Group of 77 and China

The opening session of the High-level Segment of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and Ministerial Segment of the 2017 meeting of the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) took place on Monday morning. Reporting by Ministerial Chairs on the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development, and two sessions on Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs), followed. In the afternoon, the UN Secretary-General’s report on the theme of the ECOSOC 2017 session (“Eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions through promoting sustainable development, expanding opportunities and addressing related challenges”), and the report on the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) were presented, followed by a general debate. In parallel, an additional two sessions on VNRs took place. In total, 12 countries presented VNRs on Monday: Brazil, Luxembourg, Nepal, Monaco, Japan, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Kenya, the Netherlands, Chile, and Malaysia. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage, daily reports from HLPF 2017 and also produced a summary and analysis report, which is available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Opening of the High-Level Segment Plenary is full to capacity as the High-level Segment begins Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) UN Secretary-General António Guterres Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the UN, and President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University Delegates applaud the keynote speakers Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC Jürgen Schulz, Deputy Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC Cristián Barros Melet, Permanent Representative of Chile to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC Nabeel Munir, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC View of plenary from the dais Reporting by Ministerial Chairs on the Regional Forums on Sustainable Development View of the dais during the session Laurence Monnoyer-Smith, Commissioner-General for Sustainable Development, Ministry of Environment, Energy and the Sea, France Lahcen Daoudi, Minister of General Affairs and Governance, Morocco Francisco Guzmán Ortiz, Head of the Office of the President, Mexico Rosemarie Edillon, Undersecretary for Planning and Policy, National Economic and Development Authority, the Philippines Gervais Meatchi, Director of Planning and Development, Togo Presentation of Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs) 12 countries present their VNRs throughout the day Romain Schneider, Minister for Development, Cooperation and Humanitarian Affairs, and Carole Dieschbourg, Minister of Environment, Luxembourg Adil Najam, Pardee School of Global Studies, Boston University Min Bahadur Shrestha, Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission, Nepal Rita Schwarzelühr-Sutter, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Germany  José Antônio Marcondes de Carvalho, Ministry of Environment, Energy, Science, and Technology, Brazil Bambang Brodjonegoro, Minister of National Development Planning, Indonesia Serge Telle, Minister of State, Monaco Fumio Kishida, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Japan Abul Kalam Azad, Principal SDG Coordinator, Prime Minister's Office, Bangladesh Lilianne Plouman, Minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, the Netherlands Olga Marta Sánchez Oviedo, Minister of Planning and Economic Policy, Costa Rica Marcos Barraza, Minister of Social Development, Chile Abdul Rahman Dahlan, Minister in the Prime Minister's Department, Malaysia Irungu Nyakera, Ministry of Devolution and Planning, Kenya High-Level General Debate Delegates gather in the Trusteeship Council for the High-level debate Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) Neven Mimica, European Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development José Antonio Ocampo, Chair of the Committee for Development Policy (CDP) Luck Mulusa, Minister of National Development Planning, Zambia, speaking on behalf of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) Alenka Smerkolj, Minister without portfolio responsible for Development, Strategic Projects and Cohesion, Slovenia Andrés Mideros, National Secretary of Planning and Development, Ecuador, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Miguel Ángel Moir Sandoval, Minister of Planning, Guatemala Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thailand Gamini Jayawickrama Perera, Minister of Sustainable Development and Wildlife, Sri Lanka, speaking on behalf of the Group of 15 Kęstutis Navickas, Minister of Environment, Lithuania Edna Molewa, Minister of Environmental Affairs, South Africa Around the Venue Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, speaks with UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Peter Thomson, President of the UNGA Wu Hongbo, UN Under-Secretary-General, DESA UN Secretary-General António Guterres Juan José Gómez Camacho, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN Marie Chatardová, Permanent Representative of the Czech Republic to the UN, and Vice President of ECOSOC, with Frederick Musiiwa Makamure Shava, Permanent Representative of Zimbabwe to the UN, and President of ECOSOC Carole Dieschbourg, Minister of Environment, Luxembourg Delegates stand at the back of plenary Security around the venue Zaheer Fakir, South Africa, speaks with Jeffrey Sachs, Director, The Earth Institute, Columbia University Abdullah Abu Shawesh, State of Palestine Martijn Visser and Max van Deursen, Youth Representatives for Sustainable Development, the Netherlands Delegates between sessions Around the UN Headquarters

