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Regional Seas Weekly News
A compilation of news, events, publications from the Regional Seas Programme and other sources.
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FROM THE REGIONAL SEAS CONVENTIONS AND ACTION PLANS (RSCAPs)
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The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean has extended the application deadline for the 2022 edition of its “Young Caribbean Water Entrepreneurs Shark Tank Competition” to 31st August 2022. For the first time in the competition, there will be two (2) seed funding awards of US$4,000 each. Category 2, on Integrated Water and Wastewater Management (IWWM), is financed by our Global Environment Facility-funded CReW+ project.
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The Global Water Partnership-Caribbean is offering scholarships to build and strengthen capacity in the area of Integrated Water and Wastewater Management (IWWM) in the Caribbean region. The scholarships are financed by our Global Environment Facility-funded CReW+ project. Eligible candidates are invited to apply for scholarships up to a maximum of US$500, to fund an IWWM-related course of their choice.
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The "Caspian-2022” exercise, supporting the implementation of the Aktau Protocol to the Tehran Convention and organized by the Russian Federation, was held on August 10, 2022 in the northern part of the Caspian Sea. One of the objectives of the exercise was to practice the elimination of the consequences of a marine accident and an oil spill.
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Natural Solutions (NENS) has been used safely and successfully in the Pacific against weeds for more than a century. This is when natural enemies are used to target invasive weeds. An example of this is, in 2021 scientists successfully released beetles from Ghana as a natural enemy to control the African tulip tree (Spathodea campanulata) in Rarotonga. On Wednesday, 17 August 2022, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) hosted a national workshop to prioritise invasive weeds that can be targeted by natural enemies to help increase climate resilience in Samoa.
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Understanding the Pacific’s shared position on priorities in addressing plastic pollution was at the core of the second day of discussions at the Pacific Regional Preparatory Meeting for the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC).
The representatives of Pacific island member governments, technical experts, non-governmental organisations and academia spent the day discussing key issues which will be negotiated at the first INC in Uruguay in November, to ascertain the region’s priorities.
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~ Nature of the post: Job open to permanent and contractual staff
~ Field / Job title: Environment – Coastal/Marine and Aquatic Environment Management Officer
~ Status of the post: Vacant from 08/12/2022
~ The Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas and Species of the Caribbean (SPAWRAC) is a technical centre dedicated to supporting the United Nations Environment Programme - Caribbean Environment Programme (UNEP-CEP) and Caribbean countries and territories in implementing commitments on biodiversity protection.
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On 15 August 2022, Dr. Pornsri Suthanaruk, Deputy Director-General Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, along with other DMCR officials welcomed Mr. Mahesh Pradhan, the new COBSEA Coordinator and COBSEA team in Bangkok, Ms Natalie Harms and Ms Krittika Kleesuwan. As host country for COBSEA, Thailand renewed their pledge for continued support and engagement in COBSEA’s activities. DMCR serves as Thailand’s National focal point to COBSEA, and reconfirmed their participation in the upcoming Intergovernmental Meeting of the Coordinating Body on the Seas of East Asia (COBSEA IGM25.2), which is scheduled to be held in Hanoi, Viet Nam during 12-13 October 2022.
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3rd SPREP Executive Board Meeting - 8-9 September, Samoa
The Executive Board of SPREP is comprised of the past, present and future Chairs of the SPREP Meeting, and representatives of SPREP’s Melanesian, Metropolitan, Micronesian, Polynesian and French speaking members.
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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)
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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.
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UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) - 7 - 19 December , 2022 in Montreal, Canada
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LATEST COASTAL & MARINE NEWS
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The Intergovernmental Conference to draft a new maritime biodiversity treaty continued its fifth session today, with the facilitators of informal discussions on various elements updating on progress made over the last two days.
The representative of Belize updated on discussions related to marine genetic resources, including questions on the sharing of benefits.....
The representative of Canada, updating on “Part III”, area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, said delegates shared views on the difference between an area-based management tool and a marine protected area, and whether these terms were appropriately captured in article 1, “use of terms”.......
The representative of the Netherlands, updating on environmental impact assessments, said delegations discussed articles 21bis and 22, and started their consideration of article 23, with paragraph 5. .....
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While vacationers might enjoy the Mediterranean Sea's summer warmth, climate scientists are warning of dire consequences for its marine life as it burns up in a series of severe heat waves. From Barcelona to Tel Aviv, scientists say they are witnessing exceptional temperature hikes ranging from 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 Fahrenheit) to 5 degrees Celsius (9 Fahrenheit) above the norm for this time of year. Water temperatures have regularly exceeded 30 C (86 F) on some days. Extreme heat in Europe and other countries around the Mediterranean has grabbed headlines this summer, but the rising sea temperature is largely out of sight and out of mind. Read More>>
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The North Atlantic right whale is one of the world’s most endangered large whale species; the latest preliminary estimate suggests there are fewer than 350 remaining. The primary threats to right whales are human related, and they include entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes. A new proposed rule aims to reduce vessel strikes and add protections to endangered North Atlantic right whales. The proposed changes would....Read More >>.
