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:
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.
