Ocean health and resilience are under growing threat from the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. Rising ocean temperatures, pollution, acidification, and oxygen depletion are degrading marine ecosystems, endangering the livelihoods and food security of more than 3 billion people who rely on the ocean. The protection and preservation of the marine environment and conservation and sustainable use of marine resources are critical global challenges that require coordinated action.
Rising ocean temperatures, pollution, acidification, and oxygen depletion are degrading marine ecosystems, endangering the livelihoods and food security of more than 3 billion people who rely on the ocean.
In response to these urgent threats, the international community is advancing legal frameworks to safeguard the ocean. The recent adoption of the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Advisory Opinion of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on climate change underscore the importance of robust governance to preserve the ocean. Capacity-building – which involves the process of developing and strengthening the skills, instincts, abilities, processes and resources that organizations and communities need to survive, adapt, and thrive in a fast-changing world– is essential for ensuring that government officials, civil society, and private sector leaders are equipped to implement these frameworks and safeguard the ocean for future generations.
Capacity-Building as a Cornerstone of Ocean Conservation in the BBNJ Agreement
The BBNJ Agreement, adopted in June 2023 and currently pending entry into force, aims to “ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.” Part V of the BBNJ Agreement addresses capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology. The Agreement recognizes that support for developing States Parties based on their needs and priorities and through capacity-building is essential for achieving the objectives of the Agreement. Under the BBNJ Agreement, Parties are required, within their capabilities, to provide resources to support capacity-building for developing State Parties. The Agreement also sets out funding mechanisms to ensure financial support for such activities. It provides for the obligations of Parties to cooperate in capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology and sets out various modalities for such activities. Capacity-building and the transfer of marine technology under the Agreement is to be a country-driven, transparent, effective and iterative process that is participatory, cross-cutting and gender responsive. The BBNJ Agreement further established a committee to monitor and review capacity-building in terms of the “support required, provided and mobilized,” and to identify gaps in meeting the assessed needs of developing States Parties to achieve the objectives of the Agreement.
Clarifying State Obligations to Protect the Marine Environment from Climate Change
The recent ITLOS Advisory Opinion on Climate Change highlights the importance of capacity building in the context of ocean preservation. The Advisory Opinion, issued by ITLOS in May 2024, emphasizes that under UNCLOS, State Parties must take “all necessary measures to prevent, reduce and control marine pollution from anthropogenic GHG emissions” and that State Parties have a “specific obligation” to protect and preserve the marine environment from climate change impacts and ocean acidification.
In the Advisory Opinion, ITLOS emphasized that under UNCLOS, States Parties have an obligation to “assist developing States, in particular vulnerable developing States, in their efforts to address marine pollution from anthropogenic GHG emissions” and to provide appropriate assistance, in terms of capacity-building, either directly or through competent international organizations.
The World Bank's Response to Capacity-Building Needs: The Ocean Governance Training Program
To build capacity in protecting and preserving the marine environment and in conserving and sustainably using marine resources, the World Bank’s Legal Vice Presidency, offers a comprehensive online training program on ocean governance. This program is delivered in partnership with the University of Melbourne Law School, the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs, the International Seabed Authority, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, and the Center for Maritime and Oceanic Law at the University of Nantes.
To build capacity in protecting and preserving the marine environment and in conserving and sustainably using marine resources, the World Bank’s Legal Vice Presidency, offers a comprehensive online training program on ocean governance.
This program, funded by the World Bank’s Blue Economy Program - PROBLUE, provides a self-paced e-learning course combined with online regional workshops. The e-learning course, available for free at any time in English, French, and Spanish through the World Bank Group’s Open Learning Campus, introduces participants to global ocean governance, covering topics such as international law of the sea, marine pollution, biodiversity, and climate change. The online regional workshops provide interactive discussions and region-specific applications. The training is free and open to government officials, staff from partner organizations, civil society representatives, and private sector professionals working on ocean governance. The application period for the upcoming Asian Region workshop, which will be offered in English, closes on November 3, 2024, at 11:59 PM EDT.
For more information, email oceangovernancetraining@worldbank.org or visit the application link HERE.
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