On August 15, 2022, the fifth session of the Intergovernmental Conference on an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The two-week meeting will end on Aug 26. 

The delegation of China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCGDF) is participating in the meeting on the spot and bringing us the latest reports.

Pic: Rena Lee, chair of BBNJ

The conference opened at 10:00 a.m. local time in New York on August 15. First, the government representatives made statements.

The representative of New Zealand hopes that this meeting will lead to a document with international credibility, so that every country will receive the support and respect it deserves.

The representative of China said: This will be an international document that is urgently needed by the whole world and has a higher effect and binding force. China will, as always, fully support the convening of the conference and implement the terms of the document. China also hopes that countries, while negotiating and finalizing policies, will deeply consider the impact of marine environment and biological resources on coasts, borders and economic development. Meanwhile, China hopes to strengthen innovation in related technologies and industries and adopt more scientific means.

Pic: the representative of China

The representative of the USA (on behalf of Jamaica) said: We have had enough and interesting discussions. The USA is very flexible in this regard, so we currently agree with the content of item 6, which is considered comprehensive enough and needs no amendments. 

The representative of South Korea also expressed the hope that this item could be implemented as soon as possible.

From 15:00 local time in New York, the meeting continued with speeches from international organizations, United Nations agencies, and NGOs and other stakeholders.

Regarding Item 10 (Collection in situ of marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction), the representative of Africa stated that the collection in situ of marine genetic resources of areas beyond national jurisdiction was a compromised clause which was distressing. But given that this is a multi-party effort, he hopes that countries can strictly abide by it.

In response to the remarks made by the African representative, the representative of the EU thanked those countries that had made concessions to this and expressed that the EU would continue to listen to the views from all countries.

Among them, Barbados, a small Pacific Island country in Latin America, also expressed their opinions. Barbados is extremely rich in marine resources and attaches great importance to marine protection and environmental protection, but currently it lacks scientific and technological support.

In addition, the Conference also discussed issues related to access to traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and local communities associated with marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

Pic: the representative of Australia

Pic: the representative of New Zealand

The meeting ended at 18:00 local time in New York.

Original Chinese Article: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/yAruOHUt3JiElFmsJSBxZQ

Translator: Sara

Checked by: Samantha

Editor: Samantha     

Contact: v10@cbcgdf.org; +8617319454776

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