Global partnerships: Strengthening SDG 14 efforts in the shipping and fisheries sectors through a science-based, multi-tiered approach - UN Ocean Conference side event
UNOC SIDE-EVENT
"GLOBAL PARTNERSHIPS: STRENGTHENING SDG 14 EFFORTS IN THE SHIPPING AND FISHERIES SECTORS THROUGH A SCIENCE-BASED, MULTI-TIERED APPROACH"
Organized by IMO, in collaboration with FAO, UNDP, Norad, BIMCO and the Government of Costa Rica
Tuesday 28 June 2022
Lisbon, Portugal
Opening remarks by Kitack Lim, Secretary-General, IMO
Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is a pleasure to address you today at this side-event, which focuses on SDG 14, which addresses 'Life below water', particularly cooperation to tackle sea-based marine litter.
I thank the organizers, donors, IMO partner organizations and Member States for their cooperation and participation in this important and timely event.
Over the last seven decades and as the global regulator for international shipping, IMO has had a leading role in developing and adopting a comprehensive set of regulations for maritime safety, security, efficiency, and the protection of the marine environment.
In the 1980s, IMO pioneered the prohibition of plastics disposal at sea from ships through MARPOL Annex V, which banned the discharge of wastes containing plastics, and this year the London Convention and Protocol celebrates 50 years of regulating the Dumping of Wastes at Sea.
In 2018, IMO's Marine Environment Protection Committee adopted an Action Plan to address marine plastic litter from ships, followed by the adoption of a Strategy in 2021.
But IMO recognizes that adopting policies and regulations is not sufficient to solve shipping's marine waste issues, so we have been working with governmental, private sector and scientific partners to develop new and innovative solutions to reduce and - where possible - eliminate plastic litter from the seas.
Together with FAO, UN Global Compact, UNDP, and a number of donor agencies, we are implementing global-level activities that support legal and policy reforms at a national level in marine waste management in developing countries.
Through capacity building activities and pilot projects, we are promoting improved operations to reduce and where possible eliminate sea-based sources of litter in the shipping and fisheries industries.
A good example is IMO's GloLitter Partnerships joint project, set up together with FAO, and with the main funding support from Norway.
This will support developing countries in identifying opportunities for the prevention and reduction of marine litter.
We are also working through a variety of global partnership projects to support the maritime sector to achieve other SDG 14 targets.
These include global, regional and national capacity building initiatives and legal, policy and institutional reform projects include the GloFouling Project, the Test Biofouling Project, the MEPSEAS project and the SENSREC project.
You will be hearing more about these projects in the next presentations at this side-event.
Private sector partners also play an integral role in our global efforts, bringing innovative ideas and technologies to solve this global problem. Global Industry Alliance platforms under various projects support these private sector champions.
But we need to do much more. Despite all our efforts, the amount of marine plastic pollution is increasing, putting the marine environment and human health at risk.
We are all responsible for keeping our ocean clean and safeguarding it for future generations. This will only be achieved with greater levels of collaboration. We need to be informed by scientific research and evidence.
We need to commit not only to developing policy and regulations, but also to their implementation at national, regional and global levels.
Working through partnerships allows us to have much greater impact than working individually.
The Global Partnership on Marine Litter (GPML) and the group of environmental experts known as GESAMP are great examples of collaboration across the UN system.
We must all join forces to achieve the aim set out in the IMO Strategy on Marine Litter, adopted in November last year, endeavouring to achieve zero plastic waste discharges from ships to the sea by 2025.
I look forward to continuing our partnerships and efforts with other UN agencies, Member States, academia, and the maritime industry and wish you all the best in your deliberations here today.
Thank you.