Download Swedish efforts concerning implementation

WORKING DOCUMENT
Swedish efforts concerning
implementation
Sustainable Development Goals, Target 14.a: Increase scientific
knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine techno logy, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Tech nology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contri bution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing
countries, in particular small island developing States and least
developed countries. Target 14.c: Enhance the conservation and
sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing
international law as reflected in UNCLOS, which provides the legal
framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and
their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of The Future We Want
Executive summary
 The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management
(SwAM) was created to increase the integration of relevant
policies to achieve a unified and coherent management of
the aquatic resources in rivers, lakes and the sea.
 Sweden believes that efficient and well-designed monitoring
is fundamental to the management of marine resources,
and stakeholders must be involved in preparing and
implementing the international regulatory framework in
order to achieve a higher level of compliance.
 Sweden is engaged in several international initiatives to
strengthen marine research and innovation.
 Sweden works in several global, international and regional
organizations in order to strengthen the protection of
marine environments.
 Sweden is a well-regarded and respected country in
multilateral cooperation.
 Sweden is involved in ongoing consultation with the EU
regarding support to 15 Pacific ACP states (PACPs) on
stronger regional economic integration and the sustainable
management of marine and coastal natural resources most
likely to be launched by the EU and Sweden at the UN
conference.
Publisher: Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management
Date: 2017-02-13
Authors: Fredrik Arrhenius (Main Author), Peter Funegård, Pia Norling, Lennart Sorby, Johanna Egerup
Photo: unescobkk.org
Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management
Box 11 930, 404 39 Gothenburg
Sweden
www.havochvatten.se
Swedish efforts concerning
implementation
Introduction
The cumulative effects of multiple stressors, including climate change, marine pollution, coastal
erosion and over-fishing, are key issues in marine ecology today. Developing countries are at
greatest risk from the global environmental change impacts on the ocean: low situated coastal
states (such as Bangladesh, Vietnam and Indonesia) are at risk from sea level rise. This includes
some of the world’s Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the most populated countries and some
Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Especially in the Pacific Ocean, climate change is a
question of the states’ very existence.
Challenges
 Sustainable management of the coastal and marine ecosystems, including protection of key
areas for ecological production and biological diversity, needs to be addressed and regulated
by each nation within their national jurisdiction.
 Scientific understanding is essential to forecast, mitigate and guide the adaption of societies
to the ways oceans affects human lives and infrastructures on different spatial and temporal
scales.
 There is an urgent need for the global community to address overlapping threats through
sustainable management schemes and developing strategic planning approaches that allow
for the optimisation across scales of more than one goal at a time.
 The legal framework for the ocean is complex and its effective implementation will have a
critical impact on progress in all target areas of SDG14. A wide array of international legal
instruments exists, covering many aspects of ocean management such as the United Nations
Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and its implementing agreements.
 The lack of efficiency in international ocean governance is the absence of domestic
regulations and policy ensuring a sustainable management of the oceans together with the
lack of implementation of existing frameworks and obligations in international law.
Improving domestic regulations and implementation ought to be the top priority in any
endeavour to improve international ocean governance.
 The implementation of environmental policy and legislation and other environmental
measures is often quite weak in many developing and transitional countries. This is often
related to envi-ronmental institutions with weak capacity, and which often lack political
support and financial resources. There is a growing consensus underlining that good
governance, in terms of the rule of law, citizen’s rights of access to justice and information,
people’s participation, accountability issues etc. are piller stones for good environmental
performance and sustainable development.
 Awareness of the need for sustainable marine management and protection of marine areas is
increasing. Marine issues have therefore played a clearer role in several international
organiszations and conventions such as IUCN, CBD, UNEA, etc. The fact that most countries
could agree to begin negotiations on an implementing agreement to the UNCLOS for the
protection of marine biodiversity in areas beyond the jurisdiction of any state is further
evidence of the realisation of the importance of long-term sustainable ocean management.
There is already an implementing agreement to UNCLOS field of fisheries (UNFSA), so in
some areas this knowledge has already resulted in agreements being in place.
 At the regional level, a number of instruments (such as regional fisheries management
organisations and arrangements and regional seas conventions) complement the global ones.
The level of implementation of these protocols is insufficient and needs to be improved in
many different areas.
 The absence of total understanding and global agreements must not delay the
implementation of proven techniques and methods to enhance ocean ecosystem resilience
and the effectiveness of governance strategies.
 Financing is a key issue for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and
marine resources for sustainable development. The challenge is not to finance external
relations or provide assistance in the traditional sense, but that the international dimension
must be managed effectively as a national issue, including capacity-building initiatives.
National efforts
For more than 60 years, Sweden has developed national policies and regulations for a more
sustainable use and protection of the environment. The main actions are through a successive
development of the environmental and planning laws in combination with authorities for
environmental permissions, enforcement and control, and nature protection. The planning
authorities have to meet the environmental objectives. Governance is the key issue for Sweden
to reach the sustainable development goals, from national to local administration, management,
regulation, enforcement and control.
