Sommaire: EU Presidency Statement - United Nations: Preparatory Meeting for Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (30 March 2007: New York)
Statement by the Representative of Germany, Mr. Thomas Fitschen, on behalf of the European Union, Preparatory Meeting for the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (25 - 29 June 2007), on Annex C of the chairpersons' proposals, entitled "Draft areas of concentration for the discussion panel", New York
The European Union has always considered UNICPOLOS process to be of particular relevance to oceans-related issues, due to its unique character as an informal forum for raising awareness, exchanging expertise and laying the factual groundwork for political discussions later in the General Assembly. We welcome the opportunity which we have this year to discuss "marine genetic resources" (MGR) and thereby to approach an issue on which until now there are far more questions than answers.
It is quite telling that the General Assembly, when deciding on this year's topic, just named the subject and did not mention any particular aspect or question in relation to "MGR", but left the identification of possible issues entirely to the Process itself. The EU finds the list of issues in para. 2 of annex C of the Chairpersons' paper, based on Chapter 10 of the SG's report, very helpful. The list, which the Chairpersons with a bit of caution called "non-exhaustive", suggests quite clearly
how challenging UNICPOLOS XIII will be. It also tells us to what extent, maybe more than ever before, we need input from the outside, from experts of all kinds and from a variety of professional backgrounds. In this regard the discussion panels - which make UNICPOLOS such a unique consultation process within the UN - will be of particular importance, and we are confident that they can be organized in a way that will ensure maximum intellectual output in the limited time we have at our
disposal.
Looking at the list and the way it has been translated into a structure of panel discussions in para. 3 of annex C, we basically agree with the outline proposed by the Chairpersons. There is, however, one aspect which in our view does not seem to get sufficient emphasis, and that is the question of preservation and protection of marine genetic resources. Whereas the list of issues in para. 2 touches upon this issue at least twice, in lit (e), anthropogenic stresses, and lit (f), instruments
relating to the utilization and conservation of marine genetic resources, no such explicit reference is made in the outline of the panel discussions in para. 3.
As we are still at the beginning of understanding what exactly marine genetic resources are and in which ways they might be put to use for the benefit of all, the EU is of the view that it might be dangerous if we neglected to consider the potential environmental and biological consequences of exploring and exploiting MGR. While everyone acknowledges the potential value of MGRs - which is why we call them "resources" in the first place - we all know only too well at the beginning of the 21st
century that resources can be depleted, and that their exploitation can also have unintended consequences. The EU believes that we simply cannot afford not to take this aspect into due account at our discussions in June.
That is why the EU would like to propose adding another area to be covered by the panel. If we take para. 3 of annex C as our basis, the amendment we are proposing could come after what is currently para. 3 B, and could read as follows
3 C : conservation and preservation of marine genetic resources as part of marine biodiversity
- Potential environmental impact of activities related to MGR, especially bioprospecting
- Direct and indirect (e.g. introduction of alien species) impacts and their influence on MGR
- How could MGR be effectively preserved?
The current para. 3 C could then become para. 3 D
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