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13th September 2022

Regional Seas Weekly News
A compilation of news, events, publications from the Regional Seas Programme and other sources.

FROM THE REGIONAL SEAS CONVENTIONS AND ACTION PLANS (RSCAPs)

The Mediterranean is making strides in tackling air pollution from ships

The world marks the International Day of Clean Air for blue skies on 7 September. This year in the Mediterranean we have good reason to celebrate. The 78th session of the Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC 78) of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which convened on 6-10 June 2022, approved the designation of the Mediterranean Sea Emission Control Area for Sulphur Oxides and Particulate Matter (Med SOx ECA). The formal designation of the Med SOx ECA will be put forward for adoption at the 79th session of the IMO’s MEPC due to take place on 12-16 December 2022.

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Curtain Falls On Third SPREP Executive Board Meeting

The second and final day of the Third Executive Board Meeting of the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) saw the Third Executive Board members who represent the 21 Pacific island Member countries and territories applaud the Secretariat on the work that had been completed over the past year, and commit to support its ongoing efforts to realize a resilient Pacific environment that sustains Pacific livelihoods and natural heritage in harmony with Pacific cultures. 
Related links
Third SPREP Executive Board Meeting Opens With Call To Strengthen Pacific’s Resilience
Opening Remarks: Hon. Fiame Naomi Mata’afa Prime Minister And Minister Of Foreign Affairs And Trade, 3rd SPREP Executive Board Meeting, 8 September 2022, 12pm Samoa Time
Tonga Chairs 3rd SPREP Executive Board Meeting, Encourages Active Engagement From Members

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Pacific Delegates Enhance Understanding Of Waste Management Facilities Operation

After an early working breakfast with representatives from the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, the Sustainable Financing for Waste Management Study Tour participants bid farewell to Canberra. It was a spectacular drive through the rolling plains of New South Wales, the bright yellow camphor fields bursting in the morning light, and the team eventually arrived at the Albury Waste Management Centre, one of Australia’s most advanced waste disposal facilities.

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Building Collective Leadership for the Development of a Western Indian Ocean Governance Strategy

Together with the Nairobi Convention Secretariat, the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA) and GIZ, the Collective Leadership Institute (CLI) is part of a Support Team helping to build collective leadership capacity for a participatory Regional Ocean Governance Strategy (ROGS) development process. Several meetings convening and engaging a diverse and talented multi-stakeholder ROGS Task Force from across the region, have led us to our first Leading Collectively Workshop coming up on 7-8 and 14-15 September! The purpose of this workshop....

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National Stakeholder Consultation Workshop of Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for south Asia ‘PLEASE Project’ - Dhaka, Bangladesh

SACEP and Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change of Government of Bangladesh jointly organised a National Stakeholder Consultation Workshop of Plastic Free Rivers and Seas for south Asia ‘PLEASE Project’. Hon'ble Minister Mr. Md. Shahab Uddin, M.P, Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change was present as chief guest, Ms. Habibun Nahar, M.P Honorable Deputy Minister of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change was present as a special guest, Dr Masumur Rahman, Director General of South Asia Cooperative Environment Programme (SACEP) and Dr Dandan Chen, Acting Country Director of World Bank (WB) was present as Guest of Honour and Dr Farhina Ahmed, Secretary, Ministry of Environment Forests and Climate Change presided over the day long workshop.

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Key outcomes of the UN Ocean Conference 2022 side event: Delivering Global Commitments in the Baltic Sea Region

The lively panel discussion of the side event, Delivering global commitments in the Baltic Sea Region, raised particular praise during the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, held from 27 June to 1 July 2022. The key outcome summary of the side event has now been published. The participants of the side event, organized by the Baltic Sea countries and partner organizations, discussed the role of effective regional marine governance in achieving SDG 14 and presenting HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan as a best-practice example.

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Call EXTENDED For Side Events In The Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion At COP27

Strong Pacific interest in the Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion at the Twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP27) in November has seen an extension in the deadline for side event submissions to 17 September 2022. In the spirit of Pacific Partnership, Aotearoa, New Zealand with regional agencies is hosting a Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion for which a significant number of Pacific focused side events will be showcased. This will be similar to the “Pacific and Koronivia Pavilion” at COP24 in Katowice, Poland in 2018 and the “Moana Blue Pacific Pavilion” at COP25 in Madrid, Spain in 2019.  