Examples
 The Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management (SwAM) was created in 2011 to
increase the integration of relevant policies to achieve a unified and coherent management
of the aquatic resources in rivers, lakes and the sea.
 In Sweden, co-funding is an important tool to provide better ownership of the projects as
well as gearing up grants, and provides more action on a local level.
 In Sweden, efficient and well-designed monitoring is fundamental for the management of
marine resources. Sound scientific knowledge of the oceans, data collection and marine
monitoring systems are crucial for following up on effectiveness of measures and ensuring
that resources are used sustainably.
 In Sweden, stakeholders such as the private sector, researchers and civil society
organisations are involved in preparing and implementing the international regulatory
framework in order to achieve a higher level of compliance.
Regional efforts
The sea and coastal areas are a continuum and do not stop at national borders, neither in terms
of the ecosystems and biological diversity, nor when it comes to fishing and pollution. Sweden
and neighbouring countries, with whom we share our surrounding seas, have for decades
developed joint planning for pollution reduction, marine protection and marine spatial
planning. OSPAR, HELCOM, the Nordic Council of Ministers and the regional fisheries
organisations are important tools for Sweden to build and respond to the global marine
environmental processes.
Examples
 For Sweden, the EU Strategy for the Baltic Sea Region it is an important tool to deepen
cooperation between the countries around the Baltic Sea to meet the common challenges
that countries in the region are facing today. The Baltic Sea Action Plan (BSAP) is one of the
major programmes to improve the marine environment.
 Sweden is engaged in the Baltic Sea Fisheries Forum (BALTFISH), which is a regional body
providing a platform for discussion on important fisheries issues among fisheries
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administrations (including Sweden) and other key stakeholders in developing sustainable
fisheries in the Baltic Sea region.
Sweden has been active in influencing other Member States and the EU to impose the
Common Fisheries Policy in order to develop the collaborative work, i.e. between NEAFC or
ICCAT with OSPAR, to secure the protection and sustainable management of living marine
resources.
The Arctic is an area where Sweden’s work on the protection of marine areas coincides with
the increasing knowledge about the effects on the marine environment from climate change.
In the preparation of positions within the EU for the review conference of the Fish Stocks
Agreement (UNFSA) in 2016, Sweden focused especially on Chapter VII, which covers
Articles 24-26 regarding specific conditions and needs for developing countries.
Sweden is engaged in several international initiatives to strengthen marine research and
innovation, for example the joint programming initiative Healthy and Productive Seas and
Oceans (JPI Oceans), the Joint Baltic Sea research and development programme (BONUS)
and the EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation (Horizon2020).
International efforts
The resources in the seas contribute to global food security and contribute to sustainable
growth. This is important for many poor countries and people who depend on coastal fisheries
and aquaculture. The state of coastal waters and the seas very serious. Ecosystems and thus the
ocean’s ecosystem services are adversely affected by, among other things, climate change, ocean
acidification, mining and bottom trawling, marine litter and pollutants. The ocean’s resilience
and ability to absorb and break down nutrients and toxins, regulating the climate, etc. is
deteriorating. Many fish stocks are decreasing drastically, and there is a risk that some species
will become extinct. Working to combat unsustainable fisheries subsidies and overfishing is
central. Developing and implementing science-based management plans to restore stocks to at
least the levels that can produce maximum sustainable yields is necessary to secure food
resource in developing countries and to contribute to sustainable economic development.
Contributing to the process of sustainable seas requires cooperation across national borders and
coherent action between several policy areas such as environmental, agricultural, fisheries,
nutrition education and foreign policy. Actions need to be taken by each country within their
national jurisdiction. Regulations need to be agreed by the international community for the
open seas beyond national jurisdiction.
Examples
 Sweden works in several global, international and regional organisations in order to, inter
alia, strengthen the protection of marine environments, including in areas beyond national
jurisdiction (BBNJ), and to promote an ecosystem-based approach in marine spatial
planning and reduce marine litter and pollutants.
 Sweden is a well-regarded and respected country in multilateral cooperation. Our longstanding role as a credible donor and important policy actor has resulted in many
opportunities to influence developments that are far greater than our country’s size would
merit. Important programmes include support to Africa, Asia and the Pacific. This includes
actions supported by the World Bank and GEF. An important focus is on increasing
capacity for coastal communities’ involvement in establishing sustainable livelihoods and
building improved resilience, as well as mainstreaming gender and equality perspectives in
supplementary livelihood frameworks. Some particularly interesting examples: Mangroves
for the Future (Southeast Asia), SEAFDEC, research cooperation in Tanzania (and
Mozambique), WIOMSA, several marine regional programmes in Africa to support Nairobi
and Abidjan conventions.
 At present, Sweden is involved in ongoing consultation with the EU regarding support to 15
Pacific ACP states (PACPs). The proposed programme (PEUMP) is based on stronger
regional economic integration and the sustainable management of marine and coastal
natural resources. It is most likely that the PEUMP programme will be launched by EU and
Sweden/Sida at the UN conference on 5-9 June 2017.
