Global confab on coastal and marine environment slated in Manila

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines will host from Jan. 23 to 27 an international conference that will see scientific and policy experts from around the world discuss how land-based activities affect the marine and coastal environments.

 The international conference, to be held at the EDSA Shangri-La Manila in Mandaluyong City, is being organized by the government with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) as lead agency, together with the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).

It will be a twin event – the first is the Global Conference on Land-Ocean Connections (GLOC) on Jan. 23-24, and second is the 3rd Intergovernmental Review (IGR-3) Meeting on the Implementation of the Global Program of Action (GPA) for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities on Jan. 25-27.

 Approximately 200 foreign delegates, including 40 environment ministers from different Asia-Pacific countries, will participate in the event. They will be joined by 300 local delegates representing government and non-government organizations.

Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Ramon Paje said that the conference would allow the Philippines, which is a member of the six-country Coral Triangle Initiative and hailed as the center of the center of marine biodiversity, “to showcase our accomplishments, efforts and successes in protecting our environment, particularly our marine and coastal resources.”

The conference is expected to conclude with the adoption of the Manila Declaration as a contribution to the Rio+20, or the high-level United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development that would be held on June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

According to Paje, the Manila Declaration would be “a perfect symbol of the country’s support and commitment to the GPA, which can be considered a multilateral initiative to improve health, reduce poverty, and protect critical ecosystem services.”

The GPA was adopted in 1995 by 108 governments and the European Commission to declare their commitment to protect and preserve the marine environment from the adverse environmental impacts of land-based activities.

Since then, it has been renewed, together with the 1995 Washington Declaration, through the Montreal and Beijing declarations in 2001 and 2006, respectively.

The GPA is the only global initiative that directly addresses the connection between terrestrial (land), freshwater, coastal and marine ecosystems. It recognizes the fact that human impacts on the global environment are actually rooted in local actions. Consider, for example, how urbanization leads to increased waste generation and habitat destruction, which in turn lead to increase volume of marine litter and other pollutants in the water systems.

The GPA has, thus, adopted a strategic approach from international and regional-level actions to national and local initiatives. At all levels, comprehensive, continuing and adaptive action plans aim to protect the marine environment, recognizing effects on food security, poverty alleviation, and ecosystem health, as well as the resulting economic and social benefits. This integrated, multi-sectoral approach is proving to be relevant particularly with the threat of climate change on coastal communities.

The Global Conference on Land-Ocean Connections or GLOC will assemble scientists, experts, policy-makers and non-government organizations (NGOs) to discuss current and emerging marine and coastal issues. They will review policy and implementation frameworks and see how solutions contribute effectively in developing resilient marine and coastal ecosystems that serve coastal and upstream communities. These solutions will be drawn up to help the international community develop more resource-efficient, lower carbon economies based on sustainable food, energy and water security and quality.

The conference will provide sound scientific and objective recommendations for the IGR-3, as well as a draft key message for addressing GPA related issues and actions at RIO+20. Water quality (nutrients and wastewater), marine litter, and integrated coastal zone management are priority themes of the GPA,.

As the title of the meetings suggests, the IGR-3 will allow the UNEP, together with participating governments, to review the implementation of the GPA at the international, regional and national levels. It will be an opportunity for member-nations to consider a way forward for a more effective management of marine and coastal ecosystems over the coming years, as well as recognize the contribution of these ecosystems to sustainable development at global, regional and national levels.

The IGR-3 is divided into two segments: the Technical segment, and the High-level segment.