The key element of the declaration reads as follows:
“CONSIDERING:
The importance of fish products as a source of nutrition for the peoples of the world;
The importance of preserving the marine environment;
That high-seas fisheries have expanded over the last decade, that the management of high-seas fisheries, including the adoption, monitoring and enforcement of effective conservation measures, is inadequate in many areas and that in some areas resources are over-utilized, causing serious concerns for some States with regard to the impact on their fisheries;
The severe problems of excess fishing capacity in many of the world's fisheries;
The need to improve fishing practices and fisheries management to avoid over-exploitation of fisheries resources or loss of biodiversity;
The vital need for fishing to continue and develop within a comprehensive and balanced system under the concept of “responsible fishing”;
That this concept encompasses the sustainable utilization of fisheries resources in harmony with the environment; the use of capture and aquaculture practices which are not harmful to ecosystems, resources or their quality; the incorporation of added value to such products through transformation processes meeting the required quality standards; the conduct of commercial practices so as to provide consumers access to good quality products;
The existence of various measures, already adopted, to achieve a better relationship between fishing activities, the conservation of environment and biodiversity, and the recommendations issued by the World Conference on Fisheries Management and Development, convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1984;
The relevance of the deliberations of this Conference to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED);
That the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982, contains relevant legal principles applying to fishing in areas under national jurisdiction and on the high seas;
The proposal presented within the framework of FAO's Committee on Fisheries during its meeting in April 1991 regarding the drafting of an International Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing;
DECLARES:
States2, with a view to ensuring supply of fish products to feed present and future populations, should adopt effective fisheries planning and management standards which, within the context of sustainable development, will promote the maintenance of the quantity, quality, diversity and economic availability of fisheries resources;
States should take steps to improve management systems as part of the practice of responsible fishing. They recognize the principles of sustainable utilization of marine living resources as the basis for sound fisheries management policies. In this regard, they consider as one of the most important objectives the application of policies and measures which result in a level of fishing effort commensurate with the sustainable utilization of fisheries resources taking into account the specific characteristics of particular fisheries;
States should improve scientific knowledge regarding the biology, abundance, distribution and fluctuation of fisheries resources, both in their own jurisdictions and on the high seas, taking into account geographic and climatic characteristics;
States should promote and enhance collection of data necessary for the conservation and sustainable utilization of fisheries resources;
States, in the design and subsequent introduction of new fishing gear and practices, should take into account qualified assessments of impacts on the sustainability of fisheries, giving due consideration to the specific characteristics and biodiversity of different fishing areas;
States should promote the development and use of selective fishing gear and practices that minimize waste of catch of target species and minimize by-catch of non-target species;
States should systematically assess the impacts of fishing, aquaculture and other activities affecting the marine environment, particularly in coastal areas;
States should take necessary measures to protect coastal wetlands and other areas of critical fisheries habitat from all kinds of degradation;
States should take measures to ensure respect for the interests of small-scale artisanal and indigenous fishers;
States should implement appropriate mechanisms to ensure responsible fishing in exclusive economic zones and other areas under national jurisdiction;
States should co-operate on bilateral, regional and multilateral levels to establish, reinforce and implement effective means and mechanisms to ensure responsible fishing on the high seas, in accordance with relevant provisions of UNCLOS;
The freedom of States to fish on the high seas must be balanced with the obligation to co-operate with other States to ensure conservation and rational management of the living resources, in accordance with relevant provisions of UNCLOS;
States should take effective action, consistent with international law, to deter reflagging of vessels as a means of avoiding compliance with applicable conservation and management rules for fishing activities on the high seas;
States should promote educational programmes and dissemination of knowledge about responsible fishing;
States recognize that environmental policies should deal with the root causes of environmental degradation, thus preventing environmental measures from resulting in unnecessary restrictions to trade. Trade policy measures for environmental purposes should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade. Unilateral actions to deal with environmental challenges outside the jurisdiction of the importing country should, as far as possible, be based on international consensus. Domestic measures targeted to achieve certain environmental objectives may need trade measures to render them effective. Should trade policy measures be found necessary for enforcement of environmental policies, certain principles and rules should apply. These could include, inter alia: the principle of non-discrimination; the principle that the trade measure chosen should be the least trade-restrictive necessary to achieve the objectives; an obligation to ensure transparency in the use of trade measures related to the environment and to provide adequate notification of national regulations; and the need to give consideration to the special conditions and developmental requirements of developing countries as they move toward internationally agreed environmental objectives;
States, to promote the objectives of responsible fishing, should foster international co-operation in the development of effective mechanisms of joint research, information exchange and transfer of relevant technology and know-how;
International co-operation should include the financial support required by developing countries to enhance their capacity to exercise their sovereign rights by improving their systems for marine scientific research and fisheries management, including surveillance and enforcement;
States should enhance international co-operation to prevent illicit fishing that constitutes an obstacle to achieving responsible fishing objectives;
International co-operation in responsible fishing should also take the shape of greater financial support for investments by developing countries, channelled through existing international and regional financial organizations, association mechanisms and other forms of co-operation. The goals of that support should be to improve and broaden fishing activity, consistent with responsible fishing, ranging from capture and farm fishing to processes incorporating added value to products destined for domestic consumption and international trade;
The implementation of the foregoing principles should be consistent with the sovereign rights, jurisdiction and duties of coastal States within their exclusive economic zones and other areas under national jurisdiction;
The Declaration is completed with an agreement on six formal steps to be taken, based on the foregoing declaration. Most of these formal steps have already been mentioned in earlier sections of this paper, as well as below, so are not reproduced here.
