PDF Printable version of the Programme of Side Events
Organising Partners: Permanent Mission of Belize to the UN; Belize Fisheries Department; the Environmental Defense Fund, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Nature Conservancy
The Government of Belize together with its partners - the Environmental Defense Fund and the Nature Conservancy - will showcase a dynamic strategy for ecosystem based fisheries management that combines marine tenure, harvest control, protected areas, the empowerment of fisher folks and multi-stakeholder partnerships towards the advancement of sustainable small scale fisheries. The side event will demonstrate effective approaches for science policy interface, empowering women in the fisheries sector, leveraging finance and markets to reinforce good management, and the lessons learnt from co-management and community based management for fisheries governance.
Government of Germany, Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative
Market based measures like certification provide powerful incentives for the sustainable use of marine resources. But the fast proliferation of eco-certification schemes has led to confusion among users over how to recognize those that deliver genuine impact. Germany, FAO, METRO GROUP, MSC, GSSI, and CEDEPESCA invite you to discuss a sector wide solution to this problem: the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI).
Ocean acidification is a threat to marine organisms, ecosystems, services, and resources. It has potentially considerable ecological and socio-economic consequences, adding to multiple stressors on ocean ecosystems, including other climate-driven changes (e.g. ocean warming, sea level rise, and deoxygenation) and local pressures from pollution, overexploitation, and habitat destruction.
One fourth of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from anthropogenic activities is absorbed by the ocean.1 However, this vital service is not without consequence: when carbon dioxide enters the ocean it changes seawater chemistry, resulting in increased seawater acidity. That change severely affects biological processes, with potentially profound socio-economic impacts.
The long-term control of ocean acidification depends on the reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In this regard, ratification and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement will be instrumental. Even if carbon dioxide emissions are reduced immediately, there will be a lag time before the acidity levels of oceans normalize, particularly since more acidic surface ocean waters mix with deep water over a cycle that lasts hundreds of years. Therefore, it is critical to build the resilience of ocean ecosystems and of the people that depend on them for their livelihoods to the effects of ocean acidification and climate change.
PDF Printable version of the Programme of Side Events
The Commonwealth Secretariat; The Caribbean Youth Environment Network; The University of Malta; The University of South Pacific; The University of West Indies; The University of Seychelles; The World Fisheries University (Korea); The Commonwealth Human Ecology Council; The Caribbean Studies Association: Environment and Sustainability Group
The UN SIDS Partnership "Learning from the Sharp End of Environmental Uncertainty in SIDS" (the "Sharp End"’ partnership) was launched on 2 September 2014 at the Samoa UN SIDS Conference. This side event will highlight work of Sharp End partners and others in supporting research, training and education to develop capacities for sustainable marine livelihoods in SIDS’ coastal communities in the context of the blue economy.The sustainable development goals are inter-linked and multi-directional. Sustainable use of the oceans is important to eradicate poverty and provide food security and nutrition for all. This is relevant in the following up of the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN declaration <Decade of Action on Nutrition>.
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
Norwegian Ministry of trade, industry and fisheries Organising Partners: Grenada, Island, UN Environment, UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), FAO, WHO, Norwegian national institute for seafood and nutrition research (NIFES), Norwegian Centre of Expertise Seafood Innovation Cluster; CARICOM
The governments of Germany and Sweden, together with the United Nations Environment Programme and in cooperation with the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), and TMG – Think Tank for Sustainability are organizing a one day side event on the role of regional ocean governance for delivering SDG 14.
More than 3 billion people rely on fish for an important source of animal protein, and 300 million people rely on marine fisheries for their livelihoods. In developing and developed countries alike, the consumption of fish is increasing both per capita and in absolute terms.
Partnership Dialogue 5 addresses two distinct but interrelated targets of SDG 14: increasing the economic benefits to small island developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism (14.7); and providing access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets (14.b). A discussion on these topics must include consideration of a range of linked but distinct issues. Oceans provide a wide array of benefits to LDCs and SIDS including—but not limited to—small-scale, artisanal fisheries. Likewise, small-scale artisanal fishers are a fundamental part of SIDS and coastal LDC societies, but they can also be found in developed and other developing countries.1 Estimates suggest that workers involved in small-scale fisheries comprise over 90 percent of people employed globally in capture fisheries and related activities, and produce approximately half of the global catch.
