Annual Seascapes Technical Working Group Meeting

About This Event

In coming together to promote coral reefs, fisheries, and food security, the governments have identified the designation and effective management of priority Seascapes as one of five CTI goals. The Seascape approach has been integrated into the Regional Plan of Action and is increasingly embraced by the CT6 as an effective framework for resource management (see Appendix 1 for the relevant goals, targets, and regional actions under the CTI RPOA).

 Goal 1 of the RPOA, “’Priority Seascapes’ Designated and Effectively Managed”, directs CTI-CFF countries to prioritize large-scale geographies for investment and action and expand the use of best practices in these areas. Under this Goal, the first target includes ‘Priority Seascapes Designated, with Investment Plans Completed and Sequenced’.

The Sulu Sulawesi Seascape was the first Priority Seascape to be endorsed. Subsequently, the 13th CTI-CFF Senior Officials Meeting (SOM) held in Manila on 29-30 November 2017 had endorsed the decision to nominate Lesser Sunda and Bismarck-Solomon Sea Ecoregion (BSSE) as priority seascapes. And in SOM 14^th in 2019, it was agreed to approve the sub-working groups of Sulu-Sulawesi, Lesser Sunda, and Bismarck Solomon Sea Ecoregion (BSSE) under the structure and coordination mechanism of CTI-CFF Seascapes Working Group.

Over the last few decades, efforts to enhance marine management have grown steadily and become more robust, with increased focus on managing large marine areas. Efforts to institute ocean management practices in the 1970s culminated in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This international agreement divided the ocean into jurisdictional zones, the most important of which is the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), which covers waters out to 200 nautical miles from shore. Nations have the right to administer this zone and to explore, exploit, conserve, and manage the natural resources therein. Ninety percent of all fish caught are within EEZs. Beyond them lie the “high seas”; these waters make up roughly 60 percent of the world’s oceans. They have limited governance mechanisms for managing marine resources and controlling pollution.