 Sweden undertakes bilateral cooperation to develop effective environmental administration
for mutual strategic benefit such as implementation of commitments under international
environmental conventions. Currently focusing on Brazil, Chile, Georgia, India, China,
Palestine, Russia, Serbia, South Africa and Ukraine. The new Common Fisheries Policy
(CFP), including the external dimension, ensure in particular that Union fishing activities
outside Union waters are based on the same principles and standards as those applicable
under Union law in the area of the CFP. This is an important tool to strengthen the
consistency of actions taken in the context of development cooperation. It is always
important for Sweden that distant fishing fleets only fish on the surplus fishery resources
and should be based on fair allocation of fishing quotas.
 An important aspect for Sweden is transparency and public access to decisions, processes,
data and other information, and the participation of interested groups. Sweden has also
been active in the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FITI) – a global multi-stakeholder
initiative that aims to enhance responsible and sustainable fisheries through principles of
good governance.
 In addition, the EU has the potential to provide benefits in several international
negotiations regarding fishing, shipping, research, etc. The Commission has an important
role to play together with the EU, Sweden and other Member States, depending on the
relevant international and regional fora and organisations.
Gaps
 There are areas where legal gaps in the international framework constitute the main
challenge for sustainable management of the oceans. Most evidently, the high seas and the
sea floor beyond the extended continental shelf (collectively often referred to as the area
beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ)) remain a global common resource with limited rules.
The ongoing negotiations for a new implementation agreement under the UNCLOS will be
able to close some important regulatory gaps.
 One legal gap, which should be a priority area in upcoming negotiations, is rules on how
different marine sectors and sectorial organisations should work together in order to
safeguard the sustainable management of the oceans. It is also of high importance to find
modalities for collective arrangements between the regional and global levels such as
between OSPAR and IMO or the International Seabed Authority (ISA). The UNESCO
convention on underwater maritime heritage is another necessary action that is needed by a
number of sectors such as fishing, tourism and exploration of the sea bed. Failure to
address the issue in one sector might make actions taken in other sectors superfluous.
 Local governments should act to reduce stressors wherever possible, including through
promoting the need for inter-sectoral coordination, especially across land-based and waterbased ministries that do not normally work together.
 Ocean management should be based on sound scientific research and knowledge. There is a
need to strengthen international co-operation on ocean research and data exchange.
Increased coordination or integration of research programmes is needed to tackle common
problems on the regional (for example, through the JPI Oceans and BONUS) and global
(for example through the Belmont forum) levels.
 We also see the need to work for better, easier and comparable [open] access to data for
implementation and monitoring of sustainable development and research. Since open data
improves the availability, comparability and transparency of data, which in turn leads to
commitment, innovation, better knowledge and decision-making, it is important that these
various partnerships fully support the implementation of Agenda 2030 in an effective
manner. As for international activities outside the EU, the ocean’s responsibility and the
possible scope of activities is sometimes not as clear as for national activities, including the
EU.
 There is a need to promote and build capacity for better ocean governance, conservation
and restoration of marine ecosystems and biodiversity, and the sustainable use of marine
resources (blue economics).
 There is no global mechanism for facilitating a transfer of marine technology, and most
developing states are inadequately equipped to deal with this and other ocean activities and
resources.
About this document
 This document is one of eight documents that together
constitute preliminary underlying support for the work in
connection with the Ocean Conference.
 The documentation has been drawn up on behalf of the Swedish
Ministry of the Environment. The work has been carried out in
close cooperation between the Swedish Agency for Marine and
Water Management and the Swedish Environmental Protection
Agency.
 Contributions to this work have b een collated from several
national agencies (SEPA, SIDA, SMHI, Swedish Board of
Agriculture, Swedish Chemicals Agency and Swedish Transport
Agency) and educational institutions. The time frame for
coordination has however been limited, so not all contribut ors
have had the chance to give a final approval.
 The documentation focuses on a situation assessment, divided
up into eight areas, and refers to Swedish work to achieve SDG
14. In particular, national and regional initiatives are dealt
with.
 The operational areas of the Swedish Agency for Marine and
Water Management and the Swedish Environmental Protection
Agency have been taken as a starting point, and have been
expanded to include more significant aspects based on existing
contacts and knowledge. The do cumentation does not thus
constitute a complete picture of the Swedish initiatives being
carried out in order to achieve the targets.
 Continued analysis support for the Government Offices of
Sweden ahead of the conference is planned, in dialogue with
involved authorities. The analyses should be developed with
more international, future-oriented aspects, according to
Swedish priorities ahead of the conference. This work will take
place with the support of new contacts and new combined
knowledge. In this, the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water
Management will be supported by the Swedish Institute for the
Marine Environment in connection with contact with Swedish
educational institutions, and by IVL Swedish Environmental
Research Institute for compiling good e xamples from industry.