The United Nations Conference "Our oceans, our future: partnering for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14", was held on 5-9 June 2017 in New York (2017 SDG 14 Conference), co-chaired and co-funded by Sweden and Fiji.
HELCOM Showcasing THE added value of regional cooperation at THE OCEAN Conference
HELCOM Heads of Delegation agreed on the importance of
showcasing at the SDG 14 Conference the added value of regional
cooperation in Regional Sea Conventions, including the Baltic Sea being
an exemplary region for policy making based on best available science,
for stakeholder involvement, and for establishing partnerships for
integrated management of human activities. This is supported by the
recently released EU communication "International ocean governance: an
agenda for the future of our oceans".
Read HELCOM Statement in Partnership Dialogue No. 1 on addressing marine pollution, 5 June 2017
Read HELCOM Statement in the Plenary Meeting, 9 June 2017
Monika Stankiewicz, HELCOM Executive
Secretary gave the HELCOM statement at the Ocean Conference Plenary
meeting 9 June 2017, New York
Voluntary Commitments
Voluntary
commitments are one of the core elements of The Ocean Conference, aiming
to accelerate the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14 and
its seven targets.
Learn more about HELCOM
voluntary commitments.
OCean conference Side events with HELCOM contribution
HELCOM contributed to several side events during the Oceans Conference. Read more on the side events below and on
the Conference website.
Oceans in the 2030 Agenda: The role of regional governance
6 June
Lead organizers: German Federal
Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear
Safety; Swedish Ministry for the Environment; UN Environment
Co-organisers: Insitute for Advanced
Sustainability Studies (IASS), Institute for Sustainable Development and
International Relations (IDDRI), TMG – Think Thank for Sustainability
See the agenda
here
Environmentally Sound Waste Management as Action Against Marine Litter
6 June
Lead organizers: Sweden and the World Bank
See the agenda
here.
Collaboration in Public Private Partnership for a sustainable maritime future
8 June
Lead organizer: Ministry of Transport and Communications of Finland (including Finnish Transport Safety Agency)
Co-organizers: World Maritime University
(WMU), WWF, industry representatives: Cruise Lines International
Association (CLIA), Norsepower Oy Ltd, Wärtsilä Corporation
See the agenda here.
Monika Stankiewicz,
HELCOM Executive Secretary, and Donald Brow, Vice President, Maritime
Policy at Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA).
Regional Marine Protected Areas networks in action
8 June
1:15 – 2:30 PM
Lead organiser: Mediterranean Protected Areas Network (MedPAN)
Co-organisers: CaMPAM, RMPAO, NAMPAN, WIOMSA, HELCOM, UN Enivronment/MAP, French Biodiversity Agency
See the agenda here.
Preparatory process in HELCOM
The HELCOM High-level segment, held on 28 February 2017 on the occasion of the 38th Meeting of the Helsinki Commission, adopted "HELCOM's Implementation Outlook of the Ocean-related SDGs in the Baltic Sea - A Roadmap to Agenda 2030".
The High-level segment highlighted that HELCOM targets are well aligned with SDGs and that HELCOM can significantly contribute to the implementation of marine related SDGs in the Baltic Sea, also in a cross-cutting manner. HELCOM should take a coordinating role for these SDGs and make its active role visible.[1]
A new report "Measuring progress for the same targets in the Baltic Sea" identifies how HELCOM work supports the implementation of SDGs.
The global "Our Ocean" 2017 Conference will
be hosted by EU on 5-6 October 2017 in Malta. The Conference will build
on the issues of the ocean and climate change, marine pollution and
sustainable fishing.
The next possible occasion to follow up on SGDs and commitments is the HELCOM Ministerial Meeting to be held under the EU Chairmanship in 2018. The Ministerial Meeting could decide on a renewal process of the HELCOM Baltic Sea Action Plan.
[1]Paragraphs 2.1-2.7 in the HELCOM 38-2017 Outcome
[2]Ecological coherence assessment of the Marine Protected Area network in the Baltic Sea, 2016, BSEP No. 148
