GPA IGR-2 HIGHLIGHTS:
WEDNESDAY, 18 OCTOBER
2006
On Wednesday
morning, delegates at GPA IGR-2 met in
plenary to hear a
report of Tuesday’s
partnership workshops and discuss: the Progress Report for
2002-2006; Guidance
for the Implementation of the GPA 2007-2011; UNEP/GPA Coordination Office
Programme of Work 2007-2011; and the draft elements of the Beijing Declaration on furthering the
implementation of the GPA. The Beijing Declaration working group met in the
morning.
PLENARY
This session was
chaired by Rejoice Mabudafhasi (South Africa).
REPORT OF THE PARTNERSHIP WORKSHOPS: David Osborne (Australia) presented a report on the outcomes of
Tuesday’s 19 workshops, which he said were positive and
constructive. Among successful examples of partnerships, he highlighted
the information portal on waste management in SIDS,
the partnership on marine litter, and the Memoranda of Understanding
signed between Ramsar, the GPA, and the International Oceans
Institute. As achievements, he noted the changing paradigm towards
water management “from hilltops to oceans” and improved decision making.
He underlined the call to take partnerships one step further by enhancing
the exchange of experiences and lessons learned, and expanding the scope
of current partnerships to issues such as land degradation. Osborne said
partnerships have the potential to: engage stakeholders, including the
general public; rally organizations in a more coordinated way; promote
innovations and systematic cooperation; catalyze legal and institutional
reform; generate political will; and enhance the GPA’s regional effectiveness. He identified
characteristics of good partnerships, including: having clarity of purpose
and a common goal; being inspiring; creating synergies; and using pilot
projects and clear performance measures. Delegates endorsed the report,
which will be forwarded to the Ministerial Segment.
PROGRESS REPORT FOR 2002-2006: Veerle Vandeweerd, Coordinator, UNEP/GPA Coordination Office, presented the Report on
Progress in Implementing the GPA at the International, Regional and National
Levels in the Period 2002-2006 (UNEP/GPA/IGR.2/2), noting that the GPA’s performance depends on governments’ will to
undertake tangible action.
ICELAND, CHINA
and AUSTRALIA lauded the GPA’s recent achievements, as well as its
catalytic potential, through its partnerships, with ICELAND calling for a
stronger emphasis on the long-term economic costs of inaction and
AUSTRALIA stressing the importance of the GPA’s flexibility.
THAILAND noted
significant progress in Asia, including the development of national laws,
strategies and action plans, and called for: building capacity of local
government officials; assessing the financial sustainability of projects;
raising awareness among policymakers and the public; and involving
international and regional institutions, civil society, and the private
sector.
PAKISTAN, CUBA,
BRAZIL, MEXICO, NIGERIA, the REPUBLIC OF KOREA, BARBADOS and SRI LANKA
described national policy-making initiatives, with PAKISTAN noting that NPAs should be mainstreamed at all levels of government
and society, and suggesting that an IGR meeting be held every three years.
The ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN proposed holding annual regional workshops to
review GPA progress.
NORWAY, on
behalf of the OSPAR Commission, reported
on activities under the OSPAR Convention on the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East
Atlantic. He referred to achievements made by the European Commission and the North Sea Conferences, such
as the EC Water Framework Directive and the EC
Marine Strategy, and stressed the importance of the ecosystem
approach.
BRAZIL expressed
concern with the low representation of Latin American countries at IGR-2. MALDIVES stressed SIDS’ vulnerability and lack of resources and
capacity. GHANA called for harmonization of legal frameworks, as well as
enhanced law enforcement, financial mechanisms, research and monitoring,
capacity building, and public awareness and participation. GUATEMALA
stressed the importance of cooperation for efficient use of financial
support.
UNEP, on behalf of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), noted the
complementarity between GPA
and CBD work, as
well as their Memorandum of Cooperation. He called for additional
synergies, for instance with Ramsar and the Convention
on Migratory Species. He highlighted recent achievements under the CBD that also benefit the GPA, including measurable targets on marine
environmental protection agreed upon at CBD
COP-8.
GUIDANCE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GPA 2007-2011: Vandeweerd
introduced the Guidance to the Implementation of the
GPA for 2007-2011:
GPA Contribution to the
Internationally Agreed Goals and Targets for the Sustainable Development
of Oceans, Coasts and Islands (UNEP/GPA/IGR.2/3), and invited States to make
suggestions to enhance its usefulness.
BRAZIL stressed
South-South cooperation, and SENEGAL underlined the importance of regional
activities. SAUDI ARABIA stressed water security. The GLOBAL WATER PARTNERSHIP called for a stronger link
between freshwater and oceans. MEXICO, supported by ICELAND and FRANCE,
suggested emphasizing the ecosystem approach, in particular as it would
link GPA
implementation to
development and sanitation issues. ICELAND proposed adding reference to
specific implementation activities undertaken at the local level. CUBA
called for education and institution strengthening. CHINA underlined
developing countries’ need for financial, technical and management
capability support. MAURITIUS expressed hope that a focal point for
SIDS at the
GPA Coordination Office
will be designated. The US supported the preparation of a similar guidance
document for IGR-3.
