Mai 2010, Conférence Océans à l'Unesco

The 5th Global Oceans Conference was held at UNESCO in Paris from 3 to 7 May, coinciding with the celebrations of the 50th anniversary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission and the International Year of Biodiversity, 2010.

2010, a pivotal year for sustainability

2010 is the year when the world's nations are expected to have met the international objectives set out by the world’s heads of state at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development. These objectives concern, in particular, the development of integrated, ecosystem-based approaches for the governance of oceans and coastal areas, and the need to halt biodiversity loss by 2010.

The conference addressed topic areas in which the FGEF is closely involved

• Studies on the influence of climate change on oceans

Climate issues were addressed in terms of mitigation, adaptation and financing under the post-Copenhagen system. Sea-level rise and increasingly fragile marine ecosystems are placing small island developing states (SIDS) and developing nations in jeopardy, endangering food security, human health, fisheries and tourism and potentially causing large-scale population shifts.

On 6 May, Chantal Jouanno, the French Secretary of State for Ecology, opened the policy conference.  In her speech, she highlighted the dynamism and relevance of FGEF activities to anticipate and analyse risks arising from climate change.

Monique Barbut, CEO of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), emphasised the vital but little-known role of the oceans - our planet's “blue forests” - in carbon sequestration. Along their coastlines, these “blue forests” harbour a wealth of submarine vascular plants that can absorb large quantities of carbon from the atmosphere.

Bernard Giraud, Vice-President for Sustainability and Shared Value Creation with Danone, spoke on mangrove protection experience with local communities in Senegal and the NGO Océanium, which was cofinanced by the FGEF, during the plenary session on "Strategic planning and financing for mitigation activities". His speech illustrated possibilities for private sector involvement in conservation processes. 

Marc-Antoine Martin, the FGEF Secretary-General, described FGEF strategy for oceans, coastal zones and SIDS during the plenary session on "Strategies for implementing and financing adaptation to climate change impacts on oceans, local communities and the SIDS."

In his special closing address, Prince Albert II of Monaco expressed regret for the lack of motivation among his contemporaries on the issues of ocean acidification and overfishing. He also emphasised institutional aspects, giving as an example the Pelagos marine mammals sanctuary in the Mediterranean, in which Monaco, Italy and France are involved.

• Preserving marine biodiversity through Marine Protected Areas
  

Among the Conference recommendations, the question of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) was particularly prominent since only 4% of coastal zones and 1% of marine zones are currently under protection, despite government undertakings under the Convention on Biological Diversity to reach 10% by 2012. Similarly, although the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development had set a target of a 10% reduction in biodiversity losses by 2010, the figure today is no higher than 6.5%.

Since 1994, the FGEF has been funding a large number of programmes for marine biodiversity protection and MPA implementation. It has contributed to the protection of more than 70 MPAs across the world, covering over 8 000 km². Its activities are run at regional scale (CRISP project in the South Pacific, for example), national scale (mapping project in the Maldives) and local scale (Small-Scale Initiatives programme, with 10 local projects on MPAs).

The FGEF's activities were highlighted on two occasions during the "policy, science and technical symposium", in particular by Anne-Sophie Cerisola, representing the MAEE, who praised the “innovating and demonstrative role of the FGEF in the area of marine biodiversity” and by the consultant Catherine Gabrié, who presented the capitalisation study on MPA experiences cofinanced by the FGEF.  To find out more

• Improving international governance of the oceans

In-depth discussions took place during the conference on implementation of integrated, ecosystem based management of oceans and coastal zones, at national and regional level and in marine areas that are beyond national jurisdiction.

With this end in view and given currently inadequate knowledge on the marine environment, the conference was reminded of importance of scientific observations of oceans. Several initiatives have now been launched, such as the Maldives mapping project or the TARA research expedition, aiming to study the seabed and carbon sequestration by plankton. The ultimate aim is to produce an accurate assessment of the relationship between ocean acidification rates (due to increasing carbon concentrations) and CO2 sequestration rates by marine ecosystems, in order to anticipate risks arising from increased carbon releases into the oceans.

Ocean-related activities undertaken in France and in Europe were presented by French Members of Parliament, including Corinne Lepage, MEP and former Minister for Ecology, and Jérôme Bignon, MP and Chair of the Conservatoire du Littoral (coastal conservancy) and the National Marine Protected Areas Agency.

The conference was closed by the French Minister for Foreign and European Affairs, Bernard Kouchner.