ENB @ UN Ad hoc Working Group on marine biological diversity, 13-17 February, 2006, UN Headquarters, New York

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Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction

13-17 February 2006 | UN Headquarters, New York

Highlights from Friday, 17 February 2006

On Friday, 17 February, the Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group of the General Assembly to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction (the Working Group) completed its work with discussions based on a draft Co-Chairs' summary of trends, circulated on Thursday evening. The Co-Chairs' summary of trends is to be read in conjunction with the summary of discussions of the Working Group, which will be circulated after the end of the meeting. Both summaries will be transmitted, as an addendum to the report of the Secretary-General on oceans and the law of the sea, to the 61st session of the General Assembly.

Co-Chairs Juan Manuel Gomez-Robledo and Philip Burgess, and Alice Hicuburundi, Burundi

Gerard Hafner, Austria, speaking for the EU (left), presented reflections on the document, stressing: the need to advance from a sectoral to an integrated approach; that further studies are not needed to verify the existing governance gap prior to moving forward on the establishment of a new implementation agreement; that multipurpose MPAs are the key tool to manage biodiversity and vital for establishing a global representative network of MPAs before 2012; and, that the list of specific studies should not require to be completed before any action is taken. Sivuyile Mqungo, South Africa, speaking for the G-77/China (right), noted that a number of issues should have been reflected differently, and taking into account that the document was not to be negotiated, he acknowledged it as part of a package and a step in the right direction.

Allieu Kanu, Sierra Leone (left), said the section of the Co-Chairs' summary of trends on the rights of coastal States on the continental shelf reflects the provisions of UNCLOS. Pok-Keun Yuh, Republic of Korea (right), said the term “destructive fishing practices” should be used only to describe bottom trawling. He also asked the Co-Chairs to reflect his country's opposition to the establishment of MPAs in the high seas.

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