Pew Charitable Trusts, Ocean Unite, the Ecology Action Center and Pretoma
Feb 15-16, 2017
UN SDG Conference Prep Meeting
Intervention on Outcome Text Declaration
Thank you Mr. Co-Facilitator. This intervention is on behalf of the Pew Charitable Trusts, Ocean Unite, the Ecology Action Center and Pretoma.
The outcome declaration will be an opportunity for States to reaffirm the concrete commitments made in SDG14, highlight where enhanced efforts are necessary to meet the goals, and identify areas where action may be needed beyond the agreed targets.
There are 3 specific areas where current efforts could be enhanced through inclusion in the outcome declaration.
o The first is related to Target 14.5, which calls for conserving at least 10 percent of coastal and marine areas by 2020.
Since adoption of this target, new science supports establishing at least 30% of the ocean in highly protected MPAs.
In Addition, in 2016, the IUCN adopted a resolution to increase the portion of the ocean that is highly protected to at least 30 percent to help effectively conserve biodiversity.
We encourage you to include text in the outcome document that emphasizes the science supporting large-scale marine reserves, and recognizes the need to achieve and go beyond the commitment in 14.5 to protect 10% of the oceans by 2020.
o The second item that should be included in the outcome declaration is a statement of support for advancing the process to create a new implementing agreement under UNCLOS for the conservation and sustainable use of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
A new agreement under UNCLOS is needed to address governance gaps and facilitate the establishment of MPAs, including fully protected marine reserves, in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
For these reasons, we encourage you to include text in the outcome document that reaffirms states’ commitment to advance the work of the Preparatory Committee to make recommendations to the general assembly on the elements of the draft text and calls on the UNGA to decide to convene an intergovernmental conference that will take place in 2018 to finalize the text of the agreement;
o The final topic we’d like to suggest for inclusion in the outcome document is related to sustainable fisheries.
In 2016, the Resumed Review Conference for the UN Fish Stocks Agreement found many deficiencies by regional fisheries management organizations in managing highly migratory fish species.
There are modern fisheries management tools such as ecosystem based fisheries management, electronic monitoring, target and limit reference points, and harvest strategies that can be used to help end overfishing by 2020 in line with Target 14.4.
We encourage you to include text in the outcome document that:
o Calls upon fisheries management organizations to adopt modern tools to manage highly migratory species, such as tunas, within science-based limits and to ensure the verifiability and legality of catches.
UN SDG Conference Prep Meeting
Intervention on Outcome Text Declaration
Thank you Mr. Co-Facilitator. This intervention is on behalf of the Pew Charitable Trusts, Ocean Unite, the Ecology Action Center and Pretoma.
The outcome declaration will be an opportunity for States to reaffirm the concrete commitments made in SDG14, highlight where enhanced efforts are necessary to meet the goals, and identify areas where action may be needed beyond the agreed targets.
There are 3 specific areas where current efforts could be enhanced through inclusion in the outcome declaration.
o The first is related to Target 14.5, which calls for conserving at least 10 percent of coastal and marine areas by 2020.
Since adoption of this target, new science supports establishing at least 30% of the ocean in highly protected MPAs.
In Addition, in 2016, the IUCN adopted a resolution to increase the portion of the ocean that is highly protected to at least 30 percent to help effectively conserve biodiversity.
We encourage you to include text in the outcome document that emphasizes the science supporting large-scale marine reserves, and recognizes the need to achieve and go beyond the commitment in 14.5 to protect 10% of the oceans by 2020.
o The second item that should be included in the outcome declaration is a statement of support for advancing the process to create a new implementing agreement under UNCLOS for the conservation and sustainable use of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
A new agreement under UNCLOS is needed to address governance gaps and facilitate the establishment of MPAs, including fully protected marine reserves, in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
For these reasons, we encourage you to include text in the outcome document that reaffirms states’ commitment to advance the work of the Preparatory Committee to make recommendations to the general assembly on the elements of the draft text and calls on the UNGA to decide to convene an intergovernmental conference that will take place in 2018 to finalize the text of the agreement;
o The final topic we’d like to suggest for inclusion in the outcome document is related to sustainable fisheries.
In 2016, the Resumed Review Conference for the UN Fish Stocks Agreement found many deficiencies by regional fisheries management organizations in managing highly migratory fish species.
There are modern fisheries management tools such as ecosystem based fisheries management, electronic monitoring, target and limit reference points, and harvest strategies that can be used to help end overfishing by 2020 in line with Target 14.4.
We encourage you to include text in the outcome document that:
o Calls upon fisheries management organizations to adopt modern tools to manage highly migratory species, such as tunas, within science-based limits and to ensure the verifiability and legality of catches.