XVI/5.Marine and coastal biodiversity: sustainable fisheries and addressing adverse impacts of human activities on marine and coastal biodiversity

1.Expresses its gratitude to the Government of Norway for funding and hosting the Joint Expert Meeting on Addressing Biodiversity Concerns in Sustainable Fisheries, convened by the Executive Secretary in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the Fisheries Expert Group of the IUCN Commission on Ecosystem Management (IUCN-CEM-FEG), in Bergen, Norway, from 7 to 9 December 2011, and welcomes the report of the meeting (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/INF/13);

2.Recognizing that fisheries management bodies are competent bodies for managing fisheries and, depending on the situations in different countries and regions, should have roles to play in addressing the impacts on biodiversity, notes the need for further improvement and implementation of the ecosystem approach in fisheries management by enhancing the capacity of these fisheries management agencies, constructive interagency collaboration, and full and meaningful participation of a wide range of experts on biodiversity, indigenous and local communities, and relevant stakeholders, as appropriate, in the fisheries management process;

3.Encourages constructive collaboration between biodiversity and fisheries bodies, and invites fisheries management bodies at national and regional levels, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), to ensure that biodiversity considerations are a part of their work;

4.Requests the Executive Secretary to transmit the report of the joint expert meeting, referred to in paragraph 1 above, to Parties, other Governments, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and regional fisheries management bodies, and to collaborate with these bodies with a view to improving how biodiversity concerns are addressed for sustainable fisheries;

5.Welcomes the report Progress made in the implementation of the specific work plan on coral bleaching (appendix 1 to annex I to decision VII/5) that includes information on the barriers to implementation as well as ways to overcome them, including specific actions to mobilize financial resources, as contained in document UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/INF/11, and takes note of the key messages of the report provided in annex I to document UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/6;

6.Notes that progress has been made since the specific work plan was adopted;

7.Recalling Aichi Biodiversity Target 10, expresses its deep concern that climate change will increase the severity and incidence of coral bleaching and ocean acidification throughout tropical seas in the twenty-first century;

8.Also expresses its concern that many recurrent capacity and financial challenges remain, which preclude significant progress in developing countries that still struggle to cope with localized stressors and do not have the capacity or financial resources to fully incorporate climate change impacts as well as other relevant stressors into coral reef or coastal management programmes;

9.Takes note of the urgent need to update the specific work plan on coral bleaching, taking into consideration other global impacts on coral reefs caused by climate change, most notably, projected impacts of ocean acidification, but also the effects of tropical storms and rising sea levels, and recognizes that the projected impacts of ocean acidification need to be integrated into management frameworks alongside the interaction with local stressors;

10.Further notes that meeting the growing challenge of climate change impacts on coral reefs will require significant investment to increase the capacity for effective management of future bleaching events and other stressors and to scale up the delivery of resilience assessments in all coral-reef regions, and that identifying a range of viable financial mechanisms to achieve these goals is critical;

11.Recognizes the need for managers of coral reef ecosystems to:

12.Requests the Executive Secretary to incorporate issues concerning the impacts of climate change on coral reefs and their implications for coastal management programmes, including, as appropriate, the elements specified in paragraph 11 above, in regional or subregional capacity-building workshops;

13.Requests the Executive Secretary to collaborate with Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations, and indigenous and local communities, to develop proposals to update the specific work plan on coral bleaching through an addendum to the work plan that addresses the needs set out in paragraph 11 above, and to submit the draft addendum for consideration at a meeting of the Subsidiary Body prior to the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

14.Welcomes the report Scientific synthesis on the impacts of underwater noise on marine and coastal biodiversity and habitats (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/INF/12), and takes note of the key messages of the report provided in annex II to the document UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/6;

15.Takes note of resolution 10.24 adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Migratory Species at its tenth meeting, which provides guidance on further steps to abate underwater noise pollution, where necessary, for the protection of cetaceans and other migratory species;

16.Notes that anthropogenic noise may have both short- and long-term negative consequences for marine animals and other biota in the marine environment, that this issue is predicted to increase in significance, and that uncontrolled increase in anthropogenic noise could add further stress to oceanic biota;

17.Encourages Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations, according to their priorities, to:

18.Noting the need for a consistent terminology to describe underwater noise, requests the Executive Secretary to collaborate with Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations, to prepare, subject to availability of financial resources, a draft set of consistent terminology for consideration by a meeting of the Subsidiary Body prior to the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties;

19.Noting the gaps and limitations in existing guidance, including the need to update it in the light of improving scientific knowledge, and recognizing a range of complementary initiatives under way, requests the Executive Secretary to collaborate with Parties, other Governments, and competent organizations, including the International Maritime Organization, the Convention on Migratory Species, the International Whaling Commission, as well as indigenous and local communities and other relevant stakeholders, to organize, subject to availability of financial resources, an expert workshop with a view to improving and sharing knowledge on underwater noise and its impacts on marine and coastal biodiversity, and developing practical guidance and toolkits for minimizing and mitigating the significant adverse impacts of anthropogenic underwater noise on marine and coastal biodiversity, which can assist Parties and other Governments in applying necessary management measures. The workshop should cover issues such as, the development of acoustic mapping of areas of interest, among others;

20.Further requests the Executive Secretary to bring this decision to the attention of the organizations referred to in paragraph 19 above;

21.Expresses its gratitude to the Government of Spain for funding the Expert Meeting to Develop a Series of Joint Expert Review Processes to Monitor and Assess the Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Marine and Coastal Biodiversity, convened by the Executive Secretary in collaboration with the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (IOC/UNESCO), in Montreal, from 19 to 20 October 2011, and welcomes the report of the expert meeting (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/INF/14);

22.Requests the Executive Secretary to collaborate with IOC/UNESCO, relevant scientific groups, other relevant organizations, and indigenous and local communities, on the preparation of a systematic review document on the impacts of ocean acidification on biodiversity and ecosystem functions, which will provide a targeted synthesis of the biodiversity implications of ocean acidification for marine and coastal systems, including information on the less-reported paleo oceanographic research, building upon the synthesis provided in CBD Technical Series No. 46, and make it available for consideration by a meeting of the Subsidiary Body prior to the twelfth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, with a view to forward it to Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations and transmit it to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;

23.Takes note of the elements in annex III to document UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/6 as guidance for practical responses to the impacts of ocean acidification on marine and coastal biodiversity, and encourages Parties, other Governments and competent organizations to make use of this guidance, as appropriate, to reduce various threats from ocean acidification to vulnerable ecosystems and enhance resilience of ecosystems through various area-based or other management measures, in addition to measures to reduce CO2 emissions;

24.Welcomes the preparation by the GEF-STAP of a report on the impacts of marine debris on marine and coastal biodiversity (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/INF/15) and takes note of the key messages contained in annex IV to document UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/16/6;

25.Requests the Executive Secretary in collaboration with Parties, other Governments, relevant organizations, and indigenous and local communities, subject to the availability of financial resources, to:

26.Requests the Executive Secretary, subject to availability of financial resources, to include in regional capacity-building workshops the issue of marine debris in order to discuss ways to prevent and reduce their impacts on biodiversity and strengthen research on the reduction and management of marine debris.