At World Ocean Conference… Trotman reassures UN of Guyana’s commitment to SDG 14
Minister Trotman makes a point to members of the Italian delegation led by Deputy Minister of the Environment, Silvia Velo, on the sidelines of the meeting
Minister Trotman makes a point to members of the Italian delegation led by Deputy Minister of the Environment, Silvia Velo, on the sidelines of the meeting

MINISTER of Natural Resources, Raphael Trotman has assured the United Nations (UN) of Guyana’s commitment to SDG 14.

He also seized the opportunity to reassure the organisation of Guyana’s appreciation of the timeliness of a decision by the international community to meet and talk about taking steps

Minister Trotman and members of the Guyana delegation

to reverse the harm being done to the world’s oceans and seas.

“Mr. President, Guyana is conscious of the linkages between SDG 14 and all of the other goals and targets set out in Agenda 2030. These have, therefore, all been integrated into our national development plans and strategies,” he said, adding:
“As a low-lying coastal State, we are particularly concerned at the impact of rising sea levels on coastal erosion, which is exacerbated by the destruction of mangrove forests.”

The occasion was the historic five-day United Nations Ocean Conference last week in New York, which sought, for the very first time, to mobilise action for the conservatioin and sustainable use of the world’s oceans, seas and marine resources.

As Minister Trotman told his colleagues last Wednesday:
“This conference, bringing together all relevant stakeholders to share the experiences gained at the national, regional and international levels in the implementation of Goal 14, is both timely and necessary to reverse the harm being done to our oceans and seas.

Minister Trotman with Danish Minister for Equality and Nordic Affairs, Ms. Karen Ellemann, who is accompanied by the Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations, Ambassador Ib Petersen

“Our oceans and seas cover nearly three-quarters of the earth’s surface and play an important role in sustaining both life on the planet and the livelihoods of many of its inhabitants. Oceans and seas produce half of our oxygen, regulate global climate, and provide employment, food and other valuable resources for our populations. The health of the oceans is therefore the concern of all of us.

“We note with alarm the unsustainable levels of overfishing and destructive fishing practices, much of it illegal, unreported and unregulated, as well as the effects of pollution on marine life, fish stocks and on the use of the oceans for recreational purposes.

“We therefore welcome this focus by the international community, perhaps for the first time, on the critical role of our oceans in sustaining life on our planet.”

Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs as they’re known, are a global non-binding

Minister Trotman addressing the conference

framework to coordinate efforts, over the next 15 years, around ending poverty and hunger, combatting inequality and disease, and building a just and stable world. There are, altogether, 17 goals, to which all 193 nations represented at the UN agreed.

The idea is to keep the efforts of national and sub-national governments, development banks, foundations, civil society and other development actors all moving in the same direction.

SDG 14 speaks specifically to the conservation and sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Among its targets are:

* By 2025, to prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from land-based activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.

* By 2020, to sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts, including by strengthening their resilience, and take action for their restoration in order to achieve healthy and productive oceans.

* Minimise and address the impacts of ocean acidification, including through enhanced scientific cooperation at all levels.

* By 2020, to effectively regulate harvesting and end overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and destructive fishing practices and implement science-based management plans, in order to restore fish stocks in the shortest time feasible, at least to levels that can produce maximum sustainable yield as determined by their biological characteristics.

* By 2020, to conserve at least 10 percent of coastal and marine areas, consistent with national and international law and based on the best available scientific information.

* By 2020, to prohibit certain forms of fisheries subsidies which contribute to overcapacity and overfishing, eliminate subsidies that contribute to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and refrain from introducing new such subsidies, recognising that appropriate and effective special and differential treatment for developing and least developed countries should be an integral part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) fisheries subsidies negotiation.

* By 2030, to increase the economic benefits to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developed Countries (LDCs) from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of fisheries, aquaculture and tourism.

* Increase scientific knowledge, develop research capacity and transfer marine technology, taking into account the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Criteria and Guidelines on the Transfer of Marine Technology, in order to improve ocean health and to enhance the contribution of marine biodiversity to the development of developing countries, in particular SIDS and LDCs.

* Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets.

* Enhance the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources by implementing international law as reflected in UNCLOS, which provides the legal framework for the conservation and sustainable use of oceans and their resources, as recalled in paragraph 158 of The Future We Want.

Minister Trotman reported that in an effort to comply with the foregoing targets, Guyana, with the assistance of the European Union and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), is engaged in a robust programme of mangrove management “to protect our nearly 480 kilometers of Atlantic coastline from coastal erosion.”

He further reported that Guyana is also in the process of developing a complement of inter-related services to better manage its coastal ecosystem, including data gathering, social mobilisation and capacity development under its recently launched Green State Development Strategy.

He said too that Guyana will register as a Voluntary Commitment its plan to undertake a series of initiatives, “designed to achieve and maintain healthy waterways and the Atlantic Ocean, as our contribution to Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14), targets 14.1 and 14.2.”

According to a release from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Minister Trotman and his delegation were able to meet bilaterally, and, in a number of cases, hold discussion with the heads of several other participating delegations, including those of Italy, Denmark, Jamaica, Barbados, and Kenya.

He’s also reported to have had a brief and informal discussion with the Under-Secretary-General of the Department of Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel of the United Nations, Miguel de Sherpa Soares.

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