Background

As Parties gather at CBD COP17 for the first global stocktake of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, a central question is how to close the gap to achieving the marine portion of Target 3 by 2030 while ensuring sustainable management of the wider ocean. Few places illustrate this better than the Southern Ocean, one of the world’s last great wildernesses and a jointly managed global asset supporting biodiversity, climate resilience, food security, science and rational use.

"The fate of the polar regions is closely bound to our own." — Sir David Attenborough

With COP17 taking place at the same times as the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) annual meeting, there is a unique opportunity to explore how ocean governance, conservation, rational use and multilateral cooperation in the Southern Ocean can help deliver global biodiversity goals.

Event description

The event will position the Southern Ocean as a flagship opportunity to advance Global Biodiversity Framework implementation through international cooperation, science-based conservation, rational use, and ecosystem-based ocean governance. The proposed side event strives to:

• Demonstrate how protected areas, sustainable fisheries management, and ecosystem-based governance can accelerate progress toward Target 3 and broader GBF goals, including Target 4.

• Showcase the Southern Ocean as a model of collective action that supports climate regulation, food security, ocean health, and scientific knowledge.

• Build political momentum for Southern Ocean conservation during COP17 and the parallel CCAMLR meeting, while reinforcing shared responsibility for the global ocean.

Event format

The event will open with a brief, immersive Southern Ocean film featuring iconic Antarctic imagery, followed by a high-level dialogue exploring how science, multilateralism, and regional ocean governance in Antarctica's Southern Ocean can help deliver the Global Biodiversity Framework's conservation targets.

An interactive “At the Ice Edge” dialogue will bring together governments, scientists, Indigenous and youth voices, and civil society to discuss what conservation success in the Southern Ocean looks like by 2030 and how securing a representative system of Antarctic marine protected areas can serve as a global model for shared ocean stewardship.

Potential Participants

• Governments representing both developed and developing regions, including champions from Latin America (Chile/Argentina + Brazil), Africa (South Africa), Europe (EU/France), Asia (China, Korea UNOC link) and the Pacific (Palau/AOSIS).

• Scientific community: SCAR, Southern Ocean Observing System, Antarctic researchers

• International organisations

• Civil society

• Youth representatives

• Indigenous representatives from Pacific Islands to call for Antarctica protection.