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An important hurdle has been cleared in the race to add a new protocol to end wildlife trafficking to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, and efforts should now be redoubled to build upon State support for this critical initiative, including by WCEL members. In May 2022, the United Nations Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) resoundingly adopted a landmark resolution that, inter alia, formally invites States to provide their views on “possible responses, including the potential of an additional protocol to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), to address any gaps that may exist in the current international legal framework to prevent and combat illicit trafficking in wildlife”. By doing so, the CCPCJ has opened the door towards development of a fourth UNTOC protocol that would follow the other three in seeking to tackle the illegaility inherent in cross-border trafficking through enhanced international cooperation...Read More>>
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Five years have passed since the Minamata Convention on Mercury entered into force on 16 August 2017. Although the convention itself is young, it builds on a long history of scientific efforts to understand and manage the risk of mercury, a toxic substance. Mercury’s toxicity has long been known. It devastated the fishing villages in Minamata Bay, Japan, in the middle of the 20th century. Governments around the world reacted with domestic regulations on mercury pollution. In 1990, researchers organized the first meeting of the International Conference on Mercury as a Global Pollutant (ICMGP). ICMGP has organized 15 meetings and has published synthesis papers as a scientific input to policy making.
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The Reef-World Foundation released a new report summarising the results from an online survey conducted from April to June 2022, which received over 2,400 responses from various demographics. The study reveals new travel trends and how important sustainability is regarded in this new era of tourism as the industry recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic..Read More>>
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A new interactive mapping tool provides predictions of coastal flooding in West Maui under various scenarios of sea-level rise and a range of wave events for community members, property owners, businesses, as well as state and county officials. The West Maui Wave-Driven Flooding With Sea Level Rise tool was created by researchers at the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) based at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa...Read More>>
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Images of damaged coastlines, oily sheens, containment booms and endangered wildlife are part of every offshore oil spill. And while a response team arrives and the clean up gets underway, UBC Okanagan researchers are now exploring how to effectively handle the waste created from that spill.As part of a Multi-Partner Research Initiative sponsored by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, UBCO engineers are conducting new research to help the oil spill response industry and its regulators enhance response preparedness and efficiency in Canadian waters. Read More>>
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Macquarie Island, a Unesco world heritage site, was being eaten alive until an ambitious eradication programme restored it. On a world map, Macquarie Island is a speck in the Southern Ocean, but for ecologists it is a beacon, illuminating a future for grand-scale environmental recovery projects.Melissa Houghton first set foot on the 34km-long green streak as a dog handler in late 2011. Rabbits, cats, rats and mice had been introduced by sealers in the 1800s and were wreaking havoc on the world heritage site. At their peak, there were approximately 300,000 European rabbits and an untold number of black rats and house mice. During their trip, Houghton and a labrador named Wags found what would prove to be the last vertebrate pests left on the island: an adult rabbit and her young. In 2014, Macquarie was declared pest free, the largest island to successfully eliminate rabbits to date. Read More>>
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The world’s oceans are absorbing more than 90% of the excess heat and energy generated by rising greenhouse gas emissions. But, as the oceans keep warming, rising sea temperatures generate unprecedented cascading effects that include the melting of polar ice, rising seas, marine heatwaves and ocean acidification.This in turn has profound impacts on marine biodiversity and the lives and livelihoods of coastal communities, especially in island nations such as New Zealand.
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Background: RSSD Roles and Responsibilities
The RSSD 2022-2025 aims to be very specific on the different roles, functions and mandates of the entities involved in its follow up and implementation:
• Eighteen RSCAPs, each with its own autonomous governing body consisting of the countries/Parties in the region, decision-making processes, work plans and budgets to which the Parties/countries contribute to through assessed or voluntary contributions.
• For seven of these eighteen RSCAPs, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is designated as the secretariat, six being administered through the Ecosystems Division and one through UNEP’s Europe Office.
• UNEP provides overall coordination and facilitation of work, including convening the Global Annual Meetings of Regional Seas and Action Plans to facilitate dialogue between RSCAPs, endeavoring to harmonize and strengthen regional approaches thus helping to deliver as one.
• The UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) with its universal membership is uniquely positioned to provide overarching global policy guidance, helping to bring together work of RSCAPs, including facilitating partnering with relevant intergovernmental organizations and other stakeholders.
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LATEST PUBLICATIONS, STUDIES & RESEARCH ARTICLES
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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.
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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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