United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) 22nd Global Meeting of the Regional Seas |26 May 2022
Delegates and guests in a souvenir photograph
Addressing the issues of biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution
The Regional Seas Programme is one of United Nations Environment Programme’s most significant achievements and forms an integral part of ocean governance and cooperation at regional and global level, Minister for Agriculture, Climate Change and Environment Flavien Joubert has said.
He was speaking yesterday, while officially launching the United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) 22nd Global Meeting of the Regional Seas which is taking place at the Eden Bleu Hotel, gathering delegates from all 18 Regional Seas Conventions and Action plans (RSCAPs), alongside representatives of the global Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEA), as well as UNEP staff.
The meeting builds on the outcomes of the 21st annual meeting held from October 3-5, 2019 in Berlin, Germany, and it comes at a time when the member states at the resumed fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) endorsed a historic resolution to end plastic pollution and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024.
It was in March that heads of states, ministers of environment and other representatives from UN member states endorsed a historic resolution at the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) in Nairobi, Kenya to end plastic pollution and forge an international legally binding agreement by 2024.
The resolution addresses the full life-cycle of plastic, including its production, design and disposal.
Yesterday’s official launch started with a video message from UNEP executive director Inger Andersen, in the presence of the programme’s director of the ecosystems division Susan Gardner, and executive secretary of the Basel, Rotterdam andStockholm Conventions Rolph Payet, a former Seychellois minister.
Minister Joubert said over the years, the regional seas programme with concrete action plans has expanded to include biodiversity conservation, particularly through marine protected areas, and, more recently, sustainable development.
He added that in Seychelles, we are committed to ocean protection and continues to find ways to address issues affecting the ocean.
He noted that we have already declared 30 percent of our exclusive economic zone as marine protected areas, which already exceeds the 10 percent protection by 2020 commitment under Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14.5.
“We are now in the phase of implementation of the marine spatial plan where dedicated budgets are required for the effective management of the protected areas,” said Minister Joubert who further added that “we have also managed to develop a national maritime security strategy which will guide us in addressing piracy, human and drug trafficking, as well as illegal, unreported and unregulated (IIU) fishing.
Minister Joubert further noted that marine litter and plastic pollution is a major threat to the ocean and that in regards to the issue, Seychelles is working in close partnership with UNEP to develop a national action plan to identify key sources, pathways, hotspots and impacts of plastic pollution, including micro plastics in the marine and coastal environment.
“The action plan will enable the government to make better and informed decisions, while there is also an ongoing project on improving water quality by use of constructed wetland wastewater treatment at all local farms on Mahe to demonstrate the concept of treating waste water, recycling and composting”, further noted Minister Joubert.
Addressing the delegates, Mrs Gardner said the world we are living in at the moment is not making it easy for us as we grapple with myriad crises ‒humanitarian, environmental, health, food and financial ‒ while the troubled global setting makes it all the more important to rise to the challenges – and overcome them.
She said the meeting provides an opportunity to discuss and share ideas on how to strengthen ocean governance in our respective regions and to deal with the ever increasing and complex environmental challenges, including biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), blue economy, the post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework under the CBD, the UN decade of Ocean Science, among others.
Mrs Gardner also outlined the three key points that must be made to achieve desired change.
These are, firstly, to rally support and adoption of strategies, programmes and projects that are aligned with global commitments such as the Sustainable development goals 2030, the post 2020 GBF, the UNEA resolutions, global and regional multilateral environmental agreements including their obligations under the conventions and action plans, secondly, to support participation of regional seas countries in the negotiation of the global agreement on plastics, and thirdly, to strengthening ocean governance through strategic partnerships.
Among the topics to be covered during the meeting are End plastic pollution: Towards an international legally binding instrument, Sustainable Nitrogen Management, Nature based solutions for supporting Sustainable development, Sound Management of Chemicals and waste, ocean governance, marine regions forum conference concept note for 2023, global biodiversity and also framework and sustainable ocean Initiative.
Photos by Joena Meme
