At a side-event alongside IMO’s Marine Environment Protection Committee yesterday (13 October) delegates heard Global Ocean Committee (GOC) co-chair José María Figueres present the GOC report: From Decline to Recovery: A Rescue Package for the Global Ocean. Mr Figueres made specific mention of the report’s relevance to IMO and where IMO can play a specific role in order to deliver the proposals tabled in the report.
Previously, IMO Secretary General Koji Sekimizu had written to the GOC co-chairs welcoming the report and highlighting IMO’s active role in addressing many of the issues raised in the GOC report, noting also that IMO is working actively through several existing coordination mechanisms – such as UN Oceans, the Global Partnership for Oceans, and the Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP) – to ensure that joint efforts are maximized and duplication reduced.
Links: Photos here; GOC report here; IMO Secretary-General's letter to GOC co-chairs; press briefing here.