Highlights and images for 20 June 2018

Summary

The nineteenth meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (ICP-19) resumed on Wednesday, 20 June 2018, at UN Headquarters in New York. In morning and afternoon sessions, panel discussions continued to focus on cooperation and coordination in addressing anthropogenic underwater noise.

In the morning session, panelists presented information on collaborative approaches to underwater noise, including on:

EU regional strategies, including its Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), which has “human-induced marine underwater noise” as part of a pollution definition;
The Impulsive Noise Registry by the Commission on the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR);
Addressing anthropogenic underwater noise through other relevant processes in the absence of specific national legislation;
A collaborative approach to assess vessel-noise impacts on Commerson’s dolphins in the Argentine Sea; and
A voluntary vessel slowdown trial in Canada within the endangered southern resident killer whale feeding area.

In the afternoon session, key points from presentations included:

A whale stranding event in Madagascar that helped identify gaps in knowledge, expertise, and legislation to investigate, evaluate or prevent noise pollution;
The Green Marine independent certification program with 124 participating countries that establishes performance indicators;
A review of key events and milestones for addressing ocean noise;
The role of industry in managing the impacts of underwater noise on marine life; and
The application of underwater sound for fish stock surveys.

During the lunch break, a side event, “Sonic Sea: Film screening and Q&A” was hosted by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily digital coverage from the 19th Meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea. In addition IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meeting, which is available in HTML and PDF.

Photos by IISD/ENB | Diego Noguera
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