An effective examination of these issues will require a holistic, integrated approach that takes into account not only the diversity inherent in the topics but also the close links to other SDGs. The unifying theme is livelihoods—primarily from fishing but also from aquaculture, tourism and other ecosystem services. The livelihoods focus of the dialogue means that the discussion can be informed by other SDGs, in particular SDG 1 (eradicate poverty), SDG 2 (end hunger), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 12 (sustainable consumption and production), and SDG 13 (combat climate change). There are also close links to the other targets of SDG 14.
PDF Printable version of the Programme of Side Events
Permanent Mission of Belize/ CARICOM
Effective ocean governance is essential if ocean ecosystem goods and services are to be sustained for present and future generations. The Governments of Belize and Barbados, the Caribbean Community and the University of the West Indies presents a side event to explore how to strengthen ocean governance at the regional level drawing on lessons learned from regional ocean governance initiatives around the world. The side event will develop concrete recommendations for advancing good oceans governance as a cornerstone of sustainable development. The side event will also serve as a platform to announce the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Plus (CLME +) Partnership, a regional initiative that practically demonstrates how enhanced ocean governance can address the systemic problems impacting CARICOM namely habitat degradation, marine pollution and depletion of fish stocks.
Government of Germany, Government of Sweden, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW)
Germany, in cooperation with KfW, founded the Blue Action Fund as a response to the funding gap for the conservation of marine biodiversity. The Blue Action Fund supports NGOs in their efforts to conserve oceans and coastlines. This launch event will bring together the major contributors and partners of the Fund.
JPI: Oceans
In order to enable informed and effective decision-making and governance of the ocean, international collaboration between ministries and research funding agencies to jointly fund new knowledge generation as well as efficient and effective science-policy mechanisms are of fundamental importance. The objective of this science-policy briefing is to present multilateral processes for providing scientific evidence to support the sustainable development of the oceans, to showcase cutting-edge examples of research to support ocean governance, as well as to discuss the future role of science for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Government of Germany, Government of Norway
Only in the last couple of years, marine litter has been broadly recognized as a problem that must be taken seriously. The recognition throughout the whole of society, significant scientific evidence, a remarkable amount of goodwill present, as well as clear and substantial political backing have formed a global understanding and unity that justifies hope for the sake of the marine environment. Much has been done on national, regional and international level and work continues. Challenged with a sometimes difficult process to provide a smooth transition in terms of implementation from theory to practice, the event addresses governmental and non-governmental experts and will provide a platform to discuss and possibly demonstrate on how such transition may be successful and how theory and practice can mutually support and complement each other.
Marine science plays an important role in the fisheries management process, including for the adoption of conservation and management measures. Science also has an important role to play in managing other human pressures on the marine environment, including cumulative impacts from local pressures such as pollution, coastal development and resources extraction that act together with global impacts of climate change. Technology can help improve outcomes for many of the targets of SDG 14, for example, to help deliver more efficient and sustainable fishing methods, enhance monitoring and surveillance of fishing activities, facilitate pollution prevention and clean-up, and enhance marine spatial planning. It can also allow for better research and protection of the natural and cultural heritage of the oceans. Therefore, these issues in relations to SDG 14 can be approached from multiple perspectives.
PDF Printable version of the Programme of Side Events
Permanent Mission of Belize/ CARICOM
The Governments of Belize, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Norway, Iceland through the the United Nations University – Fisheries Training Programme, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism and the Caribbean Community Secretariat are pleased to present a unique cross-regional partnership that has contributed to strengthening governance and management of fisheries and aquaculture, combating IUU fishing, improving trade capacity and knowledge base for planning and decision-making, and building human and institutional capacity for conservation, management and trade and development. The side event will feature presentations from government, civil society, and academia and will provide best practices from the Caribbean region, highlight critical gaps and needs, and announce partnerships.
Heinrich Böll Foundation
Oceans cover more than two-thirds of our planet. They are rich in resources and provide people with food, energy, and a stable climate. Nevertheless, the future of these unique ecosystems is endangered by overfishing, loss of biodiversity and marine pollution. The Ocean Atlas 2017 is an educational tool that provides facts and figures on the importance of our marine ecosystems and the urgency of SDG 14. Join us for an expert panel discussion on World Oceans Day.
