A five-year, US$50 million programme rolled out by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO) and partners has made remarkable progress in protecting international waters'' biodiversity by rendering fishing in these waters less harmful to several marine species, including sea turtles and tuna.
The Common Oceans ABNJ Program, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) focused on areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) - also called international waters - that cover 40% of the earth and comprise nearly 95% of the oceans' volume.
"Keeping international waters healthy and preserving their rich biodiversity have long been a challenge for these marine areas that do not fall under the responsibility of any one country," said Maria Helena Semedo, FAO's deputy director-general, climate and natural resources.
"The Program has brought together a broad and unique partnership to tackle this challenge by promoting the sustainable management of fishery resources and ecosystem-based practices, with some outstanding results. We hope to expand this initiative to continue safeguarding our marine biodiversity and contributing to the global goals and aspirations of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework," she added.
The GEF-FAO programme has made a number of gains including ensuring that eight out of 13 major commercial tuna stocks no longer experience fishing, reducing bycatch and marine pollution, establishing 18 new vulnerable marine ecosystems and raising awareness on ocean issues to strengthen decision-making.
Discussions have taken place at the ABNJ Global Steering Committee Meeting to extend the programme with the aim of continuing to strengthen governance in international waters and reinforce measures to combat illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing.
