EU leads the way with ambitious action for cleaner and safer seas - Ⅱ | WPN World People News

Climate change has very direct consequences for the oceans, with rising sea levels and increasing acidification among the most alarming. The European Union therefore announced:

● A €10 million project with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) concerning climate change mitigation in the maritime shipping sector. The project aims to establish five Maritime Technology Cooperation Centres (MTCCs), one in each of the target regions – Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Latin America and the Pacific – thereby forming a global network. The network's task is to enable developing countries in these regions to develop energy-efficiency measures in maritime transport.

● €1.5 million for reducing black carbon emissions in the Arctic. The project is intended to reinforce international cooperation to protect the Arctic environment.

● €600,000 over the next two years for an integrated Arctic project focusing on the three priority areas of EU Arctic policy: Climate Change and Safeguarding the Arctic Environment; Sustainable Development in and around the Arctic; and International Cooperation on Arctic Issues.

Marine protection: Less than 5% of the world's marine and coastal areas are currently protected by law, and even less is enforced – despite the UN's 2020 target of 10% protection. The European Union therefore announced:

● The European Commission announced the phase-out by end 2017 all single-use plastic cups in water fountains and vending machines in all its buildings and meetings. It also committed to report on all its efforts towards a further reduction of the use of other single-use plastic items in all its buildings and events at the occasion of the 2018 Our Ocean Conference. Measures to achieve this will include improving its green public procurement, reducing single-use plastics in canteens and cafeterias, promoting use of tap water, launching a wider awareness-raising campaign for staff on waste reduction, sorting and recycling and greening Commission events.

● €20 million to support the management of marine protected areas in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries through the programme BIOPAMA II (Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management Programme).

● Together with Germany, support for the establishment of a cross-sectoral and cross-boundary multi-stakeholder platform for regional ocean governance by 2020. This platform will be developed under the Partnership for Regional Ocean Governance (PROG), initiated in 2015 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (Institut du Développement Durable et des Relations Internationales – IDDRI) and the Think Tank for Sustainability (TMG). The development of the platform has been announced by Germany as a voluntary commitment on the occasion of the UN Ocean Conference for their implementation of SDG14 (5-9 June 2017). The PROG forum will provide new knowledge on integrated ocean governance at three different levels: (1) within regions; (2) between regions; and (3) between the regional level and the global level. Building on a collaborative process with international partners in 2018, the European Union and Germany will organise the first meeting in 2019.

● €1.5 million to analyse ecosystems and economic activity on the mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Rio Grande Rise, in order to support the definition of a coherent set of Areas of Particular Environmental Interest.

● Its intention to support the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean in establishing a Fishing Restricted Area (FRA) of at least 2,700 km² to protect demersal stocks in the habitat recognised as essential nursery and spawning ground for a number of marine species outside territorial waters of Italy and Croatia of the Jabuka/Pomo Pit area of the Adriatic Sea. The creation of the Jabuka/Pomo Pit FRA will be for decision at the annual session of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) on 16-19 October 2017.

Sustainable fisheries are a prerequisite for continued access to sufficient, nutritious seafood for coming generations. To ensure sustainable fisheries around the world, the EU announced:

● €15 million under the PESCAO programme for the improvement of regional fisheries governance in Western Africa with the aim of developing a regional fishing policy, putting in place a regional coordination against illegal unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing and improving fish stock management at regional level.

● €5.7 million in 2017 to support the work of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM) in improving the sustainability of fishing resources in the Mediterranean. This isa follow-up to the Medfish4Ever Declaration, a 10-year pledge to save the Mediterranean's fish stocks and protect the region's ecological and economic wealth that was signed on 30 March 2017.

● A minimum of €1 million in 2017 for the FAO global programme to support the implementation of the landmark Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing. The programme provides policy, legal and technical assistance and capacity-building to strengthen enforcement of the Agreement. Furthermore, the EU announced that it will host the international conference to assess and review the Port State Measures Agreement in 2020. Finally, the EU announced that it will contribute €225,000 in 2017 to FAO for the development of a global record that is to register fishing vessels, refrigerated transport vessels and supply vessels worldwide.

● New rules that are expected to enter into force by the end of 2017 to better and more sustainably manage the external fishing fleet. The new rules will allow the European Union to better monitor and control its fleet and efficiently address the problems of reflagging and chartering, thus enhancing efforts to combat IUU fishing.

● Its commitment to reaching a multilateral agreement on fisheries subsidies at the 11th WTO Ministerial Conference that is to take place in Buenos Aires in December 2017. With this objective, the EU put forward a revised proposal in July 2017 at the World Trade Organisation to prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, to eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and to refrain from introducing new subsidies of this kind. The proposal, aimed at implementing SDG 14.6, also contains provisions on enhanced transparency and guidelines on special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries. Furthermore, the EU will do its utmost to further this agreement and to support it through the stages of negotiation and implementation.

Source: European Commission