Government of Germany, Leibniz-Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Blue Solutions, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Mediterranean Network of Marine Protected Areas Managers (MedPAN), Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS)
Getting fit to do our bit! A range of capacities are required at different levels to work towards sustainable ocean governance. In this side event, capacity development formats ranging from formal education on- and offline, to customized courses and leadership training for decision makers, are introduced with examples of their applications. In group work, options for capacity development to match specific challenges will be discussed.
Blue Solutions (German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), GRID-Arendal, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and UN Environment)
The Blue Solutions Initiative facilitates the exchange of successful approaches in marine and coastal management and supports their uptake in new contexts. In this side event, it will showcase the approach to share, promote, and readapt solutions with examples from Australia, Brazil, the Seychelles, and Vietnam. Supporters may pledge a contribution to the implementation of adapted solutions in new settings.
Government of Germany, RARE
The Bright Spots event is a dedicated effort to surface, analyze, and widely share innovative and replicable community-based marine conservation and small-scale fisheries solutions, which supports the implementation of SDG 14 and aim to address various SDGs issues of poverty, food security and climate change. This event provides the essential learning and leadership exchange that builds on the political and financial commitments that will be made during the Conference. The event aims to provide a stage for local communities to present their bright spots and celebrate and widely share them such that they can be replicated to enhance their impact. It will provide an opportunity to share best practice and learn from each other to replicate solutions that work. Many times, however, these solutions remain at the local level and go unnoticed by the international community.
The First Global Integrated Marine Assessment, which summary was approved by the UNGA, provides a stark picture of the current state of our oceans. Anthropogenic pressures on marine ecosystems, such as marine pollution, overexploitation of marine living resources, coastal degradation, climate change and ocean acidification, are challenging the resilience of the oceans and their resources, as well as their continued ability to provide important ecosystem goods and services to humankind. The UNGA has noted with concern the findings of the Assessment that the world’s ocean is facing major pressures simultaneously with such great impacts that the limits of its carrying capacity are being, or, in some cases, have been reached.
PDF Printable version of the Programme of Side Events
Permanent Mission of Belize/ CARICOM
The Governments of Belize, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Norway, Iceland through the the United Nations University – Fisheries Training Programme, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism and the Caribbean Community Secretariat are pleased to present a unique cross-regional partnership that has contributed to strengthening governance and management of fisheries and aquaculture, combating IUU fishing, improving trade capacity and knowledge base for planning and decision-making, and building human and institutional capacity for conservation, management and trade and development. The side event will feature presentations from government, civil society, and academia and will provide best practices from the Caribbean region, highlight critical gaps and needs, and announce partnerships.
Blue Solutions (German Corporation for International Cooperation (GIZ), GRID-Arendal, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and UN Environment)
The Blue Solutions Initiative facilitates the exchange of successful approaches in marine and coastal management and supports their uptake in new contexts. In this side event, it will showcase the approach to share, promote, and readapt solutions with examples from Australia, Brazil, the Seychelles, and Vietnam. Supporters may pledge a contribution to the implementation of adapted solutions in new settings.
The Commonwealth Secretariat; The Caribbean Youth Environment Network; The University of Malta; The University of South Pacific; The University of West Indies; The University of Seychelles; The World Fisheries University (Korea); The Commonwealth Human Ecology Council; The Caribbean Studies Association: Environment and Sustainability Group
The UN SIDS Partnership "Learning from the Sharp End of Environmental Uncertainty in SIDS" (the "Sharp End"’ partnership) was launched on 2 September 2014 at the Samoa UN SIDS Conference. This side event will highlight work of Sharp End partners and others in supporting research, training and education to develop capacities for sustainable marine livelihoods in SIDS’ coastal communities in the context of the blue economy.Government of Germany, Leibniz-Center for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Blue Solutions, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Mediterranean Network of Marine Protected Areas Managers (MedPAN), Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS)
Getting fit to do our bit! A range of capacities are required at different levels to work towards sustainable ocean governance. In this side event, capacity development formats ranging from formal education on- and offline, to customized courses and leadership training for decision makers, are introduced with examples of their applications. In group work, options for capacity development to match specific challenges will be discussed.
