Welcome, Nairobi Convention Member States, partners, and friends, to this installment of the Weekly News Round-up! Please keep reading to find out what’s new in efforts to protect, conserve and develop the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) region.
We look forward to continuing our work with you to create a prosperous WIO region with healthy rivers, coasts, and oceans.
News:
Environment in Mauritius: Replacement of casuarinas trees to curb coastal erosion
The Ministry of Environment, Solid Waste Management and Climate Change, within its policy to combat coastal erosion along public beaches, will be replacing casuarina trees, commonly known as filao, by endemic ones on the public beach of Flic-in-Flac, Le Morne and Belle Mare…..read more
Preparatory process of the 2020 United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development
The present note was prepared in response to paragraph 22 of General Assembly resolution 73/292, which requests the Secretary-General to prepare a background note, including a proposal for themes of the interactive dialogues for the Conference, to be considered by the preparatory meeting to be held at United Nations Headquarters in New York on 4 and 5 February 2020. The note outlines the status and trends, challenges and opportunities for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14. It addresses the theme of the conference, “Scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions”. It proposes eight themes for interactive dialogues for the Conference….read more
Mobile Protected Areas for Biodiversity on the High Seas?
A new agreement is being negotiated under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) to provide legally binding mechanisms to protect the marine environment and to conserve and ensure the sustainable use of marine biodiversity on the high seas (international waters in areas beyond national jurisdiction). One of the suggested objectives in the current draft text is to “apply an approach that builds ecosystem resilience to the adverse effects of climate change” when applying area-based management tools, including marine protected areas (MPAs). With the final language to be determined as early as 2020, this commentary urge negotiators to include new dynamic management tools, including mobile MPAs (mMPAs), whose boundaries shift across space and time, that could help to safeguard marine life and build ecosystem resilience by protecting dynamic habitats as well as migratory marine species in a changing ocean…..read more
Read a related Q&A: Making the Case for Mobile Marine Protected Areas
Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience Training for Coastal Cities – Applications close Tomorrow: 25 January 2020.
This is an interactive and participatory four-day regional training workshop where coastal cities in Africa can begin to develop Climate Change Adaptation Action Plans (CCAPs) with a specific focus on coasts. These action plans are the first and essential step in building more resilient coastal cities. The training workshop is scheduled to take place in Cape Town, South Africa from 24-27 February 2020.
Applications close Tomorrow: 25 January 2020. Read the rest of the details and Apply here
