European Union

Incoming IWC Chair Andrej Bibič, Slovenia, and IWC Chair Joji Morishita, Japan On Friday, the final day of IWC-67, delegates wrapped up all remaining agenda items under Chair Morishita’s leadership. Delegates voted on Japan’s revised ‘Way Forward’ proposal. To address the fact that the proposal included both a Schedule amendment and resolution, which have different voting thresholds (simple majority for resolutions), Japan proposed revised text establishing that the resolution would only go forward on the condition that the Schedule amendment was adopted by the Commission (requiring a three-fourths majority). The final vote was 27 in favor, 41 opposed, and two abstentions. Statements made after the vote included comments on: support for the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources, including marine mammals; and the need for the IWC to spend more time striving for consensus and understanding divergent visions. Masaaki Taniai, Japan’s Vice-Minister for Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, expressed disappointment over the outcome and said Japan will undertake a fundamental reassessment of its position in the IWC, scrutinizing every option. Delegates adopted, without further revision, the reports of the Scientific, Conservation, and Finance and Administration Committees; the Infractions, Budgetary, Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling Sub-Committees; and the Whale Killing Methods and Welfare Issues Working Group. The report of the Standing Working Group on Special Permit Programmes was adopted after agreeing to include in the Chair’s summary report a statement reflecting Japan’s opposition to the report and a list of other countries supporting Japan’s position. Delegates elected Robert Suydam (US) as the Scientific Committee Chair (SC) and Alexandre Zerbini (Brazil) as the SC Vice-Chair, with many congratulations extended for outgoing SC Chair Caterina Fortuna. Australia was elected as the new Budgetary Sub-Committee Chair and Switzerland as Vice-Chair. Adding a bit of levity toward the close of the meeting, Haydée Rodriguez Romero, Costa Rica, was the top vote-getter in a contest for the best whale-themed jewelry. The meeting elected a new Bureau, with Andrej Bibič (Slovenia) as IWC Chair and Amadou Diallo (Guinea) as Vice-Chair, and accepted Slovenia’s offer to host IWC-68 in Portorož, Slovenia in 2020. IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, provided daily web coverage and a summary and analysis report from IWC67.   Photos by IISD/ENB | Ángeles Estrada For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page Plenary Dais during plenary Caterina Fortuna, Italy, outgoing Chair, Scientific Committee Hermano Ribeiro, Brazil Incoming IWC Chair Andrej Bibič, Slovenia Micheni Japhet Ntiba, Kenya Alexandre Zerbini, Brazil Participants from the EU Participants from Latin America Contest Pierre Gallego, Luxembourg Contest winner: whale necklace Participants voting on the whale-themed jewelry contest Haydée Rodriguez Romero, Costa Rica, whale jewelry contest winner Rebecca Lent, IWC Executive Secretary Closing Ceremony Rebecca Lent, IWC Executive Secretary, and IWC Chair Joji Morishita Lorenzo Rojas Bracho, Mexico, Chair, Conservation Committee Andrea Nouak, Austria Arnold Brower Jr, Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission Delegates applauding the leadership of Chair Joji Morishita. Sara Oldfield, Pablo Sinovas, Harriet Gillett, Martin Jankins, and Patricia Cremona, Rapporteurs Around the Venue Richard de Ferranti, IISD RS, Ikuho Miyazawa, IISD RS, IWC Chair Joji Morishita, and Teya Penniman, IISD RS  

  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