Achieving Cross-Sectoral Coordination and/or Initiating Area-wide Environmental Impact Assessment

1. Achieving Cross-Sectoral Coordination and/or Initiating Area-wide Environmental Impact Assessment Kristina Maria Gjerde IUCN High Seas Policy Advisor Warsaw, Poland Workshop on Governance of Marine Areas beyond National Jurisdiction: Management Issues and Policy Options 3-5 November 2008, Singapore

2. The problems of ocean space are closely interrelated and need to be considered as a whole(Preamble to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982). SeaWiFS Project/NASA

3. Human impacts are increasing More than 40% of oceans already strongly affected by humans. Halpern et al., Science, 2008

4. Shipping intensities increasing Roberts, J., 2006

5. High seas fisheries are plummeting • Overexploited and depleted : more than two-thirds of the assessed high seas and straddling fish stocks and more than half of the highly migratory oceanic sharks (FAO, 2007) • Two-thirds of oceanic sharks and rays threatened or near threatened based on IUCN Red List criteria (Dulvy, et al., 2008).

6. Growing threats from climate change…. UNEP, In Dead Water, 2008

7. New activities emerging Jack Cook, WHOI Graphics

8. Increasing environmental impacts • From traditional activities • From new and emerging activities • From climate change

9. “Synergistic effects of these stressors risks an unprecedented, dramatic and wide-spread collapse of marine ecosystems and fisheries within the next decades” At least three-quarters of the worlds’ key fishing grounds may become seriously impacted as a result (Nellemann et al., 2008).

10. Safeguarding ocean health and resilience in a changing climate • Governance needs to reflect new imperative: • Maintain structure, function and biodiversity of ecosystems to enhance resilience to change • Ecosystem approach • Precautionary approach • Protection of vulnerable species, communities, habitats and ecosystems

11. Improving management institutions in a changing climate • Institutional processes and structures need to be “nimble”: • Act wisely in the absence of knowledge • Adapt in the presence of rapidly changing knowledge • Have confidence that decisions will be implemented • Able to act absent consensus

12. Cross-Sectoral Coordination issues(NYC Governance Workshop Report) • Lack of mechanisms to • Coordinate • Ensure consistency and coherency • Facilitate application of modern conservation norms and tools (eg, precaution, EIAs, MPAs) • Ensure transparency, accountability, and stakeholder participation • Enable equitable use of resources

13. Achieving cross-sector coordination and cooperation Short term: • Expand mandate of an existing agency or process (e.g. UNICPOLOS, UNWG BBNJ)to serve as an intergovernmental steering mechanism • Strengthen and extend existing regional seas organizations (RSOs) to proximate high seas areas • Encourage the Global Environment Facility (GEF) to provide financial assistance • Improve coordination of RFMOs through additional joint meetings, harmonized controls and sanctions • Encourage MoUs/exchanges between RFMOs, RSOs, IMO, ISA, etc

14. Achieving cross-sector coordination and cooperation Medium term: • Develop regional seas organizations into coordinated regional oceans management institutions • Establish a global mechanism to review, coordinate and endorse programs and measures initiated at the regional level and by global sectoral bodies

15. Environmental impact assessments • Some high seas activities, such as dumping, deep seabed mining and now, deep sea bottom fishing, already require or call for prior assessment, but many others do not. • This lack of consistency is relatively simple and straightforward to remedy, as the remedy can build on existing national practice and procedures.

16. Seabed All non-mining related activities Bioprospecting Marine scientific research Laying of cables and pipelines Seabed installations (eg, observatories, hydrothermal energy) Tourism Water column Fishing—unregulated species (eg, sharks, jack mackerel, squid) Fishing--regions, bycatch Marine scientific research CO2 sequestration Floating installations (eg, wave energy, nuclear power facilities, aquaculture) Unregulated activities

17. Application of environmental assessment tools at the regional level • Customary international law: duty to prevent harm to areas beyond national jurisdiction and to assess/monitor impacts • Regional seas conventions: obligation to assess the potential environmental effects in any planning activity entailing projects which may cause risks of pollution and other damage to the marine environment of marine areas within their areas of responsibility • However, these generally apply only to potential impacts on neighboring States, or shared river basins, or regional seas, not areas beyond national jurisdiction. • See also UNECE Espoo Convention– EIAs in a transboundary context

18. Application of environmental assessment tools at the regional level • Those that do apply to marine areas beyond national jurisdiction only bind parties to the particular regional convention rather than third States and their nationals. • The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty: obligation to ensure that activities undertaken in the Antarctic Treaty area, including marine areas, are subject to prior environmental assessment procedures and that any assessments are publicly available. • See also Guidelines for Environmental Impact Assessment for the Arctic.

19. Short term: Support efforts to address gaps in knowledge Call upon States, directly or through a UNGA resolution, to control their nationals/vessels in ABNJ including by requiring prior environmental impact assessments (EIAs) Medium term: A globally effective and transparent EIA regime An Intergovernmental Panel for the Oceans NYC Workshop Recommendations Environmental Impacts

20. CBD Decision IX/20 paragraphs on environmental assessments • 8. Invites Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations, including in the context of the United Nations Ad Hoc Open-ended Informal Working Group to study issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction, to cooperate in further developing scientific and technical guidance for the implementation of environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments for activities and processes under their jurisdiction and control which may have significant adverse impacts on marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction. • Such guidance is to take into consideration the work of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the International Maritime Organization, and other relevant organizations, with a view to ensuring such activities are regulated in such a way that they do not compromise ecosystem integrity. There is to be a report to the 10th Conference of the Parties on progress made in that regard.

21. Proposed EIA WorkshopCBD Decision IX/20 paragraph 10 • Recognising the need for capacity-building for developing countries as well as the challenges and difficulties in carrying out environmental impact assessment in areas beyond national jurisdiction, CBD Parties also decided to convene an expert workshop to discuss scientific and technical aspects relevant to environmental impact assessment in areas beyond national jurisdiction with a view to contributing to the development of such scientific and technical guidance. Such workshop is to build on ongoing relevant sectoral, regional and national environmental impact assessment efforts.

22. IUCN World Conservation Congress Motion 43 Urges Member States of the United Nations General Assembly to adopt a resolution calling on States to a) Develop assessment processes, including the assessment of cumulative impacts, of human activities with a potential for significant adverse impacts on the marine environment, living marine resources and biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction; and b) Ensure that assessed activities with the potential for such significant adverse impacts are subject to prior authorization by States responsible for nationals and vessels engaged in those activities, consistent with international law, and that such activities are managed to prevent such impacts, or not authorized to proceed.

23. Suggestions for moving ahead Achieving Cross Sectoral Coordination • Within/between RFMOs, RSOs and other sectoral orgs thru meetings and MoUs • Agree common principles and standards • Expand regional seas organizations to cover ABNJ(GEF funding?) • Need for some level of global review

24. Suggestions for moving ahead Initiating Area-wide EIA • Support CBD guidelines process • Implement assessment procedures at State level for vessels and nationals • Funding: assist developing countries implement EIAs for ABNJ • Develop regional/global review process

25. Many thanks!kgjerde@eip.com.pl