Pacific Small Island Developing States

Highlights for Friday, 30 August 2019 Queen Angelfish from Belize, photo by Marcelo Halpern The third session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) came to a close on Friday, August 30, 2019. During the day, delegates engaged in a comprehensive discussion on the way forward. Several delegations welcomed the new format of the meeting, notably the informal-informals, with many calling for regular report-backs to facilitate broad participation, especially for small delegations. On this note, there were calls from several developing countries for increased contributions to the Voluntary Trust Fund to facilitate their participation at the next meeting.In her closing remarks, IGC President Rena Lee (Singapore), called on delegates to study the proposals submitted during the intersessional period in order to make further progress at IGC-4. She noted that: the revised negotiating text for IGC-4 will likely not include all the proposals submitted or discussed at IGC-3; the advanced revised text, in English only, will be issued by the end of 2019; and IGC-4 will feature more parallel sessions, and a number of stock-taking plenaries that will consider the four elements of the 2011 package as “more of a package.” In the corridors, several delegates patted themselves on the back for having gone through the major elements of the draft text on the new High Seas treaty, but acknowledged that more needs to be done to address the pressing matters that have been raised in the negotiation process. Commenting on next steps, many delegates stressed that, for IGC-4, “the Facilitators will need to craft bridging language to close the gaps in this process.”   IISD Reporting Services, through its ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from BBNJ IGC-3. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Informal Working Group View of the informal working group session L-R: IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); Alice Hicuburundi, UNDOALOS and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Carl Grainger, Ireland, Chair of the Credentials Committee Luis Ugarelli, Peru Henry Suarez, Venezuela Indira Guardia, Cuba Alina Llano, Nicaragua Gennady Kuzmin, Russian Federation Janine Coye-Felson, Belize, Facilitator of the informal working group on marine genetic resources, including benefit-sharing Olai Uludong, Palau, Facilitator of the informal working group on capacity building and the transfer of marine technology René Lefeber, the Netherlands, Facilitator of the informal working group on environmental impact assessments Alice Revell, New Zealand, Facilitator of the informal working group on area-based management tools, including marine protected areas L-R: Gou Haibo, China; IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore; and Evan Bloom, US L-R: Florian Botto, Monaco; Mamadou Diallo, Senegal; and Rishy Bukoree, Mauritius Asela Peneueta, Tuvalu, on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum Andreas Papaconstantinou, EU Ali Nasimfar, Iran Fuad Bateh, Palestine, on behalf of the G-77/China Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Evan Bloom, US Julio Arriola, Paraguay, on behalf of Land-Locked Developing Countries Gou Haibo, China Tilani Silva, Sri Lanka Michael Kanu, Sierra Leone Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore L-R: Miguel de Serpa Soares, Secretary-General of the IGC, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel, and IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore, gavelled the meeting to a close at 5:17 pm. Participants from the High Seas Alliance Delegates from the European Commission Delegates from Australia Delegates from the US Delegates from the Pacific Islands Forum Delegates from the Philippines Delegates from the African Group IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore, with delegates from the EU Delegates from the Pacific Small Island Developing States Delegates from Latin American countries Delegates from China Delegates from Seychelles L-R: ENB BBNJ Team with Jennifer Bansard, Asterios Tsioumanis, Tasha Goldberg, Tallash Kantai, Katarina Hovden, and Franz Dejon

Highlights for Thursday, 29 August 2019 Parrotfish from Mexico, photo by Marcelo Halpern The third session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) met throughout the day and into the evening in an informal working group setting to address environmental impact assessments (EIAs), and cross-cutting issues. Delegates also met briefly in an “informal-informal” to consider marine genetic resources, including questions on benefit-sharing.Thursday saw the end of the informal-informals, and comprehensive, prolonged discussions on the remaining issues in the draft text of a future international legally binding instrument.Highlights of the day included, inter alia: Discussions in the informal working group on cross-cutting issues, notably related to institutional arrangements, and dispute-settlement; and Discussions in the informal working group on EIAs, touching on the content of EIA reports, their publication, and consideration and review. In the corridors, one weary delegate wondered “why didn’t we put in more hours during the first week when everyone was still fresh and in good spirits,” referring to the final push to try to complete all the work related to the draft text. Looking ahead, Friday promises an important discussion on the way forward, with some delegates confiding “we are not sure we can see the light at the end of this tunnel to a High Seas agreement just yet.”For more 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 ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from BBNJ IGC-3. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Informal Working Group René Lefeber, the Netherlands, Facilitator of the informal working group on EIAs L-R: René Lefeber, the Netherlands, Facilitator of the informal working group on EIAs; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division of Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); and Michele Ameri, UNDOALOS Hala Khalil, Palestine, on behalf of the G-77/China Wini Broadbelt, EU Ayodhia Kalake, Indonesia Maria Pia Benosa, the Philippines Tetsuya Yoshimoto, Japan Therese Simpson Johansen, Norway Alain De Comarmond, Seychelles Elizabeth Kim, US Cyrill Martin, Switzerland Janice Mose, Solomon Islands, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (P-SIDS) L-R: Justin Whyatt, Australia, with Heath Synnott, Australia L-R: Yocasta Valenzuela, Dominican Republic, in consultation with Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria Duncan Currie, High Seas Alliance Yordanka Stoimenova, Canada Lionel Yee, Singapore Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation Kahlil Hassanali, Trinidad and Tobago, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Carlos Mata, Uruguay, on behalf of the Like-Minded Latin American Countries Huang Yingni, China Sira Swangsilpa, Thailand Heath Synnott, Australia Kukhyun Ahn, Republic of Korea Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland Roderick Harte, EU 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 Facilitator of the informal working group on cross-cutting issues; and Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS Tom Diederen, EU Luke Roughton, New Zealand Diedre Mills, Jamaica, on behalf of CARICOM Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of P-SIDS Alejandro Celorio, Mexico, on behalf of the Like-Minded Latin American Countries Matthías Pálsson, Iceland L-R: Alice de Juvigny and Kent Bressie, International Cable Protection Committee L-R: Ina Tessnow-von Wysocki and Alice Vadrot, University of Vienna Delegates from the Maldives in conversation with delegates from Australia L-R: Florian Botto, Monaco, with Leonito Bacalando Jr., Federated States of Micronesia