UNEP/GPA COORDINATION OFFICE PROGRAMME OF WORK
2007-2011: Vandeweerd introduced the
Proposed 2007 - 2011 Programme of Work of the UNEP/GPA Coordination Office
(UNEP/GPA/IGR.2/4) and noted the Office’s progress in becoming a catalyst to promote change, integrated processes, and
partnerships.
Many speakers commended the work done by the GPA
Coordination Office, and welcomed its proposed work programme.
MOROCCO highlighted several areas, including innovative
financing mechanisms for developing countries, technology transfer,
information dissemination, and monitoring. CANADA suggested introducing
indicators for measuring results. The NETHERLANDS reaffirmed its support
for hosting the Coordination Office in The Hague, and expressed preference
for its activities to be conducted at a “medium” level of resources.
JORDAN called for assistance to countries for their integration in GPA
activities. FRANCE welcomed the emphasis on the national level.
UNEP said it will consider ways of promoting African National Plans of Action (NPAs) in the budgetary
process. CHINA stressed the financing needs of developing countries, and
proposed endorsing the work programme. SOUTH AFRICA emphasized capacity
building. MEXICO referred to South-South cooperation, supported a “medium”
level of resources, without additional funds channelled from the
UNEP budget. The UK highlighted assessment work, capacity building
and improving stakeholder cooperation. The US also underlined stakeholder
engagement, proposed funding the Coordination Office at the “appropriate”
level, asked it to prepare annual work plans, and agreed with Canada on
performance indicators.
MAURITIUS recalled the Bali Strategic Plan on capacity
building, proposed funding at the “appropriate” level, spoke of closer
cooperation between the GPA
and multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs), and, supported by
MALDIVES, called for establishing a SIDS
focal point at the Coordination Office. The GLOBAL WATER PARTNERSHIP, supported by BARBADOS, called for
greater cooperation with the freshwater community. CONGO proposed working
closer together with the CBD on
several GPA-related basin projects. PALAU referred to the
vulnerability of SIDS.
The ABIDJAN CONVENTION called for capacity building to deal with
catastrophes in the region. AUSTRALIA suggested maintaining the focus on
land-based sources, and supported performance indicators.
GPA
Coordinator Vandeweerd responded to comments by delegates, and expressed
appreciation for the proposed ideas. She welcomed continued support to the
Coordination Office, as reiterated by the Netherlands, but pointed out
that it is currently operating at a minimum budgetary level. She stated
she would present an initial contribution on performance indicators to the
next session of the UNEP
Governing Council, to prepare a work plan for 2008-2009, and agreed on
improving cooperation with MEAs, to avoid duplication.
The Programme of Work was approved by the meeting, with Chair
Mabudafhasi noting that she would integrate the
suggestions from the floor.
DRAFT ELEMENTS OF THE BEIJING DECLARATION ON FURTHERING THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE GPA: Working group
Chair Mara Angélica Murillo Correa (Mexico) reported on the work of the
Beijing Declaration working group. She said the group agreed to make the
Declaration brief and action oriented, and examined suggestions from major
groups and other stakeholders, as well as amendments proposed by
delegations. She noted the group’s spirit of compromise and consensus
agreement of the draft. She said the Declaration called for, inter
alia: enhancement of regional action; promotion of effective
implementation of all conventions, agreements and protocols relevant to
the achievement of the GPA’s goals; availability of necessary financial
resources; capacity building; promotion of participation of local and
regional authorities and groups in developing and implementing strategies
under the GPA; and close coordination with national integrated
water resources management and water efficiency plans in developing and
implementing NPAs. Delegates agreed to forward the draft Declaration
to the Ministerial Segment for adoption.
BEIJING
DECLARATION WORKING GROUP
The working
group met in the morning to finalize the remaining contentious language in
the draft Declaration. Outstanding issues included: preambular reference
to climate-related natural disasters/climate change; and operative
paragraphs on a call for ratification of agreements relevant to the GPA, and on increased application of the
ecosystem approach. The group also considered new text on integration of
NPAs and integrated resources water management
and water efficiency plans. Compromise was reached on all these issues,
with climate language accepted as suggested by Chair Murillo, which refers
to the vulnerability of SIDS and other coastal areas to a rise in sea
level and climate-related natural disasters. The reference to ratification
was finally resolved in a breakout consultation of interested parties.
Chair Murillo recorded the group’s full agreement on the draft text
shortly before the morning plenary.
IN THE
CORRIDORS
After the
successful Partnerships Day, Wednesday unfolded smoothly with no major
controversies surfacing, while participants turned to the item on building
a common agenda. Generally, delegates felt the partnerships presentations
had been an enriching experience. They also praised the Beijing
Declaration drafting group for concluding its work before the start of the
Ministerial Segment. However, some negotiators seemed nostalgic for the
excitement of heated debates and protracted late-night negotiations in
other fora.
A
delegate was heard commenting that the unusually swift progress of the
meeting may be attributed to the low representation of civil society and
the absence of the private sector, a fact for which no ready explanation
was offered.
