Progress report for
Achievement at a glance
The members of UN-Oceans hosted side events at a number of international meetings during 2018, at which participants were informed of current ocean-related regulatory and policy frameworks as well as relevant activities of UN-Oceans members in support of implementation. These included:
<br> Relevant regulatory and policy frameworks governing the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) and the activities of UN-Oceans members, hosted by UN-Oceans at the BBNJ Intergovernmental Conference in New York on 12 September 2018;
<br> United Nations Support and Coordination for Achieving Global Goals for Marine Biodiversity: Aichi Biodiversity Targets and Beyond, hosted by UN-Oceans at the 14th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, on 22 November 2018;
<br> How can implementation of international law and policy frameworks contribute to a sustainable ocean-based economy, hosted by UN-Oceans at the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference in Nairobi, Kenya, on 26 November 2018; and
<br> Optimising the integration of ocean-related issues in Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans for the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 14, hosted by UN-Oceans at the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Katowice, Poland, on 7 December 2018.
Challenges faced in implementation
Coordinating the availability of representatives of all relevant IGOs for presentations;
<br> securing side events spots at some relevant intergovernmental meetings;
<br> budgetary constraints linked to travel; and
<br> ensuring gender balance on panels.
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Beneficiaries
Representatives of Government agencies and other stakeholders, including international organizations; regional fisheries management, organizations and arrangements; regional seas organizations; civil society; academic and science community; and industry participating in relevant side events are the principal beneficiaries of UN-Oceans voluntary commitment. In hosting such side events, members of UN-Oceans are working to increase the capacity of participants to fully implement SDG 14 and other ocean-related goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda in an integrated manner. The UN-Oceans commitment aims at raising awareness not only of relevant regulatory and policy instruments but also of the activities of UN-Oceans participating members which would inform about the available capacity-building programmes and other fellowships to increase the capacity of States to implement relevant instruments and commitments more effectively and fully.
Actions
Fine-tuning format to allow for more interactive discussions among various stakeholders.
