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LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

to revive the vitality and conserve the oceans and its coasts

By IW:LEARN

October 3^rd, 2023

A warm, summer Parisian weather welcomed the participants of the 22nd Annual Consultative Meeting on Large Marine Ecosystems and Coastal Partners (LME22) on 11 July 2023. Everyone was eager to get on board the most awaited first in-person gathering after four years of hibernation imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of setting sail, the participants found themselves at the historical UNESCO Headquarters. Over the course of three days, they engaged in information and experience sharing, discussing proven solutions and brainstorming innovative ideas to address a wide range of challenges confronting the world's large marine ecosystems (LME) and their coasts. Sixty-seven practitioners, some new and some familiar faces, representing 40 regional and international organizations and over 15 LMEs of the world were present. These practitioners come from diverse fields — policymaking, fisheries, watershed management, oceanography, data management, circular economy, marine biology, agriculture science, development communication, and many more, showing the ocean's ability to unite all walks of life.

Guided by the theme, "Strengthening the LME partnerships to address new challenges and enhance our impacts," the LME22 aimed to reconnect the LME and Coastal Partners since LME21 in 2019. The meeting provided a venue to discuss progress, challenges, and opportunities that transpired between then and now, and to collaborate in finding solutions, scientific tools, and innovations to new challenges and evolving community needs.

Dr. Vladimir Ryabinin (fourth from left), Executive Secretary of the IOC/UNESCO and Assistant Director General of UNESCO, welcomed participants together with representatives from the GEF Secretariat, UNDP and UNEP.

The LME annual consultation meetings provide a global forum for marine and coastal practitioners and managers in projects funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). This yearly assembly facilitates the exchange of experiences and lessons within the LME community of practice, fostering alliances and collaboration. Its overarching goal is to advance ecosystem-based ocean governance and management in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG14.

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

LME is key

The LME concept promotes a holistic and integrated ocean management approach. It encourages decisionmakers, various sectors, beneficiaries, and communities to collaborate closer and more effectively in eliminating extreme pressure on the ocean from pollution, overfishing, habitat loss, and climate change.

LMEs are defined as distinct transboundary marine ecosystems shared by two or more countries, interconnected currents, and mobility of marine resources in these ecosystems that call for collaborative management. The LME approach is guided by the principles of entire ecosystem management, integrating science-to-policy process ecosystem-based and integrated management.

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

Gearing up to get into the flow

A major topic was how and what to enhance in the LME process and partnerships considering recent ocean governance developments such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the much anticipated High Seas Treaty, COP15‘s “30x30“ commitment, and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) processes. The participants agree that the LME community needs to stay fully informed and involved in global advocacy, emphasizing the vital link between the ocean, biodiversity, and climate. The LME community is a generator, custodian, and user of ocean science; therefore, allowing the community to actively engage more in the Ocean Decade in fostering robust science-informed policies and vital science-policy interfaces at various levels.

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

A dedicated workshop on the Source-to-Sea approach also featured at the UN Ocean Conference in Lisbon in 2022 and the UN Water Conference in New York in March 2023, is a new addition to this LME meeting. The Source-to-Sea approach offers a complementary way to engage more stakeholders in coastal and ocean management by tapping into upstream and downstream environmental, social and economic linkages.

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

Participants acknowledge the indispensable role of science in implementing an ecosystem-based management approach in LMEs and working with the rest of the ocean science's value chain. In certain LMEs, such as in the Canary Current, data accessibility remains a challenge, particularly regarding limited knowledge of invasive species which is a significant concern in the region. On the other hand, national policies in the Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are framed around a traditional governance system guided by indigenous knowledge. Hence, it is imperative to enhance access to ocean science and bridge it with indigenous and local knowledge, establishing an invaluable wealth of knowledge to help every part of our blue planet achieve sustainable ocean management and governance.

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

Photo: Tom Vierus / Ocean Image Bank

An active supporter of LMEs, the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) presented the scope of their global role in providing scientific advice to the UN system on scientific aspects of marine environmental protection. They reiterated that the LME community could approach them for assistance on relevant issues.

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

Managers of projects financed by the GEF shared their wins and wishes on the Transboundary Diagnostics Analysis (TDA) / Strategic Action Programme (SAP). The TDA/SAP is a robust fact-based framework that binds governments together to solve transboundary water challenges through a clear set of priority actions. The TDA/SAP process can be applied on both transboundary marine and freshwater ecosystems. As such, Project managers agree that the TDA/SAP should be flexible and adaptable to meet the varied needs and contexts of the countries involved. Some LMEs overlap with UNEP Regional Seas, such as the Caribbean Sea and a few LMEs in the East Asian Seas. Patrick Debels of PROCARIBE+ stresses that acknowledging and integrating the SAP within the Regional Seas Convention could lead to more substantial synergies, country ownership and accountability, and more streamlined coordination.

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

In securing the success of LME projects, ATSEA's Handoko Santo underscores nurturing relationships and partnerships, even outside working hours, crucial to keeping stakeholders engaged in every step.

Based on their experience in the Western Indian Ocean, Timothy Andrew of the Nairobi Convention suggests that engaging the private sector from the onset, as early as the project design phase, and offering incentives, can help capture the private sector's interest and eventual support and commitment. The significance of private sector engagement was underscored during the LME21 meeting in Cartagena in 2019, emphasizing its critical role in mobilizing investments, disseminating knowledge, and facilitating network building —a desire that remains highly relevant within the LME community.

A slide on growing multistakeholder alliance presented by Timothy Andrew of the Nairobi Convention.

The three-day meeting provided a fresh restart for the LME community to continue collaborating in saving the world's oceans, one large marine ecosystem at a time. Discussions will continue, which the IOC/UNESCO will facilitate with support from GEF IW:LEARN, to ensure that the efforts of the LME community of practice and the wealth of knowledge and experience from three decades of implementing GEF LME projects can contribute to major international and regional processes. Additionally, the LME community plans to amplify its outreach campaigns to increase awareness about its dedicated efforts to revive our ocean's health.

LME22: Sailing the world’s oceans in three days

Access slide presentations and background information on the LME22: https://iwlearn.net/events/lme22

Know more about the LME concept and the GEF LME/Marine Portfolio: https://iwlearn.net/marine.

Visit https://iwlearn.net and follow us on LinkedIn / Twitter / Facebook to find out and access the LME22 report once it is published.

Footnotes

Text by: Khristine Gudczinski. Cover photo: Alfonso Escu / Unsplash. Fish photo: Ellen Cuylaerts/Ocean Image Bank. LME22 photos: Khristine Gudczinski and Malek Ameri/IOC-UNESCO. Feedback video: Khristine Gudczinski.

FootNotes

Text by: Khristine Gudczinski. Cover photo: Alfonso Escu / Unsplash. Fish photo: Ellen Cuylaerts/Ocean Image Bank. LME22 photos: Khristine Gudczinski and Malek Ameri/IOC-UNESCO. Feedback video: Khristine Gudczinski.

© 2026 IW:LEARN

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