Download Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction

Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction the need for a sustainable management and
protection
MATTHEW GIANNI
CO-FOUNDER, POLITICAL AND POLICY ADVISOR
DEEP SEA CONSERVATION COALITION
THE NEED FOR GLOBAL OCEANS
GOVERNANCE
The future we REALLY want:
A Greens/EFA conference on Rio+20
6 June 2012
UN Conference on Environment & Development
Rio Earth Summit 1992
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Major outcomes
Framework Convention on Climate Change
Convention on Biological Diversity
Desertification Convention
SIDs (Barbados Programme of Action 1994)
Protection of the Marine Environment from LandBased Activities (UNEP Global Programme of Action
1995)
1995 UN Fish Stocks Agreement (Agenda 21 17.50)
UN Fish Stocks Agreement
Articles 5 and 6
General principles, precautionary and ecosystem approaches
• Prevent or eliminate overfishing
• Assess the impacts of fishing on the ecosystem
• Minimize waste, bycatch, discards and the impacts of
fishing on associated & dependent species
• Protect biodiversity in the marine environment
• Apply the precautionary approach widely
• Be more cautious when information is uncertain,
unreliable or inadequate
• Protect habitats of special concern
World Summit on Sustainable Development
2002
• Application of the ecosystem approach
• Promote integrated, multisectoral coastal and
ocean management
• Maintain or restore stocks to levels that can
produce the maximum sustainable yield with the
aim of achieving these goals for depleted stocks
on an urgent basis and where possible not later
than 2015
• Significant reduction in the rate of biodiversity
loss by 2010
WSSD 2002
• Eliminate subsidies that contribute to IUU
fishing and to over-capacity
• Maintain the productivity and biodiversity of
important and vulnerable marine and coastal
areas
• Eliminate destructive fishing practices
• Establish marine protected areas, including
representative networks of MPAs by 2012
Three issues
1. MSY and preventing overfishing
2. Eliminating destructive fishing practices:
deep-sea fisheries
3. New implementing agreement under
the UN Convention on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS)
1. MSY & UN Fish Stocks Agreement
• Prevent or eliminate overfishing
• Establish precautionary “target” reference points for
managing fish stocks
• Establish “limit” reference points to constrain fishing
within safe biological limits
• Take into account uncertainty; be more cautious when
information is uncertain, unreliable or inadequate
• Ensure that reference points are “not exceeded”
• MSY is a “minimum standard for limit reference points”
Why the debate over MSY?
• UNCLOS: Maintain or restore fish stocks to levels
which can produce MSY (61.3, 119.1a) - adopted
1982, entered into force 1994
• UN FSA: MSY minimum standard for limit reference
points; management target must be set higher adopted 1995, entered into force 2003
• CFP Reform 2012: MSY maybe by 2015 if possible?
• EU credibility regarding political commitments and
international law
2. Eliminating destructive fishing
practices: deep-sea fisheries
WSSD goal and UN General Assembly resolutions 59/25
(2004), 61/105 (2006), 64/72 (2009) and 66/68 (2011)
Positive developments
• Deep-sea bottom trawl bans in Azores, Madeira &
Canary Islands (2005)
• EU party to bottom trawl ban in Southern Ocean (2006)
• Council Reg. 734/2008 to implement UNGA 61/105
largely complied with by Member State in SW Atlantic
(2011)
• Additional area closures to protect corals, sponges,
seamounts in NE Atlantic & elsewhere (ongoing)
2. Eliminating destructive fishing practices:
deep-sea fisheries
However, much more still needs to be done.
