The State Department today announced that it will hold an information session on Tuesday, Feb. 25 in Washington, DC ahead of the upcoming fourth (and possibly final) session of the United Nations Intergovernmental Conference on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, scheduled for March 23-April 4 in New York, NY.
Stakeholders are invited to provide comments on the draft text in order to help the U.S. delegation prepare for participation in the upcoming session. The text includes provisions related to area-based management measures including marine protected areas, international cooperation, environmental impact assessments, capacity building and transfer of marine technology, institutional arrangements, financial resources, marine genetic resources, implementation and compliance, and dispute settlement.
The Intergovernmental Conference was established by the UN General Assembly in part to develop text of an international legally binding instrument under the UN Convention on the Law of Sea on BBNJ.
