Experts drafting a new global instrument on biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction today deliberated which stakeholders — ranging from adjacent coastal States to indigenous peoples to the general public — should be consulted about planned activities under the treaty, as well as their potential role in environmental impact assessments.
Experts working to draft a new treaty on biodiversity in areas of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction today weighed provisions aimed at prohibiting States from claiming sovereignty over marine genetic resources in those areas, with speakers diverging on the question of whether their use is the “common heritage of mankind”.
Continuing negotiations to draft a new treaty on biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction, delegates today deliberated who should be entitled to make proposals related to area-based management tools under the auspices of the new instrument, as well as which broader principles should underpin them.
Delegates working to draft a new treaty on biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction today continued to tackle issues related to capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology — widely viewed as crucial to help developing countries implement the new instrument — as negotiations entered their second week.
Experts working to negotiate a new treaty on biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction today deliberated ways to govern marine genetic resources — namely, materials of real or potential value — as well as the specific types of resources to be regulated and the sharing of benefits arising from them.
Speakers at the ongoing negotiations for a new treaty on biodiversity in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction agreed today that a State party to the instrument — rather than the proponent of a planned activity — should determine the need to conduct environmental impact assessments.
Negotiations on a new treaty on biodiversity in areas of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction centred today on whether areas requiring protection through area-based management tools - including marine protected areas – should be determined on the basis of “precautionary principle” or “precautionary approach”.
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.
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the signing ceremony of the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, in Singapore today:
