African Group

  Delegates from Canada, Norway, Australia, and Japan in discussion On Friday, 14 September, the plenary of the first session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) heard reports from Informal Working Groups on: capacity building and technology transfer (CB&TT); area-based management tools (ABMTs); environmental impact assessments (EIAs); and marine genetic resources (MGRs), including questions on benefit-sharing. Plenary also discussed the way forward. For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily reports and daily web coverage from BBNJ IGC 1. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meeting.   Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: Miguel de Serpa Soares, Secretary-General of the IGC, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel; IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore; and Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS CB&TT Informal Working Group Facilitator Olai Uludong, Palau ABMTs Informal Working Group Facilitator Alice Revell, New Zealand MGRs Informal Working Group Facilitator Janine Coye-Felson, Belize EIAs Informal Working Group Facilitator René Lefeber, the Netherlands Emad Morcos Mattar, Egypt, on behalf of the G-77/China Shara Duncan, Costa Rica Andreas Papaconstantinou, EU Abbas Bagherpour, Iran Francisco González, Colombia Martin Zvachula, Federated States of Micronesia Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group L-R: Kimo Goree, IISD Reporting Services, and Christian Prip, Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI), Norway Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation Ismail Raushan Zahir, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland Evan Bloom,US Liliana Matos, Venezuela Ma Xinmin, China View of the IGC plenary Peggy Kalas, High Seas Alliance Lydia Slobodian, IUCN Hiroko Muraki Gottlieb, International Council of Environmental Law Jay Francis Alcantara, the Philippines Matilda Bartley, Pacific Island Forum Dekalega Fintakpa Lamega, Togo Delegates from Africa with IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore Delegates from Chile Delegates from the European region Delegates from the CARICOM Delegates from the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and the Netherlands Delegates from the Netherlands  

  Delegates from Sri Lanka and Spain On Thursday, 13 September 2018, at the first session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), the informal working group on marine genetic resources (MGRs) continued to exchange views on: •    access and benefit-sharing (ABS); •    monitoring; and •    definitions and principles. The informal working group on area-based management tools (ABMTs) completed its work, and was followed by a short plenary. For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily reports and daily web coverage from BBNJ IGC 1. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meeting.   Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: MGRs Informal Working Group Facilitator Janine Coye-Felson, Belize; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Humberto Gómez, Ecuador Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, International Seabed Authority Ola Zahran, World Intellectual Property Organization Diedre Mills, Jamaica Ma Xinmin, China Jihyun Lee, Convention on Biological Diversity Hiroko Muraki Gottlieb, International Council of Environmental Law Blaise Kuemlangan, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN Susana Salvador, OSPAR Commission Peter Hamilton Flewwelling, North Pacific Fisheries Commission Peni Suveinakama, Pacific Island Forum Secretariat L-R: Konrad Marciniak and Anca Leroy, EU Kent Bressie, International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) Kristina Gjerde, IUCN Jessica Battle, WWF Liz Karan, The Pew Charitable Trusts Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Takehiro Nakamura, UNEP View of the Informal Working Group on ABMTs ABMTs Informal Working Group Facilitator Alice Revell, New Zealand Alejandro Alday, Mexico Simon Nemtzov, Israel Shara Duncan, Costa Rica Miguel de Serpa Soares, Secretary-General of the IGC, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore Delegates from China Delegates from Australia L-R: ICPC side-event panelists: Robert Wargo; Nigel Irvine; Alice de Juvigny; Graham Evans; Kent Bressie; and Ron Rapp  

  L-R: IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore, in discussion with Ma Xinmin, China On Wednesday, 12 September, during the first session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), the informal working group on marine genetic resources (MGRs) continued to exchange views on: •    scope, including digital sequence information; •    access; •    benefit-sharing, including modalities and beneficiaries; and •    intellectual property rights. For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily reports and daily web coverage from BBNJ IGC 1. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meeting.   Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Sora Lokita, Indonesia Ana Villatta, El Salvador Angel Horna, Peru Amavaz Ghobadi Largroudi, Iran Thembile Joyini, South Africa Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Konrad Marciniak, EU Hiroko Muraki Gottlieb, International Council of Environmental Law Mohammed Atlassi, Morocco Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh, on behalf of the Least Developed Countries L-R: Miguel de Serpa Soares, Secretary-General of the IGC, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel; MGRs Informal Working Group Facilitator Janine Coye-Felson, Belize; and Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS Miguel de Serpa Soares, Secretary-General of the IGC, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel MGRs Informal Working Group Facilitator Janine Coye-Felson, Belize Yolannie Cerrato, Honduras Renato Leonardi, Brazil Yagya Raj Poudyal, Nepal Carlos Mata, Uruguay View of the Informal Working Group on MGRs in session Tetsuya Yoshimoto, Japan Alain Tellier, Canada Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Demosthenes Escoto, the Philippines L-R: IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore; Rose Kautoke, Tonga; and Kristina Gjerde, IUCN L-R: Emad Morcos Mattar, Egypt, in conversation with Lisa Speer, Natural Resources Defense Council L-R: Andreas Papaconstantinou, EU, in conversation with Evan Bloom, US  

