The most intense debate is expected to take place over a proposed resolution on the controversial issue of seabed mining, as the International Seabed Authority (ISA) tries to dissuade the parties Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals to express their concerns about the potential negative impacts of this mining on migratory species, their habitat and their prey.
A resolution will be discussed on reducing the risk of ship collisions with large cetaceans and whale sharks, which will include the recommendation to apply speed limits in areas with high megafauna activity.
The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals will present for the first time a report on the state of the world’s migratory species (State of the World’s Migratory Species).
There are high expectations for the high-level conference UN Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS, or Bonn Convention) to be held in Samarkand (Uzbekistan) from February 12 to 17 to address issues critical to the global biodiversity crisis. Since 1985, Spain has been one of the 133 Contracting Parties of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.
In addition to discussions about proposed decisions to reduce noise pollution at sea and ship strikes with endangered species, the international organization OceanCare expects that there will be a bitter debate about underwater mining.
Nicolas Entrup, Director of International Relations at OceanCare, said: “At OceanCare we were stunned to hear that the Secretary General of the International Seabed Authority has sent a letter to the Secretariat of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals in an apparent attempt to discredit the Convention’s concerns about the potentially harmful effects of seabed mining on migratory species. We urge governments to strongly reject this attempt to silence the relevant UN body IT with a mandate to protect migratory marine species and their habitats, even in the face of powerful commercial interests exerting pressure to intensively exploit the planet’s natural resources.
Another resolution proposal to be debated focuses on reducing the risk of ship collisions with large cetaceans and whale sharks, and includes the recommendation to apply speed limits in areas with high activity of marine megafauna.
This is particularly relevant for Spain, as both the fin whale (the second largest animal in the world after the blue whale) and the sperm whale are common species in Spanish waters and listed in Appendix I (highly endangered species). severe extinction) and II (species requiring international agreements for their conservation) of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. Therefore, by virtue of the obligations arising from membership of this Convention, Spain must strictly protect these two species, literally: “prohibiting the fishing of those species (…); the conservation and, where appropriate, restoration of their habitats; preventing, eliminating or mitigating obstacles to their migration and controlling other factors that could endanger them.”
The Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals is launched
More specifically, ship strikes are the main cause of human-caused deaths of fin and sperm whales in the northwestern Mediterranean, an area with a high and increasing intensity of maritime traffic, which also includes the Cetacean Migration Corridor, a marine protected area by Spain area. and Specially Protected Area of Importance for the Mediterranean (ZEPIM) by the Barcelona Convention (UNEP/MAP).
Scientific knowledge about the distribution and habitat use of these large whales in this part of the Mediterranean has shown that it is not possible to predict the areas in which these mammals are present at any given time. Therefore, the possibility of ships bypassing their routes so that a collision with them is not feasible in this case. There is therefore only one proven measure to reduce the risk of fatal collisions: mandatory reduction of the speed of ships in the area. Numerous studies have concluded that the risk of collision with fatal consequences for cetaceans decreases as the speed of the boats decreases and that this risk is virtually zero at a speed of 10 knots or less.
“OceanCare asks the Spanish government to introduce a mandatory reduction measure in the speed of boats in the entire area when drawing up the management plan for the cetacean migration corridor, scheduled for 2024.”says Carlos Bravo, spokesperson for OceanCare in Spain.
UN COP14
In areas of the world where ship speed reduction measures have been implemented, it has been found that voluntary measures are rarely implemented or successful. In other words, to be effective, speed limiting measures must be mandatory and apply to all ships without exception. A major advantage of mandatory slow shipping measures is that they create a level playing field for all shipping companies, meaning that they are all subject to the same restrictions and that compliance with them does not put them at a competitive disadvantage.
On the other hand, in a sad reflection of the increasingly serious global crisis of biodiversity loss, at COP 14 of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals Proposals will be discussed to add more species to the already long list of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals of 180 species from Appendix I and 1,129 species from Appendix II.
Other areas of interest in marine conservation that will be discussed at the meeting of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals This concerns the accidental catch of cetaceans, sea turtles, sharks, etc. in fishing nets (by-catch), fish attracting devices (FADs) as a source of marine debris, identification of Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMA) and Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRA) , marine pollution – including ocean noise, light pollution, plastic pollution and chemical pollution -, tourism and climate change.
OceanCare, as a recognized partner organization of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animalshas been actively involved since 2004 in the development, promotion and promotion of nature conservation measures and policies adopted by the Parties to the Convention. OceanCare scientific and policy experts Nicolas Entrup, Laetitia Nunny and Maximin Djondo will be present in Samarkand to participate in the discussions and support the writing process in the meeting.