Bid to protect marine areas outside national jurisdictions

THE Abidjan Convention has called on all its member states to be part of the ongoi­ng negotiations towards establishing a global legally-binding agreement aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of the marine biodiversity areas beyond national jurisdiction.

The decision was made at the 12th Conference of Parties to the Abidjan Convention held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast recently. The Abidjan Convention is the convention for or cooperation, management and development of the Atlantic Coast of west, central and southern Africa.

“We urge all parties to the Abidjan Convention to be actively involved in these negotiations, so that Africa can get its fair share,” said Abou Bamba, the executive secretary of the Abidjan Convention.

He said negotiations on the issue are currently ongoing in New York.

Bamba urged Africa to be part of these efforts as marine and coastal biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions is important to the continent in terms of research, submarine cables and off-shore mining. Bamba added that marine and coastal areas beyond national jurisdictions are habitats to some important plant species of medicinal value, from which African countries should make sure that they also derive benefits.

Mette Wilkie, a senior official at the Nairobi-based United Nations Environment Programme (Unep) said the agreement is being negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Division of Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea.

Namibia is a party to the Abidjan Convention, which urges parties to recognise the importance of safeguarding the sustainable use of marine and coastal areas beyond their national jurisdictions.

The Abidjan Convention was adopted in Abidjan in 1981 and came into force in 1981. Namibia acceded to it in 2014.