STRONG High Seas regional expert workshop in Guayaquil, Ecuador

Between February 5th and 7th 2019, an expert workshop from the STRONG High Seas project took place in Guayaquil, Ecuador at the CPPS facilities. The workshop was coordinated by WWF Colombia and the Permanent Comission of the South Pacific (CPPS) and had the participation of 36 delegates (participants and keynote speakers), who were representing the Comission´s member countries (Colombia, Chile, Ecuador and Perú), additionally Panamá as a guest country. During the 3-day workshop, a total of 12 keynote presentations were given, covering topics from marine biodiversity, fisheries, marine litter, biological connectivity and management and the legal framework of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). During the plenaries, delegates shared the current research done in their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and ABNJ and the knowledge gaps present in their respective countries with respect to these areas. The results from this workshop provided participants with an update on current research efforts at the national and regional level by each country in the ABNJ of the South East Pacific region and helped to gather and strengthen collaborations between the scientific community in the CPPS countries. Ultimately, many of the outputs of this meeting will help to nurture, in short term, the technical documents that the STRONG High Seas project is currently generating with respect to a forthcoming report establishing an ecological baseline of the high seas.


Durante los días 5 al 7 de febrero de 2019, se llevó a cabo en las instalaciones del CPPS en la ciudad de Guayaquil (Ecuador), el taller regional de expertos del proyecto STRONG High Seas. El taller fue coordinado por WWF Colombia y la Comisión Permanente del Pacifico Sur -CPPS contando con la participación de 36 personas entre asistentes y conferencistas, representando a los países miembros de la Comisión (Colombia, Chile, Ecuador y Perú), además de tener como invitado a Panamá. Durante los tres días de taller hubo un total de doce presentaciones, abarcando temas de diversidad biológica marina, pesquerías, basura marina, conectividad biológica y manejo y legislación en áreas más allá de la jurisdicción nacional (ABNJ). Durante las plenarias cada representante de país, compartió los avances y resultados de investigación relacionados en sus respectivas Zonas Económicas Exclusivas -ZEE y ABNJ. Los resultados de este taller permiten conocer los avances a nivel local y regional en la investigación en las áreas de Alta Mar del Pacífico Sudeste, unir a la comunidad científica de los países CPPS en torno a este tema y a corto plazo nutrir los documentos técnicos del proyecto STRONG High Seas con respecto a la línea base ecológica.

 

The agenda for the event can be found here in English and here in Spanish.

The workshop summary in English can be found here and in Spanish here.