Government of Germany, Government of Norway
Only in the last couple of years, marine litter has been broadly recognized as a problem that must be taken seriously. The recognition throughout the whole of society, significant scientific evidence, a remarkable amount of goodwill present, as well as clear and substantial political backing have formed a global understanding and unity that justifies hope for the sake of the marine environment. Much has been done on national, regional and international level and work continues. Challenged with a sometimes difficult process to provide a smooth transition in terms of implementation from theory to practice, the event addresses governmental and non-governmental experts and will provide a platform to discuss and possibly demonstrate on how such transition may be successful and how theory and practice can mutually support and complement each other.
Government of Germany, RARE
The Bright Spots event is a dedicated effort to surface, analyze, and widely share innovative and replicable community-based marine conservation and small-scale fisheries solutions, which supports the implementation of SDG 14 and aim to address various SDGs issues of poverty, food security and climate change. This event provides the essential learning and leadership exchange that builds on the political and financial commitments that will be made during the Conference. The event aims to provide a stage for local communities to present their bright spots and celebrate and widely share them such that they can be replicated to enhance their impact. It will provide an opportunity to share best practice and learn from each other to replicate solutions that work. Many times, however, these solutions remain at the local level and go unnoticed by the international community.
The sustainable development goals are inter-linked and multi-directional. Sustainable use of the oceans is important to eradicate poverty and provide food security and nutrition for all. This is relevant in the following up of the Sustainable Development Goals and the UN declaration <Decade of Action on Nutrition>.
Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources
Norwegian Ministry of trade, industry and fisheries Organising Partners: Grenada, Island, UN Environment, UN Committee on World Food Security (CFS), FAO, WHO, Norwegian national institute for seafood and nutrition research (NIFES), Norwegian Centre of Expertise Seafood Innovation Cluster; CARICOM
Government of Germany, Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative
Market based measures like certification provide powerful incentives for the sustainable use of marine resources. But the fast proliferation of eco-certification schemes has led to confusion among users over how to recognize those that deliver genuine impact. Germany, FAO, METRO GROUP, MSC, GSSI, and CEDEPESCA invite you to discuss a sector wide solution to this problem: the Global Sustainable Seafood Initiative (GSSI).
Government of Germany, Government of Sweden, Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW)
Germany, in cooperation with KfW, founded the Blue Action Fund as a response to the funding gap for the conservation of marine biodiversity. The Blue Action Fund supports NGOs in their efforts to conserve oceans and coastlines. This launch event will bring together the major contributors and partners of the Fund.
JPI: Oceans
In order to enable informed and effective decision-making and governance of the ocean, international collaboration between ministries and research funding agencies to jointly fund new knowledge generation as well as efficient and effective science-policy mechanisms are of fundamental importance. The objective of this science-policy briefing is to present multilateral processes for providing scientific evidence to support the sustainable development of the oceans, to showcase cutting-edge examples of research to support ocean governance, as well as to discuss the future role of science for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Permanent Mission of Belize/ CARICOM
Effective ocean governance is essential if ocean ecosystem goods and services are to be sustained for present and future generations. The Governments of Belize and Barbados, the Caribbean Community and the University of the West Indies presents a side event to explore how to strengthen ocean governance at the regional level drawing on lessons learned from regional ocean governance initiatives around the world. The side event will develop concrete recommendations for advancing good oceans governance as a cornerstone of sustainable development. The side event will also serve as a platform to announce the Caribbean Large Marine Ecosystem Plus (CLME +) Partnership, a regional initiative that practically demonstrates how enhanced ocean governance can address the systemic problems impacting CARICOM namely habitat degradation, marine pollution and depletion of fish stocks.
The governments of Germany and Sweden, together with the United Nations Environment Programme and in cooperation with the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), and TMG – Think Tank for Sustainability are organizing a one day side event on the role of regional ocean governance for delivering SDG 14.
Ocean acidification is a threat to marine organisms, ecosystems, services, and resources. It has potentially considerable ecological and socio-economic consequences, adding to multiple stressors on ocean ecosystems, including other climate-driven changes (e.g. ocean warming, sea level rise, and deoxygenation) and local pressures from pollution, overexploitation, and habitat destruction.
