Headline: New Partnership for Regional Ocean Governance: UNEP, BMZ, IASS and Other Partners Support Delivery of SDGs for the Ocean

21.10.2015

Three weeks after the UN general assembly formally adopted new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the IASS and other partners announced a new initiative aimed at creating innovative regional strategies that will ensure delivery of SDG 14, which calls for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources.

Launched at the UNEP Regional Seas Meeting in Istanbul on 20 October under the Partnership for Regional Oceans Governance (PROG), the initiative on the Ocean and Coasts Sustainable Development Goals is a partnership between UNEP, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS) and the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI).

Mette Løyche Wilkie, Director of the UNEP Division of Environmental Policy Implementation, said: “Oceans are fundamental to human, societal, and economic well-being through their provision of essential services to the planet and to people. This exciting partnership will contribute to global ocean governance and management, thus safeguarding the oceans themselves and the ecosystem services they provide, such as food security, livelihoods and biodiversity.”

Oceans are not only represented in SDG 14, but also in cross-cutting SDGs and objectives in climate, land resources, food, and others. Making tangible progress to meet the goal will prove a complex task, as Oceans comprise a global system covered by many different national and international legal frameworks. The new partnership aims to fill existing gaps in ocean management and governance to meet Goal 14 and other objectives relevant to Oceans.

The PROG has been initiated by the founding partners UNEP, IASS and IDDRI following a recommendation from the 2014 Potsdam Ocean Governance Workshop that a science-policy platform was needed to identify best-practices and develop innovative approaches for ocean governance at the regional level. Working at inter-, intra- and supra-regional levels, the initiative under the Partnership for Regional Oceans Governance (PROG) will support the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda by:

  • Identifying lessons learned and developing innovative approaches to regional ocean governance;
  • Promoting regional exchange and, wherever requested, assisting in strengthening regional capacities and ocean governance structures;
  • Fostering the role of regional ocean governance approaches at the global level through engaging in multi-stakeholder processes, and by partnering with key players including intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, research centres and think tanks.

The initiative will kick off with papers scoping the current state of play in regional oceans governance and the role oceans and coasts will play in the 2030 Agenda. The initiative then plans to support processes in selected pioneer regions aimed at meeting the relevant goals and monitoring their progress.

Sebastian Unger, head of the Ocean Governance research area at the IASS, commented: “More than half of the ocean is already heavily impacted by man. We should therefore get started and use the opportunity the SDGs are providing for ocean sustainability. Governments, science and all stakeholders need to work together now to develop and implement innovative solutions.” Ocean governance is a focal area of research in the Sustainability Governance Programme of the IASS.

More information:

21.10.2015