The Declaration of Cancún was conveyed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, to the Director-General of FAO, and to the Secretary-General of the UN Conference on Environment and Development; it was subsequently brought to the attention of the latter Conference.
The Declaration was submitted to the FAO Council at its hundred and second session (Rome, November 1992). It called on FAO to draft, in consultation with other relevant international organizations, an International Code of Conduct for Responsible Fishing, in the light of the Declaration as a whole. The Council requested the Director-General to pursue the preparation of a draft of such a code. (Such a draft has just been completed and approved by a technical working group at the time of completion of this document).
The Rio Declaration has a high relevance with respect to living marine resources (See UNCED, 1994 for more details):
Having met at Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992,
Reaffirming the Declaration of the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, adopted at Stockholm on 16 June 19723, and seeking to build upon it,
With the goal of establishing a new and equitable global partnership through the creation of new levels of cooperation among States, key sectors of societies and people,
Working towards international agreements which respect the interests of all and protect the integrity of the global environmental and developmental system,
Recognizing the integral and interdependent nature of the Earth, our home,
Proclaims that:
PRINCIPLE 1
Human beings are at the centre of concerns for sustainable development. They are entitled to a healthy and productive life in harmony with nature.
PRINCIPLE 2
States have, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, the sovereign right to exploit their own resources pursuant to their own environmental and developmental policies, and the responsibility to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or control do not cause damage to the environment of other States or of areas beyond the limits of national jurisdiction.
PRINCIPLE 3
The right to development must be fulfilled so as to equitably meet developmental and environmental needs of present and future generations.
PRINCIPLE 4
In order to achieve sustainable development, environmental protection shall constitute an integral part of the development process and cannot be considered in isolation from it.
PRINCIPLE 5
All States and all people shall cooperate in the essential task of eradicating poverty as an indispensable requirement for sustainable development, in order to decrease the disparities in standards of living and better meet the needs of the majority of the people of the world.
PRINCIPLE 6
The special situation and needs of developing countries, particularly the least developed and those most environmentally vulnerable, shall be given special priority. International actions in the field of environment and development should also address the interests and needs of all countries.
PRINCIPLE 7
States shall co-operate in a spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the Earth's ecosystem. In view of the different contributions to global environmental degradation, States have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge the responsibility that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development in view of the pressures their societies place on the global environment and of the technologies and financial resources they command.
PRINCIPLE 8
To achieve sustainable development and a higher quality of life for all people, States should reduce and eliminate unsustainable patterns of production and consumption and promote appropriate demographic policies.
PRINCIPLE 9
States should cooperate to strengthen endogenous capacity-building for sustainable development by improving scientific understanding through exchanges of scientific and technological knowledge, and by enhancing the development, adaptation, diffusion and transfer of technologies, including new and innovative technologies.
PRINCIPLE 10
Environmental issues are best handled with the participation of all concerned citizens, at the relevant level. At the national level, each individual shall have appropriate access to information concerning the environment that is held by public authorities, including information on hazardous materials and activities in their communities, and the opportunity to participate in decision-making processes. States shall facilitate and encourage public awareness and participation by making information widely available. Effective access to judicial and administrative proceedings, including redress and remedy, shall be provided.
PRINCIPLE 11
States shall enact effective environmental legislation. Environmental standards, management objectives and priorities should reflect the environmental and developmental context to which they apply. Standards applied by some countries may be inappropriate and of unwarranted economic and social cost to other countries, in particular developing countries.
PRINCIPLE 12
States should co-operate to promote a supportive and open international economic system that would lead to economic growth and sustainable development in all countries, to better address the problems of environmental degradation. Trade policy measures for environmental purposes should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade. Unilateral actions to deal with environmental challenges outside the jurisdiction of the importing country should be avoided. Environmental measures addressing transboundary or global environmental problems should, as far as possible, be based on an international consensus.
PRINCIPLE 13
States shall develop national law regarding liability and compensation for the victims of pollution and other environmental damage. States shall also cooperate in an expeditious and more determined manner to develop further international law regarding liability and compensation for adverse effects of environmental damage caused by activities within their jurisdiction or control to areas beyond their jurisdiction.
PRINCIPLE 14
States should effectively co-operate to discourage or prevent the relocation and transfer to other States of any activities and substances that cause severe environmental degradation or are found to be harmful to human health.
PRINCIPLE 15
In order to protect the environment, the precautionary approach shall be widely applied by States according to their capabilities. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.
