Delegates working to draft a new treaty on biodiversity in areas of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction today weighed issues related to building capacity and transferring marine technology, with speakers outlining a range of views on how — and on what basis — those types of support should be provided to States.

The process of drafting the first-ever treaty addressing marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction entered a new phase today as Member States began text-based deliberations, with a view to reaching an agreement by the first half of 2020.

The Intergovernmental Conference tasked with drafting a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity continued its work on cross-cutting issues today, with delegates outlining whether the new treaty should establish a clearing house mechanism, and if so, for what purpose.

Delegates today grappled with the issue of funding sources for capacity‑building and the transfer of marine technology — as well as the most suitable monitoring and review processes in that arena — along with the matter of establishing subsidiary bodies, as the Intergovernmental Conference, tasked with drafting a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity, continued its work.

The Intergovernmental Conference drafting the first‑ever legally binding instrument on marine biodiversity continued negotiations today, with delegates concluding discussions on the obligation to conduct environmental impact assessments of activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction and then focusing on how the new treaty should handle capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology among States parties.

The Intergovernmental Conference to draft a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity began its second week today, with delegates considering how that treaty should reflect the content of environmental impact assessment reports.

Delegates negotiating the terms of a new treaty governing the planet’s high seas today considered how that instrument will interact with existing bodies and frameworks, as the Intergovernmental Conference to draft a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity concluded its first week.

Delegates underlined a need to clarify how a new high seas treaty will interact with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea today as the Intergovernmental Conference to draft a legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity entered its third day.

With the Intergovernmental Conference to draft a new maritime diversity treaty under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea continuing its second substantive session today, delegates debated how best to share the benefits of marine genetic resources and how to monitor their use in areas beyond national jurisdictions.

Increased cooperation and recognizing the needs of developing States must lead discussions towards a legally binding convention to govern the high seas, delegates said, as an intergovernmental conference to draft the first‑ever treaty addressing the ocean’s biological diversity opened its second substantive session.