Nicola Breier (BMU), Carole Durussel (IASS), Kristina Gjerde (IUCN), Glen Wright (IDDRI) - left to right

STRONG Side Event at IGC2 – Building on and Strengthening Regional Ocean Governance

The STRONG High Seas Project together with the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) organized a side event during the second round of the International Conference for a high seas treaty on 25 March 2019 in New York.

The side event presented the ongoing work of the STRONG High Seas project and provided an informal space for a discussion of how regional and sectoral governance mechanisms can underpin an ambitious and effective international treaty, which will in turn provide further support for regional initiatives. While delegations and observers to the Intergovernmental Conference have been considering the possible role and contributions of existing organizations, they are yet to converge on a consensus regarding the modalities for effectively building on and fostering cooperation with existing governance mechanisms.

After opening remarks by Nicola Breier (BMU), Kristina Gjerde (IUCN) delivered a brief presentation on how to underpin the future treaty with strong regional and sectoral governance. Hereafter, Glen Wright (IDDRI) spoke about the lessons learnt from regional initiatives in ABNJ and Dr. Carole Durussel (IASS) discussed the specific opportunities and challenges in the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific regions.

The presentations were followed by a panel discussion between Cristóbal Hernández (Chilean delegation), Mamadou Diallo (Senegalese delegation), Jessica Battle (WWF Germany) and Alejandro Anganuzzi (FAO), as well as audience members.

 

The agenda can be found here and the presentations can be found here.

Photos: STRONG High Seas