  L-R: Michael Lodge, Secretary-General, International Seabed Authority, in conversation with Maruthadu Sudhakar, India The informal working group on environmental impact assessments (EIAs) focused on: •    decision-making process; •    monitoring, review, and reporting; and •    strategic environmental assessments. The informal working group on marine genetic resources (MGRs), facilitated by Janine Coye-Felson (Belize), considered material, geographical, and temporal scope. For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily reports and daily web coverage from BBNJ IGC 1. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meeting.   Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page EIAs Informal Working Group Facilitator René Lefeber, the Netherlands Matthías Pálsson, Iceland Saravanane Narayanane, India Jessica Battle, WWF Cymie Payne, IUCN Lisa Speer, Natural Resources Defense Council Wini Broadbelt, EU Jeem Lippwe, Federated States of Micronesia Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific-Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation Ma Xinmin, China Duncan Currie, High Seas Alliance John Fox, Fiji L-R: EIAs Informal Working Group Facilitator René Lefeber, the Netherlands; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Michele Ameri, UNDOALOS; and Fernando Cabrera Díaz, UNDOALOS IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore MGRs Informal Working Group Facilitator Janine Coye-Felson, Belize Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Drusila Bayate, the Philippines Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Emad Morcos Mattar, Egypt, on behalf of the G-77/China View of MGRs Informal Working Group in session Rishy Bukoree, Mauritius María Claudia Vélez Crismatt, Colombia Matilda Bartley, Samoa Gabrielle Chin, New Zealand Delegates from Germany L-R: Panelists from the side event on "Capacity Building: International Negotiations and Diplomacy" with Ronán Long; Lisa Eurén Höglund; Essam Yassin Mohammed; Alvin Leong; Marimalia Rodriguez Chaves; and François Bailet  

L-R: Ma Xinmin, China, in conversation with Matthías Pálsson, Iceland The informal working group on area-based management tools (ABMTs) discussed global, regional, and hybrid approaches, focusing on: •    the decision-making process; •    consultation; and •    institutional arrangements. The informal working group on environmental impact assessments (EIAs), facilitated by René Lefeber, the Netherlands, focused on: •    relationships with other agreements; and •    criteria and thresholds. For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin. IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily reports and daily web coverage from BBNJ IGC 1. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meeting.   Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page L-R: ABMTs Informal Working Group Facilitator Alice Revell, New Zealand; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; and Valentina Germani, UNDOALOS Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS) Ninsemon Kida Rose, Côte d'Ivoire Martín Mainero, Argentina Pablo Arrocha Olabuenaga, Mexico Arianne Etuk, Bahamas, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Viviana Tinoco, Costa Rica Ariel Cayanan, the Philippines Isauro Torres, Chile Lucía Solano, Colombia Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation Kate Neilson, New Zealand ABMTs Informal Working Group Facilitator Alice Revell, New Zealand IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore EIA Informal Working Group Facilitator René Lefeber, the Netherlands Emad Morcos Mattar, Egypt, on behalf of the G-77/China Wini Broadbelt, EU Tetsuya Yoshimoto, Japan Sydnei Cartwright, Bahamas, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) L-R: EIA Informal Working Group Facilitator René Lefeber, the Netherlands; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS; Michele Ameri, UNDOALOS; and Fernando Cabrera Díaz, UNDOALOS James Waweru, Kenya Ismail Raushan Zahir, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Dhisadee Chamlongrasdr, Thailand Lionel Yee Woon Chin, Singapore Jung So-hyun, Republic of Korea Renato Leonardi, Brazil Coumba Gaye, Senegal Carlos Mata, Uruguay Susan Whelan, Holy See Asha Challenger, Antigua and Barbuda, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) L-R: EIA Informal Working Group Facilitator René Lefeber, the Netherlands; and Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS View of the Informal Working Group on ABMTs in session  

