4th Oceans Forum on trade-related aspects of Sustainable Development Goal 14

Description

The ocean’s resources sustain the livelihoods of about 3 billion people worldwide, the vast majority of whom live in developing countries. But those livelihoods are under threat, as the ocean and its ability to sustain life are in grave danger due to human activities, such as pollution and overfishing. Every year, an estimated 5 to 12 million metric tonnes of plastic flow into the ocean, which represents 95% of our planet’s biosphere. And due to overfishing, the percentage of fish stocks within biologically sustainable levels fell from 90% in 1990 to less than 66% in 2017. The 4th Oceans Forum, to be held from 6 to 8 April 2022, is a unique platform to identify ways to change course. It’s an opportunity to find solutions for using trade as a tool to protect our ocean and its resources, accelerating the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14’s trade-related targets. For more information: https://unctad.org/meeting/4th-oceans-forum-trade-related-aspects-sustainable-development-goal-14.

Topics

The high-level opening of the Oceans Forum will tackle challenges and opportunities for the ocean economy to contribute to a sustainable and resilient post-COVID-19 recovery for all countries. The forum to address the following topics:

• Emerging sustainable ocean economy sectors, such as seaweed production
• Transparency and fish subsidies support mechanisms
• Ocean economy markets and non-tariff measures reform
• Social sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture value chains
• Sustainable and resilient maritime supply chains
• Trade-related aspects of marine litter and plastic pollution

Resources

Registration: https://indico.un.org/event/1000443/

Programme: https://unctad.org/system/files/information-document/ditc-ted-06042022-Oceans4-Programme-1-v15.pdf   

Documentation: https://unctad.org/meeting/4th-oceans-forum-trade-related-aspects-sustainable-development-goal-14

Orgnisers

UNCTAD, FAO, UNEP, Commonwealth Secretariat, OACPS, CAF and IOI with the support of the Missions of Kenya and Portugal

Online Stakeholder Briefing: Inputs to the Political Declaration Zero Draft

Convened under the auspices of the United Nations and co-hosted by the Governments of Kenya and Portugal, the “2022 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development” (or the 2022 UN Ocean Conference) will be held from 27 June – 1st July 2022 in Lisbon, Portugal. The overarching theme of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference is “Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions”. The Conference was originally scheduled to be held in 2020, however, it had to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The President of the General Assembly has appointed the Permanent Representatives of Denmark and Grenada as co-facilitators of the intergovernmental consultations on the political declaration for the 2022 United Nations Conference to support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14. A draft of the political declaration (zero draft) has been shared with Member States and the second informal consultations (originally scheduled for 10 - 11 March 2022), will be held on 24-25 March 2022.  

Online Stakeholder Briefing – Comments to the Revised Zero Draft 

Two previous online stakeholder briefings were organized in early 2020 to share information about the UN Ocean Conference, as well as review the main elements of the zero draft of the political declaration. Information about the previous briefings is available here. 

On 23 March 2022, from 10:30 – 11:30 AM (EDT, New York), an online briefing will be convened to provide an opportunity for stakeholders to share their inputs with the co-facilitators on the zero draft of 2022 UN Ocean Conference political declaration. 

The co-facilitators value specific inputs on the elements in the text, keeping in mind the theme of science and innovation for SDG14 implementation.  

All interested stakeholders are now invited to the online stakeholder briefing. Stakeholders who are interested in providing inputs should indicate this on the registration form, and are strongly encouraged to register by 16 March 2022. Requests to speak after this date may not be accommodated. Considering the limited amount of time, preference will be given to interventions made on behalf of organized groups and constituencies.   

Note: This briefing will not address practical information regarding the Ocean Conference, including participation, side events, etc. Separate webinars will be organized to provide information on these issues. 

To attend the virtual briefing, register here by 21 March 2022: https://bit.ly/BriefingZeroDraftOcean  

More information about stakeholder engagement and the 2022 UN Ocean Conference can be found here: bit.ly/StakeholderEngagementOceanConference

Virtual Briefing on Local and Regional Governments and SDG 14 implementation: Mobilizing commitments towards the 2022 United Nations Ocean Conference

Local and Regional Governments and SDG 14

Many coastal cities and regions around the world are directly threatened by climate change and related risks, including sea-level rise, as well as the increase in extreme weather events that affect people’s lives, ecosystems and economies. While several coastal cities and regions are developing plans on how to adapt to climate change, not all are prepared well enough. Furthermore, many citizens of coastal cities and regions depend directly on the ocean for their livelihoods, making it important to promote peer learning and sharing of good practices amongst cities and regions on how to promote a Blue Economy, encourage the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improve livelihoods and jobs, while protecting the ocean ecosystem health. 

The 2022 UN Ocean Conference offers a unique opportunity for coastal cities and regions to mobilize and demonstrate leadership in taking action to protect our ocean and ensure that the ocean and its accompanying coast are sustainably managed.  

Objectives of the event

• To create awareness amongst cities and regions and their networks about the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, including the preparatory process, and opportunities of engagement.  

• To initiate a discussion on how to mobilize new Ocean Action commitments and initiatives by cities and regions that could become part of the outcome of the Conference.  

Format

The event was held fully virtual on Zoom, on Thursday 17 February from 9-10:30 AM, EST. It featured opening remarks from senior representatives of the Conference’s co-hosts, Portugal and Kenya, and remarks by the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for the Ocean, Ambassador Peter Thomson. The second half of the event featured a round table with interventions from representatives of key city networks, as well as representatives of local and regional governments from coastal areas across the globe, with due consideration of gender and geographical balance.  

Target audience

Representatives of local and regional governments and their networks.

Organizers

The briefing was organized by UN DESA in its capacity as the secretariat of the 2022 UN Ocean Conference, UN Global Compact and the Climate Champions Team.