ALBERT

Description: This report was prepared as part of the STRONG High Seas project, based on a series of stakeholder surveys and experience gathered through various workshops held in the Southeast Pacific region, as well as on literature surveys and expert opinion. The report was reviewed by experts to validate findings and ensure robust content. This report is part of a series of reports covering issues of ocean governance with a focus on the ABNJ of the Southeast Pacific and the Southeast Atlantic regions and builds on previous reports published by the STRONG High Seas project. Further project reports cover the legal and institutional framework applicable to ABNJ, the ecological state and the socioeconomic importance of ABNJ in the project regions, options for management and conservation measures for conservation of marine biodiversity in ABNJ, and considerations for integrated ocean management. These reports are available through the STRONG High Seas project website. Following this introductory chapter, Chapter 2 provides relevant context with regards to ocean governance in areas beyond national jurisdiction, the ongoing negotiations towards a new agreement under UNCLOS and related capacity development needs and approaches. Chapter 3 presents a short summary of the surveys undertaken by the STRONG High Seas project with regards to capacity needs in the Southeast Pacific region and Chapter 4 is a summary of the corresponding capacity development efforts undertaken as part of the STRONG High Seas project. Chapter 5 provides reflections and recommendations for future capacity development activities beyond the scope of the project and highlights lessons learned through the five years of this project. Additional background information is provided in the Annexes.

Description: This summary for decision makers is based on the report ‘Ecological Baselines of the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific – Status of Marine Biodiversity and Anthropogenic Pressures in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction’ and provides consolidated information on key biological and ecological features of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) in the Southeast Atlantic as well as highlights key pressures placed upon it by human activities. ABNJ include the water column (the high seas) and the seabed (the Area) outside of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of coastal States and cover about half of the Earth’s surface. This summary is intended to inform relevant actors and stakeholders to support their understanding of the function and importance of marine biological diversity in ABNJ and the need to for appropriate conservation and management measures. The report was prepared as part of the Strengthening Regional Ocean Governance for the High Seas (‘STRONG High Seas’) project – funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI).

Description: The primary aim of the report – Ecological Baselines of the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific - Status of Marine Biodiversity and Anthropogenic Pressures in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction – is to provide decision makers with relevant and useful information on the current status of the marine environment in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), both in the Southeast Pacific and the Southeast Atlantic, as well as highlight key pressures placed upon it by human activities. Such information is intended to support decision makers with improved understanding of the functioning and importance of ecological features of ABNJ and their contribution to global human wellbeing.

Description: This summary for decision makers is based on the report ‘Ecological Baselines of the Southeast Atlantic and Southeast Pacific – Status of Marine Biodiversity and Anthropogenic Pressures in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction’ and provides consolidated information on key biological and ecological features of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) in the Southeast Pacific as well as highlights key pressures placed upon it by human activities. ABNJ include the water column (the high seas) and the seabed (the Area) outside of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of coastal States and cover about half of the Earth’s surface. This summary is intended to inform relevant actors and stakeholders to support their understanding of the function and importance of marine biological diversity in ABNJ and the need to for appropriate conservation and management measures. The report was prepared as part of the Strengthening Regional Ocean Governance for the High Seas (‘STRONG High Seas’) project – funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU) through the International Climate Initiative (IKI).

Description: This report was prepared as part of the STRONG High Seas project, based on a series of stakeholder surveys and experience gathered through various workshops held in the Southeast Atlantic region, as well as on literature surveys and expert opinion. The report was reviewed by multiple experts to validate findings and ensure robust content. This report is part of a series of reports covering issues of ocean governance with a focus on the ABNJ of the Southeast Pacific and the Southeast Atlantic regions and builds on previous reports published by the STRONG High Seas project. Further project reports cover the legal and institutional framework applicable to ABNJ, the ecological state and the socioeconomic importance of ABNJ in the project regions, options for management and conservation measures for conservation of marine biodiversity in ABNJ, and considerations for integrated ocean management. These reports are available through the STRONG High Seas project website.

Description: This chapter analyses the challenges of extreme change in the Arctic and Southern Oceans. In both regions, warming seas, declining sea ice and acidification of waters are adversely affecting the distribution of marine species. The specific long-term impacts on fisheries are uncertain, but the generally increasing pace and scale of change appear to be inevitable. Due to the loss of sea ice, human activities in polar seas, such as shipping, fishing, tourism, and exploration for (and extraction of) hydrocarbons, are increasing and will accelerate in the future. The chapter describes existing governance frameworks for polar seas and notes that ecosystem-based approaches are being promoted by the Arctic Council and the Antarctic Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. Existing barriers to effective conservation of polar marine ecosystems include the desire among actors to exploit newly accessible resources, a lack of international cooperation, and a shortage of scientific information. The use of more collaborative processes and the implementation of new management schemes, including area-based management measures, may help to overcome those barriers.