Meetings Coverage and Press Releases

General Assembly

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Voices of Small Fisheries Undervalued, Overlooked in Global Food Systems, Speakers at Lisbon Dialogue Stress amid Calls to Curb Illegal Practices, Overfishing

LISBON, 29 June — While small-scale fisheries provide jobs along the value chain for 60.2 million people — nearly 90 per cent of fishing employees worldwide — their voices are often undervalued and unrecognized in global food systems, experts and delegates alike stressed today, as participants in the fifth Lisbon dialogue explored ways to protect their valuable stocks from overexploitation.

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Warning Conditions Will Worsen without Stronger Governance, Speakers Discuss Ways to Stop Marine Biodiversity Loss, Restore Ocean Health, at Lisbon Dialogue

LISBON, 28 June — Marine and coastal ecosystems are the most threatened in the world — a fact that must receive greater attention if Governments are going to successfully reverse pollution trends and restore the health of the world’s oceans, speakers in the third interactive dialogue taking place alongside the 2022 Ocean Conference stressed today, as they focused on solutions.

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Facing Stressed Marine Ecosystems, Small Island States Call for Broader Legal Rules, Stronger Partnerships to Sustainably Manage Oceans, as Lisbon Conference Continues

LISBON, 28 June — Small island developing States stressed that international law, strong partnerships and honoured commitments chart the way to sustainable ocean management, calling for broader legal rules and demanding greater action from those responsible for increased pressure on marine ecosystems as high-level discussion continued in the historic maritime city.

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To Reap Benefits of ‘Massive’ Blue Economy, Small Islands, Least Developed Coastal States Need Multidimensional Vulnerability Index That Addresses Risks

LISBON, June 28 — An historic World Trade Organization (WTO) agreement to end harmful fishing subsidies set the stage for participants in an interactive dialogue held alongside the 2022 Ocean Conference today to outline long overdue measures that would help small island developing States and least developed coastal nations reap the benefits of the estimated $2.5 trillion marine economy.

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With Marine Pollution at ‘Alarming’ Levels, Speakers at Ocean Conference Dialogue Demand Urgent Action to Clean World’s Seas, Call for Political Will

LISBON, 27 June — Exploring solutions to address marine pollution — from toxic chemical dumping and wastewater runoff to sewage emitted from ageing extractive industries — speakers called for urgent action to be taken even before the adoption of a global legally binding treaty to regulate plastic use, as the international conference on ocean conservation continued into an afternoon interactive dialogue.