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Recalling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 14,1
Also recalling decisions XIII/10 on marine debris and anthropogenic underwater noise and XIII/11 on biodiversity in cold-water areas,
Noting the outcomes of the United Nations Conference to Support the Implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 142
Also noting United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 3/7 on marine litter and microplastics and, in particular, the invitation to relevant international and regional organizations and conventions, including the Convention on Biological Diversity, as appropriate and within their mandates, to increase their actions to prevent and reduce marine litter and microplastics and their harmful effects, and coordinate, where appropriate, to achieve this end, as well as the decision to convene an Ad Hoc Open Ended Expert Group under the United Nations Environment Assembly to further examine the barriers to, and options for, combating marine plastic litter and microplastics from all sources, especially land-based sources,
(a)Avoiding, minimizing and mitigating the impacts of marine debris, in particular plastic pollution, on marine and coastal biodiversity and habitats;
(c)Protecting biodiversity in cold-water areas, noting in particular the finalization of the Agreement to Prevent Unregulated High Seas Fisheries in the Central Arctic Ocean;
2.Welcomes the work of the United Nations Environment Assembly’s Ad Hoc Open-Ended Expert Group on Marine Litter, and requests the Executive Secretary to inform this Expert Group of the relevant work undertaken by the Convention, and also to contribute, as relevant, to the work of this Expert Group with respect, among other things, to United Nations Environment Assembly resolution 3/7 on marine litter and microplastics;
3.Welcomes the progress of the work of the International Seabed Authority, in particular on draft regulations for exploitation of mineral resources in the Area;
4.Recognizes the need for further research on the impacts of marine debris, including plastics and microplastics, on marine and coastal biodiversity and habitats, and emphasizes the need for the clean-up and removal of marine debris, where appropriate and practical, and that such efforts are particularly urgent where marine debris poses a threat to sensitive marine and coastal biodiversity and habitats;
5.Takes note of the work of the Executive Secretary, and requests the Executive Secretary to continue to work, on the compilation and synthesis of information related to:
(a)The impacts of anthropogenic underwater noise on marine and coastal biodiversity, and means to avoid, minimize and mitigate these impacts;3
(b)Experiences with the application of marine spatial planning;4
6.Encourages Parties, and invites other Governments and relevant organizations to use the above-noted information, including in their efforts to avoid, minimize and mitigate the impacts of anthropogenic underwater noise and to apply marine spatial planning, in line with decision XIII/9;
7.Welcomes the work of the Executive Secretary in compiling information on the mainstreaming of biodiversity in fisheries, including through the ecosystem approach to fisheries,5 and encourages Parties and invites other Governments and relevant organizations to make use of this information;
8.Welcomes the capacity-building and partnership activities being facilitated by the Executive Secretary through the Sustainable Ocean Initiative at the national, regional and global levels in collaboration with Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations, expresses its gratitude to the Governments of Japan, France, the Republic of Korea and Sweden, and to the European Union and many other partners, for providing financial and technical support for the implementation of capacity-building and partnership activities within the framework of the Sustainable Ocean Initiative, and requests the Executive Secretary to continue these activities, including on specific themes relating to conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal biodiversity;
9.Also welcomes the collaborative efforts among the Secretariat, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, regional seas conventions and action plans, regional fishery bodies, large marine ecosystem projects/programmes and other relevant regional initiatives to strengthen cross-sectoral cooperation at the regional scale in order to accelerate progress to achieve the Aichi Biodiversity Targets and relevant Sustainable Development Goals, including through the Sustainable Ocean Initiative Global Dialogue with Regional Seas Organizations and Regional Fishery Bodies, and requests the Executive Secretary to transmit the outcomes of the first and second meetings of the Sustainable Ocean Initiative Global Dialogue to relevant global and regional processes, and to collaborate with Parties, other Governments, relevant organizations and donors to facilitate on-the-ground implementation of these outcomes;
10.Invites the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and regional fishery bodies to contribute scientific information, experiences and lessons learned, as appropriate, including relevant reporting from the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries Questionnaire, as an input for the fifth edition of the Global Biodiversity Outlook;
11.Welcomes the cooperation between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the Fisheries Expert Group of the Commission on Ecosystem Management under the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the Secretariat to support, and improve reporting on, the achievement of Aichi Biodiversity Target 6, and requests the Executive Secretary to continue this cooperation.