Highlights for Wednesday, 28 August 2019 Box spotted puffer fish from the Philippines, photo by Marcelo Halpern The third session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) met in two informal working groups on marine genetic resources (MGRs), including benefit-sharing, and on cross-cutting issues. Delegates also met in “informal-informals” to consider aspects related to both area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs), and environmental impact assessments (EIAs). Delegates dove into choppy waters on Wednesday, opening discussions on some of the key underlying, or overarching, issues that have proved intractable in the past. They shared views on the terms to be included in the new agreement, specifically those related to MGRs, as well as on the most relevant principles on which the future agreement will be anchored. Highlights of the day included, inter alia: Discussions in the informal working group on cross-cutting issues, specifically related to principles and approaches, international cooperation, and implementation and compliance; Discussions in the informal working group on MGRs, touching on the need to align with definitions in relevant frameworks and bodies to maintain legal certainty; Informal-informal discussions on ABMTs, addressing who should be consulted on a proposal for an ABMT, and how these proposals will be assessed; and Informal-informals on EIAs, focusing on strategic environmental assessments, and a list of activities that do or do not require an EIA.  In the corridors, one observer lamented, “it seems like we are stuck in a loop: when we are looking at the substance, decisions are deferred for lack of a definition, and then once we get to the definitions, we are told to wait until we decide on substance.” Others were hopeful that as discussions enter the final stretch, delegates can finally begin to consider the central tenets of the future High Seas instrument, and that those discussions “will help us see the forest for the trees.”For more 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 ENB Meeting Coverage, has provided daily web coverage, daily reports, and a summary and analysis report from BBNJ IGC-3. The summary and analysis report is now available in HTML and PDF. Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page. Informal Working Group L-R: Janine Coye-Felson, Belize, Facilitator of the informal working group on MGRs; Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UN Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (UNDOALOS); and Charlotte Salpin, UNDOALOS Barbara Boechat, Brazil, on behalf of the Like-Minded Latin American Countries Janine Coye-Felson, Belize, Facilitator of the informal working group on MGRs Gou Haibo, China Fuad Bateh, Palestine, on behalf of the G-77/China Salaseini Tagicakibau, Fiji, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States (P-SIDS) Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group Ayodhia Kalake, Indonesia Susan Whelan, Holy See Babajide Alo, Nigeria Neha Lugo, US L-R: Kahlil Hassanali, Trinidad and Tobago, with Fuad Bateh, Palestine L-R: Gou Haibo, China, with Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation Yuko Hara, Japan Alain De Comarmond, Seychelles Drusila Esther Bayate, the Philippines Kjell Kristian Egge, Norway Juliette Babb-Riley, Barbados, on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Kenneth Wong, Singapore Gabrielle Chin, New Zealand Vasco Becker-Weinberg, Portugal Katie Hamilton, Australia Adem Bilgin, Turkey John Fintakpa Lamega, Togo Hendrik Segers, Belgium Kukhyun Ahn, Republic of Korea L-R: Ronan Long, Ireland, in conversation with Muhammad Taufan, Indonesia L-R: Felizardo Pulumbarit, the Philippines, in consultation with Drusila Esther Bayate, the Philippines L-R: Teresa Cruz Sardiñas, Cuba, with Maribel Alvárez, Costa Rica Matthías Pálsson, Iceland, with delegates from the Republic of Korea Bird's eye view of the informal working group on cross-cutting issues 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 Facilitator of the informal working group on cross-cutting issues Thembile Joyini, South Africa Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of P-SIDS Diedre Mills, Jamaica, on behalf of CARICOM Maria Juliana Tenorio, Colombia, on behalf of the Like-Minded Latin American Countries