73UNGA: Annual General Assembly Session on Oceans and the Law of the Sea

Item 78: Oceans and the law of the sea

Statement by Mr. Florian Botto, Second Secretary:

 

Mister President,

My delegation wishes, first of all, to thank the Secretary-General for his reports and the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea for the excellent support it provides to member States in the many complex and important processes related to the oceans and the seas.

We also extend our sincere thanks to the facilitators of the draft resolutions on sustainable fisheries and on oceans and the law of the sea that we are about to adopt today and for which Monaco has again become a co-author.

Guided by the vision of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II and the conviction that life on earth depends to a large extent on the good health of the global ocean, we reaffirm here the commitment of the Principality of Monaco to protect and support ocean science.

Mister President,

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the protection and preservation of the marine environment and the prevention, reduction and control of pollution are obligations that apply to all.

Plastic pollution is a real global scourge, as the amount of waste that is found in the ocean is important and seen how micro-plastics affect the marine environment and the entire food chain, including humans.

Citizen involvement and partnerships among policy makers, including at the local level and the private sector, needs to be encouraged and developed.

In Monaco, selective sorting and banning of plastic bags and disposable plastic utensils have been in place for several years now.

At the Our Ocean Conference in Bali, half a million dollars were announced to support of the Beyond Plastic Med Initiative, through the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which was at the origin of the initiative with other partners in 2015.

All types of pollution, including oil pollution, must be taken into account.

In the context of the Mediterranean, a semi-enclosed sea of modest size, we must be particularly vigilant to avoid and respond to any disaster.

Under the RAMOGE Agreement between France, Italy and Monaco, joint anti-pollution training is regularly organized to improve the coordination and speed of action of all stakeholders. The RAMOGEPOL Plan has been activated in response to a recent accident.

While 80% of marine pollution is land-based, some ocean activities also have significant impacts on marine life.

For example, anthropogenic underwater noise that can be caused by maritime trade, sonars, seismic air cannons, or industrial activities particularly affects certain species, such as marine mammals, fish, and migratory species. Underwater noise can indeed change their behavior, including migration, prevent their communication, disorientate them and cause these species stress and physical damage. Such noise is no stranger to the unfortunately frequent stranding of cetaceans.

The work of the Nineteenth Meeting of the Informal Consultative Process has been useful in this regard for better information and we hope that it will lead to more precaution and measures to address it.

Mister President,

My delegation wishes to recall here that climate change and ocean health are directly interconnected.

Even a warming of 1.5 or 2 ° C would have considerable negative impacts on the marine environment. Full and expeditious implementation of the Paris Agreement is therefore essential and mitigation measures are also essential.

The rise in sea level, raising the question of the very survival of certain populations and the territorial integrity of certain States, also raises purely legal issues that need to be addressed, including within the International Law Commission.

Coral reefs, which account for 0.2% of the ocean's surface, harbor up to 30% of all known marine species and provide socio-economic benefits to 500 million people.

However, studies show that 30% of the reefs are already destroyed and that the others are threatened in all regions of the world by ocean acidification and bleaching, both caused by the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere. This is particularly worrying, as 2018 was the International Year of Coral Reefs.

The General Assembly of the International Coral Reef Initiative (ICRI) was held in the Principality from 5th to 7th December.

ICRI, co-chaired since 1st July 2018 by Australia, Indonesia and Monaco, brings together governments, international organizations, scientific entities and non-governmental organizations. Its 2018-2020 action plan aims to understand coral reef trends, help reduce anthropogenic threats, and promote effective and evolving solutions to enhance their protection.

As part of this meeting and following the visit of His Serene Highness Prince Albert II, in Bali in October, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of Indonesia and the Scientific Center of Monaco have proceeded to the signature of a letter of intent establishing cooperation to study the impact of acidification and marine pollution using corals as indicators. This cooperation also aims to identify bleached and / or damaged coral reefs, monitor them, rehabilitate them and build the capacity of researchers and experts.

In addition, I would also like to mention here the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which will present, in September 2019 in Monaco, a special report on the ocean and the cryosphere in the context of climate change.

Mister President,

Strengthening the role of science, which should guide any political decision, is Monaco's other priority in the field of oceans and the law of the sea.

As part of the Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development (2021-2030), my delegation welcomes the theme of the next informal consultative process meeting in June 2019.

We welcome the efforts of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, which is coordinating the preparatory phase of this Decade.

The IOC has already identified several challenges, such as the absence of an internationally recognized method for estimating the economic value of ocean services, the difficulty of assessing the cumulative impacts of climate change and marine pollution, and the lack of knowledge. in marine biodiversity.

My delegation also wishes to commend the role of the International Hydrographic Organization, which has been based in Monaco since its inception. While only 5% of the seabed has been mapped, hydrography needs to be supported as it benefits navigation and resource exploitation as well as development and management of coastal areas.

Science will play a crucial role in the implementation of SDG 14 for the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources.

The human sciences as well.

The INDEMER, Institute of Economic Law of the Sea, established in Monaco in 1985, organizes symposia and publishes numerous works.

Its Yearbook of the Sea, an annual publication, contains both background articles and annually updated columns on legal acts, facts and events relating to maritime affairs and the law of the sea. It is the only work of this nature in the French language.

Mister President,

The Conference on the implementation of SDG 14, in 2017, and the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference, in November, provided opportunities to develop ambitious partnerships and strengthen our cooperation.

We welcome the many activities of the Special Envoy for Oceans. The establishment of the 9 "communities of action" and the monitoring of the voluntary commitments made at the 2017 Conference are essential to guide our collective action and keep all stakeholders mobilized.

Coupled with the obligation to preserve the marine environment and the importance of science, the need for concrete and effective partnerships is the third element that my delegation wished to address.

Combining these three elements, the "Explorations of Monaco" scientific campaign focused, in 2018, on the study of certain marine species, the study of coral health, the promotion of marine areas protected areas and the fight against pollution and fishing net drift in Colombia (Malpelo Island and Santa Marta), Hawaii, Norway, Martinique and Australia, under the motto "reconciling humanity and the sea" .

Marine protected areas are crucial tools for preserving biodiversity and the marine environment.

In particular, they protect important ecological habitats and potentially endangered or vulnerable species, and improve resilience to the effects of climate change. We should reach target 14.5 of SDG 14 by 2020.

Establishing a coherent network of ecologically representative, well connected and effectively managed marine protected areas globally is also a means to meet our goals.

Furthermore, I am pleased to report that the 3rd Meeting of the Signatories to the Memorandum of Understanding on the Conservation of Migratory Sharks under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals is held at this very moment, from 10 to 14 December, at the Oceanographic Museum of Monaco. In particular, its work on conservation measures specific to each species, the management of the areas where they are found and the cooperation will be interesting and fruitful.

Finally, Mr President,

I can not conclude this statement without reiterating the great interest of my delegation in the process of elaborating an international legally binding instrument, under the auspices of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, on conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

The President of the Intergovernmental Conference, which opened in September, can count on the full support of the Principality of Monaco in this complex but very important task.