Reflections from the STRONG High Seas Project: Capacity Development for Conservation of Marine Biodiversity in ABNJ

The STRONG High Seas project has published new reports providing reflections and recommendations for capacity development for the conservation of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) in the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific regions.

These two complementary reports offer an overview of the STRONG High Seas project’s efforts on capacity development that were undertaken in the regions as well as the needs assessments which were conducted. The initiatives undertaken by the STRONG High Seas project were taken with the philosophy of information exchange and co-creation of knowledge and catered to regional specific needs. They were targeted towards policy and decision-makers as well as other stakeholders working on issues of ocean governance and interested in strengthening capacities for ocean governance, particularly in the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific regions. The reports aim to inform decision-makers at national and regional levels about the longer-term capacity needs related to ABNJ and possible avenues for addressing capacity gaps.

The reports provide relevant context with regard to ocean governance in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the ongoing negotiations towards a new international legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and related capacity development needs and approaches. They also present a short summary of the surveys undertaken by the STRONG High Seas project with regard to capacity needs in the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific regions and summarise the corresponding capacity development efforts undertaken as part of the STRONG High Seas project. Furthermore, they provide reflections and recommendations for future capacity development activities beyond the scope of the project and highlight lessons learned through the five years of this project.

The reports can be found here:
Southeast Atlantic region: [English] / [Français]
Southeast Pacific region: [English] / [Español]