• deDeutsch
  • enEnglish
Menu
  • English
  • German
  • HOME
  • OCEAN CONSERVATION
    • Plastic Pollution
    • UNDERWATER NOISE POLLUTION
    • DEEP-SEA MINING
  • ANIMAL & SPECIES CONSERVATION
    • Threats
    • Animal Rescue
    • Collisions
  • TAKE ACTION
    • I Care
    • Research Expeditions
    • Petitions
    • Tips
    • Newsletter
  • ABOUT OCEANCARE
    • Milestones
    • People
    • Mission statement
    • International Cooperation
    • Networks and Partners
    • Media
    • Annual Reports
    • Contact
  • DONATIONS
    • Donation
    • Legacy
    • Event Donation
    • Memorial Donation
  • STORIES & NEWS
    • Stories
    • News
    • Press Releases
    • Publications
BBNJ Hochsee Meereswelle
  • News
BBNJDeep-Sea MiningInternational CooperationOcean Conservation

BBNJ 2020 – urgent deadline: Fulfilling the duty of national governments to conserve and sustainably use the biological diversity of the high seas and deep seabed

  • Verfasst von OceanCare
  • September 9, 2019

From 19 to 30 August the nations of the world met at United Nations Headquarters in New York for the intergovernmental conference to negotiate a new international legally-binding agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ IGC) pursuant to UN General Assembly resolution 72/249. This meeting was the third of four sessions of the BBNJ IGC that have taken place during 2018 and 2019, with the final session scheduled for 23 March to 3 April 2020 and the intent of sending the proposed agreement to the UN General Assembly for further negotiations and adoption shortly after that date. OceanCare is advocating for managing underwater noise and other types of transboundary pollution under this new agreement for the high seas and deep seabed.

OceanCare was represented at this pivotal IGC3 meeting by Lora L. Nordtvedt Reeve, Nicolas Entrup, Johannes Mueller and Fabienne McLellan. The organisation has also participated in the four Preparatory Committee sessions (Prep Coms, 2016-2017) in the run up to the BBNJ IGC and has been involved in the BBNJ process since the very beginning in 2004.

Building upon the work that took place at the Prep Coms, the key objective of the OceanCare delegation to the BBNJ IGC sessions is to advocate for the incorporation of measures to address transboundary pollution into the new agreement, with a focus on human-generated underwater noise pollution as a representative case study. Managing underwater noise and its adverse impacts in the ocean has been a longstanding priority for OceanCare in a number of other international fora, including the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS).

The primary legal mechanisms that facilitate the incorporation of these measures into the new agreement are two-fold: 1) The inclusion of a comprehensive and generally accepted definition of the transboundary pollution that significantly adversely impacts biological diversity in ocean areas that lie outside of any nation’s legal jurisdiction, that is, the high seas (water column) and deep seabed (most of the seafloor); and 2) the delineation of the obligations of parties to the new agreement to regulate the sources and impacts of noise and other transboundary pollution through the provisions for environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments, and for area-based management tools, including marine protected areas.

During those two weeks of the third BBNJ IGC, OceanCare spoke with a number of national delegations in efforts to enhance the delegates’ understanding of the urgency of addressing transboundary pollution through the new agreement and to propose and advocate for incorporation of appropriate textual language to define and mandate management of all types of pollution. OceanCare’s position is that under UN General Assembly resolution 72/249, the new agreement can and should provide robust legal authority for assessing all significant adverse impacts to BBNJ due to transboundary pollution, as well as for considering transboundary pollution in the framework for the management and protection of BBNJ, both without regard to the jurisdiction where the pollution originates or the location of the activity that generates the pollution.

In an intervention on the list of relevant categories for are-based management tools, Algeria on behalf of the African Group made an intervention and specifically mentioned anthropogenic ocean noise pollution.

OceanCare will continue its passionate advocacy for managing the sources and impacts of human- generated underwater noise and other types of transboundary pollution in the ocean under the new agreement for the high seas and deep seabed during the upcoming fourth session of the BBNJ IGC in 2020.

Official summary by IISD/ENB

OceanCare Briefing for BBNJ IGC3: Transboundary Pollution

Foto: Alexsey t17/shutterstock.com

Mit 150 Franken

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diam voluptua. At vero eos et accusam et justo duo dolores et ea rebum. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Lorem ipsum
MEHR BEISPIELE
JETZT SPENDEN

MORE STORIES ON THE HIGH SEAS

Loading...
Hochsee BBNJ Meereswelle
Story

UNCLOS BBNJ – High Seas Treaty

Jetzt lesen
maritime law,Biodiversity,BBNJ,High Seas
BBNJUnderwater Noise PollutionInternational CooperationPlastic Pollution
Meereswelle
News

UN High Seas Treaty: Progress but not there yet

Jetzt lesen
BBNJ,High Seas
International CooperationBBNJ
Hochsee BBNJ Meereswellen
Story

Environmental Multilateralism At Work: Final Round of UN High Seas Treaty Negotiations

Jetzt lesen
BBNJ,High Seas
Ocean ConservationBBNJUnderwater Noise PollutionPlastic PollutionMarine Protected Areas
LOAD MORE NEWS
About OceanCare
OceanCare works with expertise and passion for ocean wildlife. Since 2011 with UN special consultative status for marine conservation.
Service
  • Contact
  • Annual reports
  • Media
  • Statutes
  • Legal Disclosure
  • Data Protection
Donations
OceanCare Gerbestrasse 6 CH-8820 Waedenswil (Switzerland) PostFinance, CH-3030 Bern IBAN: CH14 0900 0000 8006 0947 3
Electronic Message in a bottle for you
Subscribe to OceanCare´s e-newsletter and swim along on our news wave.
Follow us
Facebook Instagram Twitter Linkedin Youtube
Subscribe to our newsletter now

    About OceanCare
    OceanCare has been committed to marine wildlife protection since 1989.

    The organisation holds Special Consultative Status on marine issues with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.
    Service
    • Contact
    • Annual reports
    • Media
    • Statutes
    • Legal Disclosure
    • Data Protection
    Donations

    OceanCare
    Gerbestrasse 6
    CH-8820 Waedenswil (Switzerland)

    Credit Suisse, CH-8810 Horgen
    IBAN: CH83 0483 5040 8744 0000 0
    BIC: CRESCHZZ80A

    Electronic Message in a bottle

    Subscribe to OceanCare’s e-newsletter and swim along on our news wave.

    Follow us
    Facebook Instagram Twitter Linkedin Youtube
    Subscribe to our newsletter now