On Monday, 17 July, delegates met in plenary in the afternoon to consider a revised Chair’s text containing draft recommendations to the UN General Assembly, including preambular elements of a new international legally binding instrument on marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction and its general elements, such as use of terms, scope of application, objectives and relationships with other instruments. 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 the 4th 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. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil Larisa Chernysheva, Russian Federation Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China Mohamed Atlassi, Morocco Josefina Bunge, Argentina Javier Gorostegui, Chile Ma Xinmin, China Shara Duncan, Costa Rica Dhisadee Chamlongrasdr, Thailand Jung-Eun Kim, Republic of Korea Mamadou Diallo, Senegal Nivaashni Devi Dharmalinyam, Malaysia Xuan Hoang Lai, Viet Nam Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway Napoleon Beras, Dominican Republic Yolannie Cerrato, Honduras Angel Horna, Peru View of PrepCom 4 from the perspective of the dais L-R: John Brincat, EU, in a conversation with Zentaro Naganuma, Japan Catherine Boucher, Canada, in a discussion with Matthías Pálsson, Iceland

On Friday, 14 July, delegates met in the informal working group on crosscutting issues, discussing: use of terms, scope and objective of the ILBI, relationship with other agreements; as well as guiding principles and approaches, and international cooperation, for BBNJ conservation and sustainable use. In the afternoon, plenary resumed to discuss next steps including the convening of an intergovernmental conference and the status of the Chair’s streamlined non-paper. 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 the 4th 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. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Metod Špaček, EU Alice Revell, New Zealand Matthías Pálsson, Iceland Audrey Naana Abayena, Ghana Kabure Yeeting, Kiribati Josefina Bunge, Argentina Javier Gorostegui, Chile Narayanane Saravanane, India Essam Yassin Mohammed, Eritrea Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh Juan Cuéllar Torres, Colombia Ismail Raushan, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States Diedre Mills, Jamaica, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Participants at PrepCom 4 Sesselja Sigurdardóttir, Iceland Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Mamadou Diallo, Senegal Rena Lee, Singapore Evan Bloom, US Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation Rogelio Villanueva Jr., the Philippines Lisa Speer, Natural Resources Defense Council Zentaro Naganuma, Japan Hina Saeed Baig, Pakistan Ma Xinmin, China L-R: Kristina Gjerde, Cymie Payne, and Hiroko Muraki Gottlieb, IUCN L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Barbara Boechat, Brazil; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS L-R: Javier Gorostegui, Chile, in a conversation with Metod Špaček, EU Greenpeace images and encouraging messages from the Alboran Sea Duncan Currie (second from right), Greenpeace, in a discussion with delegates from New Zealand Delegates from WWF

On Wednesday, 12 July, the informal working group on area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs), continued discussions on the designation process, as well as on implementation, relationships to existing instruments, and monitoring and review. The informal working group on environmental impact assessments (EIAs), facilitated by René Lefeber (the Netherlands), then addressed: obligations, guiding principles and approaches, criteria and thresholds, process, content of EIA reports, relationships to existing instruments, clearinghouse mechanisms, capacity building and technology transfer, and monitoring and review. The informal working group on capacity building and technology transfer, facilitated by Rena Lee (Singapore), started discussion of objectives, and guiding principles and approaches. 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 the 4th 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. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Franz Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); Alice Revell, New Zealand, Facilitator of the informal working group on ABMTs, including MPAs; Valentina Germani, UNDOALOS; and Carlos Fuentes, UNDOALOS Siai Taylor, Cook Islands Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway Ma Xinmin, China Riena Dwi Astuty, Indonesia Michael Googan, Australia Blaise Kuemlangan, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Rena Lee, Singapore Evan Bloom, US Alice Revell, New Zealand, Facilitator of the informal working group on ABMTs, including MPAs Luis Oña Garcés, Ecuador, on behalf of the G-77/China Veronica Frank, Greenpeace Zentaro Naganuma, Japan Arnór Snæbjörnsson, Iceland Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States Leonito Bacalando Jr., Federated States of Micronesia John Fintakpa Lamega, Togo Kate Neilson, New Zealand L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; René Lefeber, the Netherlands, Facilitator of the informal working group on environmental impact assessments; Chair Carlos Sobral Duarte, Brazil; Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; René Lefeber, the Netherlands, Facilitator of the informal working group on environmental impact assessments; Michael Schewchuk, UNDOALOS; and Yoshinobu Takei, UNDOALOS Wini Broadbelt, EU Lizanne Aching, Trinidad and Tobago, on behalf of the Caribbean Community Babajide Alo, Nigeria Oleg Rykov, Russian Federation Cymie Payne, IUCN Cheikhy Sidi, Mauritania Clarissa Jacqueline Caancan, the Philippines Duncan Currie, Greenpeace Penny Race, New Zealand L-R: Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Rena Lee, Singapore, Facilitator of the informal working group on capacity building and transfer of marine technology; and Vita Onwuasoanya, UNDOALOS Kathleen Siala Taituave, Samoa Da Hee Song, Republic of Korea Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Martin Zvachula, Federated States of Micronesia Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group L-R: Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, consulting with Thembile Joyini, South Africa L-R: Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation, in a conversation with Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway, and Evan Bloom, US Delegates from Fiji and Samoa Delegates from the Philippines