Key Opportunity 2012:
• Review of the Northeast Atlantic Deep Sea fisheries
access regime (Reg. 2347/2002)
• Commission proposal due out soon
• Require impact assessments & other elements of UN
resolutions for all deep-sea fisheries
• Phase-out destructive practices such as deep-sea
bottom trawling and gillnet fishing
Publications
DSCC
www.savethehighseas.org
1. & 2. Rio+20: the Future we want
• Implementation of previous Summit commitments
– ecosystem approach to fisheries
– ending destructive fishing practices
– fishing at levels consistent with the precautionary
approach
– eliminate harmful subsidies
– end IUU fishing
– other UN FSA/WSSD etc
• Much of this is in the hands of Parliament &
Council/Member States: CFP Reform
3. Rio+20: the Future we want
Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, High Seas Alliance
An agreement in Rio to initiate negotiation for a
new high seas (ABNJ) treaty/implementing
agreement under UNCLOS
• High seas (areas beyond national jurisdiction)
cover approximately 2/3rds of the oceans or 45%
of the surface of the earth
• Clear gaps in governance, implementation,
regulation and enforcement in ocean areas
beyond national jurisdiction
• Need for overarching cooperation, coordination
and implementation
Gaps in Impact Assessments
Spills
& leaks
Marine
debris
Deep
seabed
mining
Waste disposal
Credit: Greenpeace
Fisheries
Bioprospecting
Invasive species
Credit: Greenpeace
New and emerging issues
Ocean noise
Open ocean aquaculture
Co2 sequestration/Ocean fertilization
Adaptation and mitigation to climate change
Resource conflicts
EEZ boundaries/sea level rise
The problems of ocean space are closely interrelated
and need to be considered as a whole
Preamble to the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (1982)
Credit: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NOAA
“Scientists have found 274 new species of corals,
starfish, sponges, shrimps, and crabs 1.2 miles (2
kilometers) beneath the surface of the ocean around
Antarctica…They also discovered 145 undersea canyons
and 80 new seamounts”
National Geographic News Oct 2008 (CSIRO expedition)
Human impacts don’t recognize boundaries
(c) Halpern et al. 2008.
‘Scientists found that almost no areas have been left pristine and that more
than 40% of the world's oceans have been heavily affected.’
Species do not recognize boundaries
Source: Tagging of Pacific Predators, McIntyre AD, ed. 2010. Blackwell
Publishing, Ltd, Census of Marine Life 2010: Highlights of a Decade of Discovery.
50 % of the planet
64% of the ocean
is beyond national jurisdiction
3. New agreement for marine biodiversity conservation
in areas beyond national jurisdiction
Implementing Agreement of UNCLOS
• Establish global standard and requirement for
EIAs and Strategic impact assessments
• Representative networks of MPAs
• Conservation, sustainable use, access and
benefit sharing of Marine Genetic Resources
Other elements?
Implementing Agreement
• Enhanced obligations:
• Protection and Preservation of the Marine Environment
including representative networks of MPAs and reserves
• International Cooperation
• Science-Based Approach to Management
• The Precautionary and Ecosystem Approach including Prior
EIAs, SAIs and cumulative impact assessments
• Sustainable and Equitable Use
• Public Availability of Information
• Transparent and Open Decision Making Processes
• Mechanisms for Monitoring, Control and Enforcement
• State Accountability and Responsibility including Flag State
Quick!
Change course for
Rio before its too
late!
Do they have any idea what
they are going to talk about ?
Ok boys! We need
to rearrange the
deck chairs for
workshops.
Who’s
gonna pay
for this?
How many?
One or
two?
Can we put the
presentations on
the web ?
UNGA BBNJ WG
Titanic
Over 6 years of debate (UNGA BBNJ Working Goup) – now time for a decision
Rio+20: the Future we want
Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, High Seas Alliance
An implementing agreement under UNCLOS
Current draft text Para Oceans 6 (alt1):
“We agree to initiate, as soon as possible, the
negotiation, in the framework of the UN General
Assembly, of an implementing agreement to
UNCLOS that would address the conservation and
sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas
beyond national jurisdiction”
(similar to para 17.50 of Agenda 21 calling for UN FSA Conference)
EU & G.77 ‘like-minded’ supportive but U.S., Iceland,
Japan, Korea, Russia, Canada (Norway) opposed
Thanks
Hermione Project, Oxford-IPSO, INDEEP,
IMARES, Pew Environment Group, Kristina
Gjerde, Remi Parmentier, Lisa Speer and
many others!
www.savethehighseas.org