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Nairobi Convention Weekly Marine and Coastal News Round-up

The Nairobi Convention News Round up is a compilation of recent marine and coastal environment news from the Western Indian Ocean region and around the World. 

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IFOMC 6 to 10 March

From 6 to 10 March 2023, the CCAMLR Secretariat will be supporting the 10th International Fisheries Observer and Monitoring Conference (IFOMC), the premier international conference series for promoting effective fishery monitoring programs throughout the world. The Secretariat will host a number of events during the program, and encourages Members and interested parties to register for the conference, and present novel research and information on a variety of themes covering fisheries observer health and safety and training programs, and the use of monitoring program data to support sustainable resource management. Abstract submissions for presentations close on 31 October 2022. For more information please visit: www.ifomc.aq.  

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UPCOMING/ONGOING EVENTS

The 7th International Marine Debris Conference (7IMDC), which will take place from 18-23 September 2022 in Busan, Republic of Korea.  

2nd part of the COBSEA IGM in Hanoi, Vietnam on 12 -13 October 2022

The evaluation of the implementation of COBSEA's Strategic Directions 2018-2022 and elements for a new (draft) Strategic Direction 2023-2027 will be presented during the COBSEA Intergovernmental Meeting 25 Part two (IGM 25.2)

The first session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC1) to develop an Internationally legally binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the marine environment, will take place in Punta del Este from 28 November to 2 December 2022.

The multi-stakeholder forum is planned to take place for the full day on 26 November, and regional consultations and bureau meeting to be held on 27 November. Following the practice of the ad hoc open-ended expert group (OEWG) meeting held in Dakar from 30 May to 1 June, the INC will be a hybrid meeting.

UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) - 7 - 19 December , 2022 in Montreal, Canada

LATEST COASTAL & MARINE NEWS

Youth call for action on plastic pollution in new UN video series

The world is swimming in plastic. Every year, humanity produces some 400 million tonnes of this material, only about 9 per cent of which will ultimately be recycled. Much of the rest ends up in the environment, where it does everything from polluting soil to poisoning fish, according to research from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).Given that plastic can take up to a thousand years to decompose, young people will bear the weight of this problem. But they can also be part of the solution, say experts. By engaging youth and raising awareness about the challenge, campaigners can bring about a generational shift in the way humanity consumes and disposes of plastics. 
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Fish farming goes green in Palau

Fly over the crystal blue waters of the South Pacific archipelago of Palau, and in many places you may notice something unusual: a total lack of fishing boats.In 2015, Palau designated 193,000 square miles of its maritime territory a protected reserve, where no fishing can take place.While that has helped protect marine life, it has created a challenge. How can the country ensure its focus on conservation does not come at the expense of job creation and economic growth?Palau, with support from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), is examining one possible solution: aquaculture.. Read More>>

 

The path of migratory birds connects us all

Patricia Zurita is CEO of BirdLife International, a leading conservation organization that works with 115 national partner organizations and 13 million members to protect birds and their habitats worldwide. In an interview marking BirdLife’s 100th anniversary, she shared her vision for how the world can create a healthy environment for healthy societies in the coming century. .Read More >>

Invasive species are changing the nature of the Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is being invaded by hundreds of fish, jellyfish, prawns and other marine species from outside the region. More than 1 000 non-indigenous species have been identified in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. Over half have established permanent populations and are spreading, causing concern about the threat they pose to marine ecosystems and local fishing communities..Read More>>

Sustainable fishing: Endorsement of transshipment guidelines marks a key move against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing

 A key intergovernmental forum on fisheries and aquaculture has endorsed new voluntary guidelines governing the transfer of fish between ships, in a move aimed at curbing the Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing that threatens the sustainability of global stocks. The Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment, developed by... Read More>>

Biodiversity and Oceans: Road to Sharm El-Sheikh

SPEECH DELIVERED BY: Inger Andersen
EVENT: Environment and Development Forum 2022: The Road to Sharm El-Sheikh
LOCATION: Cairo

The blue vastness of the ocean makes our land-based lives possible. The ocean dominates the hydrological cycle. Phytoplankton produce at least half of the planet’s oxygen. Over three billion people rely on the ocean for their livelihoods. The Blue Economy contributes about USD 2.3 trillion per year to the global economy. We are causing untold harm to this incredible world through the triple planetary crisis: the crisis of climate change, the crisis of nature and biodiversity loss, the crisis of pollution and waste...Read More>>

