Least Developed Countries

  IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore, opened the first session of the IGC 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 (BBNJ) opened with general statements, focusing on: •    key features of the ILBI; •    priority issues to be addressed in the ILBI; and •    expectations concerning the process towards developing a zero draft.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 Miguel de Serpa Soares, Secretary-General of the IGC, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel, on behalf of UN Secretary-General António Guterres IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS Mohamed Omar Gad, Egypt, on behalf of the G-77/China A view of the room of the IGC plenary from the dais Andreas Papaconstantinou, EU Ali Naseer Mohamed, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh, on behalf of the Least Developed Countries Participants from civil society. Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Olai Uludong, Palau Alain Tellier, Canada Alice Revell, New Zealand Dekalega Fintakpa Lamega, Togo Generoso Calonge, the Philippines Florian Botto, Monaco Archbishop Bernardito Auza, Holy See Delegates from Ecuador consulting Delegates from the Philippines Delegates from Spain L-R: Melanie Virtue, Convention on Migratory Species Secretariat and Jihyun Lee, Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat L-R: Yongsheng Cai and Alfonso Ascencio-Herrera, International Seabed Authority, in a conversation with Khurshed Alam, Bangladesh