heard six presentations on: characterization of marine debris in Peru; perspectives from Ocean Conservancy; innovative technologies used in the work of The Ocean Cleanup foundation; creative solutions for Pacific plastic pollution; ways of partnering with urban youth on upstream solutions, civic action, media and messaging to reduce plastic marine debris and microplastics; and the way towards an improved framework to prevent marine plastic debris.

Visit the full ENB+ web coverage for Tuesday, 14 June 2016

On Tuesday, delegates to the seventeenth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (ICP-17) continued their discussions under the theme of “marine debris, plastics and microplastics.”

In the morning, delegates heard six presentations on the topic of “environmental, social and economic dimensions of marine debris, plastics and microplastics, and progress made in preventing, reducing and controlling pollution from marine debris, plastics and microplastics.” The discussions focused on: ecotoxicological impacts of microplastics on marine organisms; sea turtles and plastic debris in South America; risks posed by marine microplastic and nanoplastic debris to human health; considerations in the transition to a new plastics economy; monitoring of microplastics and hazardous chemicals in water, sediment and biota; and risk-based approaches to evaluating the environmental impacts of marine plastic pollution at local, national and global levels.

In the afternoon, delegates heard seven presentations on “challenges, lessons learned, best practices, and way forward to prevent, reduce and control pollution from marine debris, plastics and microplastics.” The discussion focused on: different perspectives, including Indonesian and Jamaican experiences; the importance of local government ownership of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Sustainable Development Goal 14 on oceans; activities of the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s ‘Marine Debris Program’; a regional seas approach to prevent, reduce and control pollution from marine debris; international and national implementation processes of the G7 Action Plan to combat Marine Litter and the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive; and regional action plans for prevention and reduction.

Visit the full ENB+ web coverage for Monday, 13 June 2016

The seventeenth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (ICP-17) opened on 13 June 2016 at the UN Headquarters in New York, under the theme: “Marine debris, plastics and microplastics.” In the morning, delegates heard opening remarks from: Co-Chair Amb. Gustavo Meza-Cuadra; Miguel de Serpa Soares, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel; Lenni Montiel, UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), on behalf of Wu Hongbo, Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs; and Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, UN Office of Legal Affairs (UNDOALOS). Statements by countries and regional groups followed.

In the afternoon, Co-Chair Amb. Nicholas Emiliou invited delegates to participate in a discussion panel on “the environmental, social and economic dimensions of marine debris, plastics and microplastics and progress made in preventing, reducing and controlling pollution from marine debris, plastics and microplastics.” Presentations were given on: insights from the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) report on microplastics; insights from the World Ocean Assessment; an overview of land-based sources of marine debris; marine pollution originating from purse seine and longline fishing vessel operations in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean; collection of ship waste in Belgian seaports; and the International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) work to address marine debris, plastics and microplastics.