Six climate tipping points are likely to occur if we breach 1.5°C goal

Die-off of coral reefs, collapsing ice sheets and thawing permafrost are among the runaway processes that are likely to kick in sooner than anticipated, according to a new assessment. The collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet and the abrupt thawing of permafrost are among six tipping points in Earth’s climate that are now likely to be reached if global warming exceeds 1.5°C, the goal set by the Paris Agreement in 2015...Read More>>

Scientists built a real-time sperm whale detection system to reduce vessel strikes

A deep-water acoustic observatory for real-time detection and localization of vocalizing sperm whales was developed, deployed and operated for two 3-month periods in summer 2020 and 2021, off south-west Crete in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, in the framework of the SAvEWhales project. Regular clicks, pulsed sounds produced by the diving animals, were detected and localized using a large-aperture array of three hydrophones suspended from surface buoys at depths of about 100 m and 1-2 km apart.Read More>>

Dialogues with Industry: How can industry, science and government together advance ocean observing for 2030?

We are delighted to announce the start of Dialogues with Industry - a forum for compact and meaningful dialogue with new and established companies, academia and government. The dialogue series aims to highlight opportunities for the public and private sectors to work in partnership towards achieving a mature, vibrant ocean observing enterprise that will help accelerate the development of a thriving blue economy.. Read More>>

Major shipping company shifts lanes to help save Sri Lankan blue whales

The world’s largest shipping and logistics conglomerate, MSC Group, is adjusting its shipping route south of Sri Lanka to reduce collision risk with endangered blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) after environmental NGOs OceanCare and IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare) approached MSC Group to help protect these whales. The decision means that transiting MSC container ships will now avoid an area where the majority of the northern Indian Ocean blue whale population is known to congregate.. Read More>>

US lobster put on ‘red list’ to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales

Lobster nets and pots have become such a threat to the survival of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales that the crustaceans have been “red-listed” as seafood to avoid by a major fish sustainability guide. Fewer than 340 of these whales exist today, including only 80 breeding females. The population is estimated to have dwindled by 28% over the past decade..Read More>>

 

IN FOCUS

Regional Seas Strategic Directions 2022-2025

The objective of the Regional Seas Strategic Directions 2022-2025 is to achieve a diverse, resilient and pollution-free ocean that supports equitable sustainable livelihoods. This includes climate stability, living in harmony with nature, ocean sustainability and operating within planetary boundaries.
To achieve this objective, three strategic goals are outlined, taking into account current and emerging objectives at the international and regional level.
I. Secure diverse, resilient, and productive marine and coastal ecosystems.
II. Support assessment, information and knowledge management at all levels to strengthen science-policy dialogue on marine and coastal issues and their interactions.
III. Increase reach and mainstreaming of the Regional Seas Programme, including advocacy, political support and dialogue for furthering action.

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LATEST PUBLICATIONS, STUDIES & RESEARCH ARTICLES

Study: The Southern Ocean Absorbs More Heat Than Any Other

~ Artificial ocean cooling to weaken hurricanes is futile, study finds

~ A warm intrusion in the Arctic causes extreme pollution levels

Rising seas fueled by climate change to swamp $34B in US real estate in just 30 years, analysis finds

New kit enables study of microplastics in the ocean

Industrialised fishing nations largely contribute to floating plastic pollution in the North Pacific subtropical gyre

The UNEP Regional Seas Programme (RSP) is UNEP’s most important regional mechanism for conservation of the marine and coastal environment since its establishment in 1974. The Programme aims to address the accelerating degradation of the world’s oceans and coastal areas through a shared approach, by engaging neighbouring countries in comprehensive and specific actions to protect their shared and connected ocean. It is an action-oriented programme that brings together a broad range of stakeholders including governments, scientific communities, intergovernmental organisations, non-governmental organisations, private sector and civil societies, to address ocean-related issues. Today, 146 countries participate in 18 Regional Seas programmes, and most of the programmes have adopted a regional action plan underpinned by a legal framework in the form of a regional convention and associated protocols on specific issues. The Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans outline coordinated actions to address specific environmental concerns. 
If you have any news, events, announcements and publications related to coastal and marine issues that you would like to be included in the weekly newsletter, send us an email on: regionalseas@un.org
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The news articles are compiled by the Regional Seas team. All articles are reproduced as reported by the media. Their inclusion does not mean that UNEP endorses the views they reflect or confirms the information they contain.






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