As the Bangkok Climate Change Conference draws to a close, the draft APA Co-Chairs' text is distributed to delegates The Bangkok Climate Change Conference closed on Sunday, 9 September, with negotiators concluding this session's work to advance the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP) — the details required to operationalize the 2015 Paris Agreement. The PAWP is scheduled for adoption at the Katowice Climate Change Conference (COP 24) in December 2018. This is widely considered a challenging task. At the beginning of their week in Bangkok, COP 23 President Frank Bainimarama warned countries that “frankly, we are not ready for Katowice.” Following the conclusion of informal consultations in the morning, the contact group of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement (APA) met in the early afternoon. After some debate on how to reflect possible additional matters for the PAWP to address, the group adopted its draft conclusions.Closing plenaries of the APA, the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI), and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) convened in the afternoon, with each body adopting identical conclusions. Parties made “uneven” progress across the different agenda items. Outcomes under PAWP negotiating items are captured in the annexes to their conclusions as “the Bangkok outcome,” as well as in a 307-page “PAWP compilation.” In their conclusions, the APA, SBI, and SBSTA agree on a way to progress work intersessionally, notably that: their Presiding Officers should prepare a joint reflections note addressing progress made at this session, and identifying ways forward, “including textual proposals,” to help advance parties’ deliberations towards the PAWP; and the purpose of this joint note is to address all PAWP matters so as to ensure their “balanced and coordinated” consideration and facilitate successful completion of the PAWP at COP 24. The note is due by mid-October 2018 in order to inform political discussions scheduled for the “pre-COP” meeting from 24-27 October 2018 in Krakow, Poland. The Conference was gaveled to a close at 7:57 pm following a joint APA-SBI-SBSTA plenary to hear country and observer statements. APA Co-Chair Tyndall declared: “Katowice, here we come!” IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and daily reports from the Bangkok Climate Change Conference - September 2018. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has publish a summary and analysis report from the Conference.   Photos by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Informal Consultations throughout the Day APA informal consultations on adaptation communication guidance SBI/SBSTA contact group on response measures SBSTA informal consultations on the technology framework APA informal consultations on mitigation Delegates huddle during the SBSTA contact group on modalities for the accounting of financial resources (Agreement Article 9.7) APA informal consultations on issues related to the Adaptation Fund APA transparency framework family photo APA global stocktake family photo APA Co-Facilitators family photo APA Contact Group APA Co-Chair Jo Tyndall, New Zealand Delegates read the revised APA Co-Chairs' draft text Delegates discuss the draft text Delegates from Saudi Arabia Delegates from India Andrew Neustaetter, US Chen Zhihua, China Franz Perrez, Switzerland Majid Shafie-Pour, Iran Joint Closing Plenary of APA, SBI and SBSTA View of the dais during the joint closing plenary Wael Aboulmagd, Egypt, speaking on behalf of the G-77/China Helmut Hojesky, EU Patrick Suckling, Australia, speaking on behalf of the Umbrella Group Laura Juliana Arciniegas Rojas, Colombia, speaking on behalf of the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean (AILAC) Yoo Yeonchul, Republic of Korea, speaking on behalf of the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG) Amjad Abdulla, Maldives, speaking on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) Gebru Jember Endalew, Ethiopia, speaking on behalf of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Mohamed Nasr, Gabon, speaking on behalf of the African Group Maesela Kekana, South Africa, speaking on behalf of Brazil, South Africa, India, and China (BASIC) Reinaldo Salgado, Brazil, speaking on behalf of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay Nedal Katbeh-Bader, Palestine  Nanna Birk, Women and Gender Lhavanya Dharmalinga, Environmental NGOs (ENGOs) Around the Venue  Renilde Ndayishimiye, Burundi Hugh Sealy, Barbados Delegates from the Youth NGOs (YOUNGOs) Seyni Nafo, Mali, and Delphine Eyraud, France, SBSTA Co-Facilitators for modalities for the accounting of financial resources (Agreement Article 9.7) Nurul Quadir, Bangladesh, and Nora Hamed Alamer, Bahrain APA Co-Chairs Jo Tyndall, New Zealand, and Sarah Baashan, Saudi Arabia A delegate reads the Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) to keep track of negotiations Alex Saier, UNFCCC Secretariat; Ovais Sarmad, UNFCCC Deputy Executive Secretary; and UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa Rueanna Haynes, Saint Kitts and Nevis International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) ENB team covering the Bangkok Climate Change Conference: Elaine Limjoco, the Philippines; Natalie Jones, New Zealand; Katie Browne, US; Cleo Verkuijl, Zimbabwe/the Netherlands; Aaron Cosbey, Canada; Jen Allan, Canada; and Kiara Worth, South Africa