EU Presidency Statement - UNICPOLOS - Cooperation and Coordination

General Assembly, United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea Seventh Meeting, Cooperation and Coordination, especially as it relates to ecosystem approaches and oceans; Statement by Dr. Thomas Loidl, Austrian Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the European Union.

Mr. Co-Chair,

The ecosystem approach requires that all the different components of an ecosystem, the various activities that affect it as well as the regulatory and policy frameworks be coordinated in a systematic manner to address the cumulative effects.

As pointed out in the Report of the Secretary General, an ecosystem approach needs to be applied within the context of an appropriate and agreed legal/policy framework. This is why the EU has, for the global level, advocated the establishment of an UNCLOS Implementation Agreement. Details of the EU position were provided during the February Working Group on biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The EU wishes to provide further clarity to other delegations on such an Agreement and has therefore produced a list of possible elements for inclusion in such an Agreement; it is not to be interpreted as an outline for a legal structure, and at this stage it is non-exhaustive.

An Implementation Agreement would allow for cumulative impact assessment across different sectors. The agreement would help implement already existing obligations for international cooperation with respect to the protection of marine ecosystems already contained in UNCLOS. Such an Implementation Agreement could draw on the experiences gained in regional organisations. However, these regional bodies have a limited scope of application as well as limited membership. The envisaged agreement to implement the provisions contained in UNCLOS on the protection and preservation of the marine environment would undoubtedly be an important supplement to these regional bodies. It would also strengthen and reinforce existing sectoral organizations.

At the end of the Ad Hoc Open-Ended Working Group on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, there was general support for a continuation of the process, as reflected in the report of the Co-Chairs. In addition, the 8th Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity invited the UN General Assembly to decide at its 61st session to establish a timely follow-up process. The EU strongly supports this invitation, and hopes that this meeting can agree on a recommendation to UNGA to that end. The EU proposes that the UNGA agrees to set up a meeting where the possibility of negotiating the Implementation Agreement is further assessed.

Thank you.

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• EU Presidency Statement - UNICPOLOS - Item 3 (12/6/2006)