IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

Co-Chairs: Nilufer Oral and David VanderZwaag

The Specialist Group now has over 60 members.

CEL members wishing to join the Specialist Group may contact Lauri MacDougall .

1. The Oceans SG organized a workshop on “Improved Governance of the Mediterranean Sea” held in Istanbul on 21-23 January 2010.

2. The Oceans SG organized three panels for the Fifth Global Conference on Oceans, Coasts and Islands held in Paris at UNESCO 3- 7 May 2010. Each panel included members of the Oceans SG.
a. Panel on “Recent Developments and Case Studies in Coastal and Marine Law and Management”
b. Panel on “Improved Governance of the Mediterranean”
c. Panel on “ Arctic Governance: Assessing the Present Seascape and Visioning Future Directions”

3. The Oceans SG participated at the UNEP Mediterranean Action programme RAC-SPA Extraordinary Meeting of RAC-SPA Focal Points for the establishment of specially protected areas in areas beyond national jurisdiction held in Istanbul on 1 June 2010.

4. The Oceans SG participated at the Second GloBallast Regional Task Force Meeting Regional Harmonization Workshop on Management Approaches held in Istanbul 1-3 June 2010.

5. The Oceans SG participated in the eighth annual Colloquium of the IUCN Academy on Environmental “Linkages Between Biodiversity and Climate Change, held in September 2010 at the University of Ghent, Belgium.

6. IUCN Oceans SG was one of the co-organizers of the Workshop held in Procida, Italy on “Improved governance of the Mediterranean Sea”

7. The Oceans SG participated at the Regional Workshop on Black Sea Regional Strategy for BWM, 19-21 July 2010, Odessa, Ukraine.

8. The Oceans SG is also actively involved in the Indian Ocean Seamount Project, which is the first high sea project funded by the GEF.

9. The Ocean SG contributed written and oral submissions to the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea in its Advisory Opinion case regarding the responsibility of states sponsoring activities in the Area.

More detailed descriptions of the ITLOS interventions and Mediterranean activities are provided below:

Oceans Specialist Group Participation before the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea
Members of the Oceans Specialist Group of the CEL prepared and submitted written and oral statements on behalf of IUCN to the Seabed Disputes Chamber of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on 19 August 2010 for its consideration in its advisory opinion on “Responsibilities and Obligations of States Sponsoring Persons and Entities with respect to Activities in the Area.” Robert A. Makgill, Donald K. Anton, Cymie R. Payne and Youna Lyons prepared the written submission; Makgill, Anton and Payne provided oral statements to the Chamber at proceedings held at the Tribunal in Hamburg, Germany on 14 to 16 September 2010. These statements were of special significance because they mark the IUCN’s first appearance as a party before either the ITLOS or International Court of Justice.

The Chamber was asked to address three questions regarding the responsibility and liability of states sponsoring mining by commercial entities in the seabed area beyond national jurisdiction (“The Area”) under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. This zone is declared the “common heritage of mankind” by the convention. The IUCN submissions provided information to the Chamber on: the scope and nature of the sponsoring state’s obligations to ensure compliance of sponsored entities; the state’s obligations under other provisions of the convention to protect the marine environment; and specific measures that sponsoring states must adopt. The submissions also explained that the state’s obligations evolve in light of the state of scientific and technological knowledge and the risks of the activity. By their nature, the statement said, these obligations are owed to the international community as a whole, and to avoid a “flag of convenience” problem sponsoring state obligations must apply equally to both developed and developing countries. Finally, they argued that to avoid gaps in liability, states that sponsor mining operations must bear residual liability for environmental harm that is not otherwise compensated by the mining company responsible for the harm; an alternative to residual liability could be the establishment of a trust fund. The IUCN written and oral statements form part of the case file, available at the ITLOS web site (www.itlos.org).

Oceans Specialist Group activities and governance of the Mediterranean Sea beyond national jurisdiction

The Oceans SG has been closely involved in an IUCN initiative to improve governance of the Mediterranean Sea beyond national jurisdiction. Since 2007 there have been a series of workshops under the common title of “Towards an improved governance of the Mediterranean Sea.” In 2010 two important workshops were held with the active participation of the Oceans SG. The first workshop was held in Istanbul on 21-23 January 2010 in collaboration with the IUCN Center for Mediterranean Cooperation, IUCN Global Marine Programme, the UNEP Regional Activity Center for Specially Protected Areas (RAC-SPA) and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean 2 (GFCM), with the support of the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea, and the French Agency for Marine Protected Areas and the local support of the Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV).

The workshop brought together scientists, legal experts and international agencies. The workshop focused on two areas: governance of the Mediterranean Sea beyond national jurisdiction and the protection of seamounts and canyons in the Mediterranean Sea in areas beyond national jurisdiction. As part of the governance activities working groups for IUU fishing, shipping and Mediterranean Straits were established. Each working group identified areas of study. One of the important outcomes of the Istanbul workshop was the adoption of the first set of “ Findings and Recommendations on Seamounts and Canyons in the Mediterranean Sea ” and the conclusions and recommendations of the Group on IUU Fishing.
The second workshop co-organized by the Oceans SG in the series of “Towards an improved governance of the Mediterranean Sea” was held in Procida, Italy in September 29- 2 October 2010. This workshop was organized jointly by the IUCN Center for Mediterranean Cooperation, IUCN Global Marine Programme, the UNEP Regional Activity Center for Specially Protected Areas (RAC-SPA) and the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), with the support of the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea, and the French Agency for Marine Protected Areas and the local support of Naples University “l’Orientale” and of the IUCN Commission on Environmental Law.

Two recommendations were adopted by the workshop: one to continue work on seamounts and canyons in the Mediterranean Sea, including projects for marine protected areas, and the second was a recommendation to the governments of Mediterranean States urging ratification of the Continental Shelf and Seabed Protocol (not yet in force).
Directly related to the activities of the IUCN and Oceans Specialist Group on governance of the Mediterranean Sea, members of the Oceans SG were invited to the Mediterranean Action Plan RAC-SPA (Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas) extraordinary meeting of National Focal Points for SPAs held in Istanbul on 1 June 2010. The subject of the meeting was the project for “Identification of possible SPAMIs (Specially Protected Areas of Mediterranean Importance) in the Mediterranean areas beyond national jurisdiction.” The outcome of the extraordinary meeting was the identification of several potential “high seas” areas in the Mediterranean Sea where SPAMIs under the SPAMI Protocol to the Barcelona Convention could be established.