One fourth of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere from anthropogenic activities is absorbed by the ocean.1 However, this vital service is not without consequence: when carbon dioxide enters the ocean it changes seawater chemistry, resulting in increased seawater acidity. That change severely affects biological processes, with potentially profound socio-economic impacts.
The long-term control of ocean acidification depends on the reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. In this regard, ratification and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement will be instrumental. Even if carbon dioxide emissions are reduced immediately, there will be a lag time before the acidity levels of oceans normalize, particularly since more acidic surface ocean waters mix with deep water over a cycle that lasts hundreds of years. Therefore, it is critical to build the resilience of ocean ecosystems and of the people that depend on them for their livelihoods to the effects of ocean acidification and climate change.
More than 3 billion people rely on fish for an important source of animal protein, and 300 million people rely on marine fisheries for their livelihoods. In developing and developed countries alike, the consumption of fish is increasing both per capita and in absolute terms.
Partnership Dialogue 5 addresses two distinct but interrelated targets of SDG 14: increasing the economic benefits to small island developing States (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism (14.7); and providing access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets (14.b). A discussion on these topics must include consideration of a range of linked but distinct issues. Oceans provide a wide array of benefits to LDCs and SIDS including—but not limited to—small-scale, artisanal fisheries. Likewise, small-scale artisanal fishers are a fundamental part of SIDS and coastal LDC societies, but they can also be found in developed and other developing countries.1 Estimates suggest that workers involved in small-scale fisheries comprise over 90 percent of people employed globally in capture fisheries and related activities, and produce approximately half of the global catch.
An effective examination of these issues will require a holistic, integrated approach that takes into account not only the diversity inherent in the topics but also the close links to other SDGs. The unifying theme is livelihoods—primarily from fishing but also from aquaculture, tourism and other ecosystem services. The livelihoods focus of the dialogue means that the discussion can be informed by other SDGs, in particular SDG 1 (eradicate poverty), SDG 2 (end hunger), SDG 5 (gender equality), SDG 12 (sustainable consumption and production), and SDG 13 (combat climate change). There are also close links to the other targets of SDG 14.
Marine science plays an important role in the fisheries management process, including for the adoption of conservation and management measures. Science also has an important role to play in managing other human pressures on the marine environment, including cumulative impacts from local pressures such as pollution, coastal development and resources extraction that act together with global impacts of climate change. Technology can help improve outcomes for many of the targets of SDG 14, for example, to help deliver more efficient and sustainable fishing methods, enhance monitoring and surveillance of fishing activities, facilitate pollution prevention and clean-up, and enhance marine spatial planning. It can also allow for better research and protection of the natural and cultural heritage of the oceans. Therefore, these issues in relations to SDG 14 can be approached from multiple perspectives.
The First Global Integrated Marine Assessment, which summary was approved by the UNGA, provides a stark picture of the current state of our oceans. Anthropogenic pressures on marine ecosystems, such as marine pollution, overexploitation of marine living resources, coastal degradation, climate change and ocean acidification, are challenging the resilience of the oceans and their resources, as well as their continued ability to provide important ecosystem goods and services to humankind. The UNGA has noted with concern the findings of the Assessment that the world’s ocean is facing major pressures simultaneously with such great impacts that the limits of its carrying capacity are being, or, in some cases, have been reached.
Organising Partners: Permanent Mission of Belize to the UN; Belize Fisheries Department; the Environmental Defense Fund, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Nature Conservancy
The Government of Belize together with its partners - the Environmental Defense Fund and the Nature Conservancy - will showcase a dynamic strategy for ecosystem based fisheries management that combines marine tenure, harvest control, protected areas, the empowerment of fisher folks and multi-stakeholder partnerships towards the advancement of sustainable small scale fisheries. The side event will demonstrate effective approaches for science policy interface, empowering women in the fisheries sector, leveraging finance and markets to reinforce good management, and the lessons learnt from co-management and community based management for fisheries governance.
Heinrich Böll Foundation
Oceans cover more than two-thirds of our planet. They are rich in resources and provide people with food, energy, and a stable climate. Nevertheless, the future of these unique ecosystems is endangered by overfishing, loss of biodiversity and marine pollution. The Ocean Atlas 2017 is an educational tool that provides facts and figures on the importance of our marine ecosystems and the urgency of SDG 14. Join us for an expert panel discussion on World Oceans Day.
