Objective and description of the event
The Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement), which opened for signature on 20 September 2023, has so far garnered over 90 signatories and eight ratifications, and requires 60 parties to enter into force. This historic Agreement, building on the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is critical for ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, which covers nearly two thirds of the ocean. Working in tandem with the marine and coastal biodiversity work under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), the Agreement stands poised to make critical contributions to addressing the challenges facing the ocean, including the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework sets out four outcome-oriented goals to be achieved by 2050 and 23 action-oriented targets to be achieved by 2030 in order to halt and reverse biodiversity loss and to put nature on the path to recovery. The BBNJ Agreement has many synergies with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Nearly all of the 23 targets are highly relevant to the drivers of biodiversity loss that the BBNJ Agreement aims to address, as well as the measures and tools the Agreement provides for. The BBNJ Agreement can contribute to accelerating the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Many elements of the BBNJ Agreement provide clear opportunities for synergies and sharing knowledge and experience with work conducted under the Convention on Biological Diversity, including on ecologically or biologically significant marine areas, impact assessment, biodiversity mainstreaming, area-based conservation, capacity-building, access and benefit-sharing for genetic resources and the clearing-house mechanism.
This side event aims to promote a better understanding of the BBNJ Agreement and its potential to reinforce efforts to achieve the objectives of the CBD and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Building on the side event with the same focus at the 26th Meeting of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA), which discussed the potential for cooperation and synergies between the BBNJ Agreement and the CBD, including to achieve the goals and targets of the KMGBF, including the scientific and technical knowledge base, tools and guidance that can be shared therebetween, this side event will offer opportunities to facilitate further exchanges on the opportunities and challenges for leveraging such cooperation and synergies to advance the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity.
Draft Programme (90 mins)
1. Opening (9 mins)
2. Potential for Cooperation and Synergies between the BBNJ Agreement and the CBD, including the KMGBF (30 mins)
Guiding questions:
- What are the linkages between the BBNJ Agreement and the work under the CBD, including KMGBF, and what potential contributions can these linkages offer?
- What does these linkages and their potential contributions mean for States?
Panel of speakers
Moderated open forum and Q&A
3. Leveraging the Cooperation and Synergies between the BBNJ Agreement and the CBD, including the KMGBF: Opportunities and Challenges (45 mins)
Guiding questions:
- What opportunities exist for various stakeholders to leverage the cooperation and synergies between the BBNJ Agreement and the CBD, including the KMGBF, to advance the conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity?
- What are the main challenges in leveraging the cooperation and synergies between the BBNJ Agreement and the CBD, including the KMGBF, and how can these be effectively addressed?
Panel of speakers
Moderated open forum and Q&A
4. Looking ahead (6 mins)
