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Your Excellency Maisa Rojas Corradi, Environment Minister of Chile,
Your Excellency Romina Pourmokhtari, Environment Minister of Sweden,
Your Excellency Jos Ramon Reyes, Deputy Minister of Coastal and Marine Affairs, Dominican Republic
Ambassador Peter Thomson,
Razan Al Mubarak, President, International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
Aulani Wilhelm, Chief Executive Officer, Nia Tero,
Ministers, Excellencies, fellow panellists and friends.
My thanks to the many nations and partners who have come here in support of the 30x30 Ocean Action plan, a plan that we desperately need to conserve and protect marine and coastal ecosystems.
The latest Protected Planet Report from the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre and IUCN told us that 8.4 per cent of ocean and coastal areas are within protected and conserved areas. Some 31 countries and territories have protected over 30 per cent of their seas and coverage is expanding faster in the ocean than on land. We are moving in the right direction. But an area at sea larger than the Indian Ocean needs to be designated by 2030 to meet Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and indeed all ocean-related targets. This will mean addressing quality in quantity, better management, and tackling bottom trawling.
Now I recognize that the extent of protection matters. That is why the work by the Marine Conservation Institute Marine Atlas is interesting. Taking a strict no take interpretation we see 2.7%. So, whats the takeaway then?
We must step up efforts on coverage.
Stimulating finance to triple investments in Nature-based Solutions by 2030 will be a crucial enabler. Marine Nature-based Solutions receive only 9 per cent of such investments. SDG 14, Life Below Water, is the least funded of all SDGs. And we must revisit the highly subsidized and industrialized extraction of life from our ocean.
But this isnt just a numbers game. We must also ensure that these areas are effective and do not negatively impact the people who live in and around them. So, we must focus more on management effectiveness, ecosystem connectivity, inclusive governance, equity and the rights of local and Indigenous communities.
An important part of the puzzle is enhancing integrated ocean governance across all Multilateral Environmental Agreements (MEAs) that affect the ocean. Enhancing such cooperation is a priority for UNEP, which is uniquely positioned to promote efficiency, effectiveness and alignment across all ocean commitments. With countries and partners, we work to deliver the ambition of 100 per cent sustainable ocean management.
UNEP hosts many deals that affect the ocean. The Convention on Biological Diversity. The Regional Seas Conventions, which contributed to the development of the 30x30 Ocean Action Plan and will incorporate it into their new strategic direction. Conventions dealing with migratory species and the trade in flora and fauna. The four chemical conventions. And it is no secret that I firmly believe UNEP should be the home of the Secretariat for the BBNJ Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction, regardless of which nation Member States choose as host.
Securing enough ratifications to bring the BBNJ into force is urgent. Only 1.7% of the ocean in areas beyond national jurisdiction is covered by protected and conserved areas. I hope to see many ratifications at this conference, so we can protect and conserve the open ocean.
Excellencies,
We need international, regional, national and local action on financing and scaling up coverage of protected and conserved areas in the ocean. On improving and monitoring the quality of these areas. And on ensuring that human rights, particularly for Indigenous Peoples, are respected and upheld.
The 30x30 Ocean Action plan being launched today needs to be an important part of this work to protect and regenerate ocean ecosystems. To enable the sustainable use of marine resources. And to ensure community resilience and planetary stability.
Thank you.
