
Delegates from Canada, Norway, Australia, and Japan in discussion
On Friday, 14 September, the plenary of the first session of the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on an international legally binding instrument (ILBI) under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) heard reports from Informal Working Groups on:
- capacity building and technology transfer (CB&TT);
- area-based management tools (ABMTs);
- environmental impact assessments (EIAs); and
- marine genetic resources (MGRs), including questions on benefit-sharing.
Plenary also discussed the way forward. For extensive details on the day’s negotiations and to hear what delegates said in the corridors, see our daily Earth Negotiations Bulletin.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided daily reports and daily web coverage from BBNJ IGC 1. In addition, IISD Reporting Services has published a summary and analysis report from the meeting.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
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L-R: Miguel de Serpa Soares, Secretary-General of the IGC, Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and UN Legal Counsel; IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore; and Gabriele Goettsche-Wanli, Director, UNDOALOS

CB&TT Informal Working Group Facilitator Olai Uludong, Palau

ABMTs Informal Working Group Facilitator Alice Revell, New Zealand

MGRs Informal Working Group Facilitator Janine Coye-Felson, Belize

EIAs Informal Working Group Facilitator René Lefeber, the Netherlands

Emad Morcos Mattar, Egypt, on behalf of the G-77/China

Shara Duncan, Costa Rica

Andreas Papaconstantinou, EU

Abbas Bagherpour, Iran

Francisco González, Colombia

Martin Zvachula, Federated States of Micronesia

Margo Deiye, Nauru, on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States

Mehdi Remaoun, Algeria, on behalf of the African Group

L-R: Kimo Goree, IISD Reporting Services, and Christian Prip, Fridtjof Nansen Institute (FNI), Norway

Sergey Leonidchenko, Russian Federation

Ismail Raushan Zahir, Maldives, on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)

Sibylle Vermont, Switzerland

Evan Bloom,US

Liliana Matos, Venezuela

Ma Xinmin, China

View of the IGC plenary

Peggy Kalas, High Seas Alliance

Lydia Slobodian, IUCN

Hiroko Muraki Gottlieb, International Council of Environmental Law

Jay Francis Alcantara, the Philippines

Matilda Bartley, Pacific Island Forum

Dekalega Fintakpa Lamega, Togo

Delegates from Africa with IGC President Rena Lee, Singapore

Delegates from Chile

Delegates from the European region

Delegates from the CARICOM

Delegates from the Pacific Islands, New Zealand and the Netherlands

Delegates from the Netherlands