On November 17th and 19th, the STRONG High Seas project held an English online seminar on “Strengthening Monitoring control and surveillance through a High Seas Treaty” and a Spanish online seminar on Strengthening MCS in the Southeast Pacific.
More than 50 global participants attended the two online seminars, which were chaired by Glen Wright and Sébastian Treyer from IDDRI and included presentations from:
- Tony Long, CEO, Global Fishing Watch
- Klaudija Cremers, Research Fellow, International Marine Policy, IDDRI
- Sophie Mirgaux, Belgian Special Envoy for the Ocean
- Sandra Bessudo, Director of Fondation Malpelo
- Waldemar Coutts, Ambassador of Chile to Norway and Iceland
- Luis Alfaro Garfias, Director General, Fisheries Monitoring, Control and
Sanctions, Ministry of Production, Peru - Jeannette Sánchez, Director, Division of the Natural Resources, Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
Monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) is critical for the success of marine conservation and management, but effective MCS is especially challenging on the distant waters in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Member States at the United Nations (UN) are currently negotiating a new treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of high seas biodiversity and there is a growing interest in how MCS tools and policies can be applied to this vast global commons.
The first webinar, which was held in English on November 17th, explored how the ongoing negotiations can strengthen Monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) and highlighted how MCS can contribute to the implementation of the new instrument. Speakers illustrated how new technologies and data sharing can improve MCS and strengthen States capacity, they shared concrete proposals for the future international instrument, and provided insight into the current options being considered for MPA designation and implementation.
The second webinar, which was held in Spanish on November 19th, provided some insights into the state of play of MCS in the highly biodiverse region of the Southeast Pacific which is facing a range of threats, such as illegal fishing. It highlighted the legal, institutional and technological challenges and needs, and shared some success stories.
A recording of the two online seminars can be accessed here:
The online seminars were part of a series of events organised by the STRONG High Seas project and dealing with topics around the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, including BBNJ negotiations. Earlier online seminars have been held in August 2018 and November 2019 on the topic of Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction and Marine Genetic Resources. For more information about the upcoming events, see our calendar.
