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A fighting chance for the ocean

All hands on deck!

By IW:LEARN

June 30^th, 2023

The United Nations (UN) adopted the historic ‘High Seas Treaty’ on the protection and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction or about two-thirds of the world’s ocean on 19 June. This is a major boost for the adoption of the treaty by countries, the UN system, and various stakeholder groups. The Secretary-General urged all States to spare no effort to ensure that the treaty enters into force and called on them to act without delay to sign and ratify it as soon as possible.

The Treaty is a legally binding instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and which will strengthen both the 2030 Agenda and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in reviving the ocean’s health. Also on 29 June 2023, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council, the GEF's governing board, has approved plans to establish a “game-changing” new fund to finance the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The enforcement of these agreements and recent developments are critical to realizing the Sustainable Development Goals on life below water (SDG 14), climate action (SDG 6), and securing global food supply and economy, and supporting local livelihoods by 2030 and beyond.

The International Waters (IW) portfolio of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) has been contributing to these concerted efforts since the GEF’s inception in 1991. Currently comprised of about 80 projects, the GEF IW Portfolio is addressing issues facing transboundary coastal and marine ecosystems as well as areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) through improved governance, ecosystem-based approaches and transboundary cooperation, in partnership with countries, international institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. Since then, the GEF IW Portfolio has been delivering substantive results and experiences. Its International Waters Learning Exchange and Resource Network, or GEF IW:LEARN, ensures that the wealth of information and knowledge are made accessible to foster scaling up and mainstreaming of solutions globally.

IW:LEARN hosts a database of project information and outputs, and a wide array of knowledge products on coastal and marine and fresh water ecosystems, including cross-cutting topics on the transboundary waters management context. IW:LEARN also organizes a number of capacity building and twinning workshops to enable a robust exchange of experiences and lessons learned between projects working on the same challenges and/or geographical setting. These activities guide and support project managers, governments, technical experts, industries and civil society groups as they tread the complex world of transboundary cooperation.

Semporna, Sabah, Malaysia. Photo: iStock

Once a year, the IW:LEARN together with other GEF-funded projects, managers and experts on large marine ecosystems (LME), marine protected areas (MPA), marine spatial planning (MSP), integrated coastal management (ICM), marine area networks and cross-cutting themes such as climate change adapation gather in the Annual Consultation Meeting of Large Marine Ecosystem and Coastal Partners (LME Meeting) organized by the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO. This annual meeting enhances the global management of marine and coastal ecosystem by providing support to a global network of leaders and institutions managing the seas and oceans. An invitation-only event, participants share lessons learned, discuss ways to enhance regional collaboration, review emerging scientific and practical applications and tools. The meeting is also a platform for creating new initiatives to achive the SDGs especially SDG 14.

The GEF Biennial International Waters Conference (IWC), the signature in-person event of the Portfolio, takes place once in two years and serves as a venue for a dynamic cross sectoral and Portfolio-wide learning and experience sharing. It is a venue for the GEF IW Portfolio to discuss burning issues and share tested solutions and innovative ideas, celebrate together progress achieved and to look into the future of programming within and beyond the GEF IW Focal Area.

Did you know? The last IWC, the IWC9 in Morocco, convened about 350 participants — comprising of GEF IW project managers, representatives of beneficiary countries, non-governmental organizations, transboundary management institutions, GEF Agencies and the private sector. Participants represented 84 active GEF IW projects, 80 countries and GEF implementing and executing agencies.

Naoko Ishii, then GEF CEO and Chairperson, delivered the keynote address at the 8th GEF Biennial International Waters Conference in Negombo.

The IWC fosters collective work among countries and stakeholders for each to better use and benefit from these water systems, and implement policy, legal and institutional reforms and investments needed for the sustainable use and maintenance of ecosystem services.

The LME20 preceded the 9th GEF International Waters Conference (IWC9) on 5-8 November 2018 in Marrakech.

The most awaited tenth IWC (IWC10) is set to take place soon in Uruguay. The exact date and location will be announced shortly on the IWC10 webpage. The IWC10 is being organized by IW:LEARN with a team of technical advisors in consultation with project managers and GEF Agencies and partners.

Is your organization interested to engage as a partner or sponsor for the IWC10? Please contact the IW:LEARN Secretariat (pcu@iwlearn.org) for more information.

Photo: Rafael Kellermann Streit / Unsplash

About the GEF IW Focal Area

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) unites 183 member countries—in partnership with international institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector—to address global environmental issues. The GEF IW focal area targets transboundary water systems, such as shared river basins, lakes, groundwater and LMEs. The cumulative 32 years of GEF IW portfolio consists of over 400 projects with about US$2.8 billion of GEF grants and $18.6 billion in cofinance invested in more than 170 GEF recipient countries. GEF’s investments in the IW focal area have surpassed $1.15 billion. These funds have leveraged another $7.7 billion from partners for marine-related projects and programs. This massive investment has led to the delivery of an impressive set of global marine environmental benefits, including the creation of 4.1 million km2 of marine protected areas.