On Friday, delegates to the twentieth meeting of the UN Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea (ICP-20) completed their work.

In the morning, delegations were given an opportunity to review the Co-Chairs’ draft summary of the week’s discussions. Plenary then reconvened for a page-by-page review. Delegates discussed the draft and suggested corrections and clarifications to best capture discussions.

Key points from the summary included:

• crosscutting role of ocean science in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
• unprecedented pressures affecting the ocean, including impacts of climate change, ocean acidification, pollution, biodiversity loss, and land-based activities;
• impacts of limited human and institutional capacity on the ability of certain States to conduct and benefit from ocean science;
• benefits of integrating traditional knowledge;
• role of ocean science in supporting a blue growth/blue economy;
• need to strengthen the science-policy interface, including through improved communication; and
• critical importance of international cooperation.

On opportunities to advance ocean science, highlights included discussions on:

• developing technology, and improving data availability and operability;
• supporting capacity-building and transfer of technology;
• promoting ocean literacy, in particular for women and younger generations; and
• engaging local communities in citizen science projects.

Co-Chair Pennelope Althea Beckles (Trinidad and Tobago) thanked delegates for their participation in discussions over the course of the week and closed ICP-20.

Dowload the summary… Find out more… Here