PRINCIPLE 16
National authorities should endeavour to promote the internalization of environmental costs and the use of economic instruments, taking into account the approach that the polluter should, in principle, bear the cost of pollution, with due regard to the public interest and without distorting international trade and investment.
PRINCIPLE 17
Environmental impact assessment, as a national instrument, shall he undertaken for proposed activities that are likely to have a significant adverse impact on the environment and are subject to a decision of a competent national authority.
PRINCIPLE 18
States shall immediately notify other States of any natural disasters or other emergencies that are likely to produce sudden harmful effects on the environment of those States. Every effort shall be made by the international community to help States so afflicted.
PRINCIPLE 19
States shall provide prior and timely notification and relevant information to potentially affected States on activities that may have a significant adverse transboundary environmental effect and shall consult with those States at an early stage and in good faith.
PRINCIPLE 20
Women have a vital role in environmental management and development. Their full participation is therefore essential to achieve sustainable development.
PRINCIPLE 21
The creativity, ideals and courage of the youth of the world should be mobilized to forge a global partnership in order to achieve sustainable development and ensure a better future for all.
PRINCIPLE 22
Indigenous people and their communities and other local communities have a vital role in environmental management and development because of their knowledge and traditional practices. States should recognize and duly support their identity, culture and interests and enable their effective participation in the achievement of sustainable development.
PRINCIPLE 23
The environment and natural resources of people under oppression, domination and occupation shall be protected.
PRINCIPLE 24
Warfare is inherently destructive of sustainable development. States shall therefore respect international law providing protection for the environment in times of armed conflict and cooperate in its further development, as necessary.
PRINCIPLE 25
Peace, development and environmental protection are interdependent and indivisible.
PRINCIPLE 26
States shall resolve all their environmental disputes peacefully and by appropriate means in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations.
PRINCIPLE 27
States and people shall cooperate in good faith and in a spirit of partnership in the fulfilment of the principles embodied in this Declaration and in the further development of international law in the field of sustainable development.
At the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (1992), a global agenda for action in support of Sustainable Development. Many aspects of this plan of action are of general interest, and the reader is referred to UNCED (1992) for details. With respect to oceans, their environment and resources, the more specific elements are aimed at:
“Protection of the oceans, all kinds of seas, including enclosed and semi-enclosed seas, and coastal areas and the protection, rational use and development of their living resources”
New approaches are proposed within Agenda 21 for the Oceans to marine and coastal area management and development, at the national, subregional, regional and global levels; approaches that are integrated in content and are precautionary and anticipatory in ambit, as reflected in the following programme areas:
Integrated management and sustainable development of coastal areas, including exclusive economic zones;
Marine environmental protection;
Sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources under national jurisdiction;
Sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources under national jurisdiction;
Addressing critical uncertainties for the management of the marine environment and climate change;
Strengthening international, including regional, co-operation and coordination;
Sustainable development of small islands.
A tentative costing of global action on this entire programme was spilt between the above programme areas. For each programme area, a brief description of the basis for action, the objectives, the activities (management-related, necessary data and information, and international cooperation), and the means of implementation (financial, scientific, technological, human resource development and capacity building), were outlined. The implementation by developing countries of these activities was agreed to be commensurate with their individual technological and financial capacities and priorities in allocating resources for development needs and ultimately depended on the technology transfer and financial resources required and made available to them.
The text for two programme areas of particular relevance to this report is reproduced below:
C) SUSTAINABLE USE AND CONSERVATION OF MARINE LIVING RESOURCES OF THE HIGH SEAS
BASIS FOR ACTION
17.44 Over the last decade, fisheries on the high seas have considerably expanded and currently represent approximately 5 percent of total world landings. The provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the marine living resources of the high seas sets forth rights and obligations of States with respect to conservation and utilization of those resources.
17.45 However, management of high seas fisheries, including the adoption, monitoring and enforcement of effective conservation measures, is inadequate in many areas and some resources are overutilized. There are problems of unregulated fishing, overcapitalization, excessive fleet size, vessel reflagging to escape controls, insufficiently selective gear, unreliable databases and lack of sufficient cooperation between States. Action by States whose nationals and vessels fish on the high seas, as well as cooperation at the bilateral, subregional, regional and global levels, is essential particularly for highly migratory species and straddling stocks. Such action and cooperation should address inadequacies in fishing practices, as well as in biological knowledge, fisheries statistics and improvement of systems for handling data. Emphasis should also be on multi-species management and other approaches that take into account the relationships among species, especially in addressing depleted species, but also in identifying the potential of underutilized or unutilized populations.
OBJECTIVES
17.46 States commit themselves to the conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources on the high seas. To this end, it is necessary to:
Develop and increase the potential of marine living resources to meet human nutritional needs, as well as social, economic and development goals;
Maintain or restore populations of marine species at levels that can produce the maximum sustainable yield as qualified by relevant environmental and economic factors, taking into consideration relationships among species;
Promote the development and use of selective fishing gear and practices that minimize waste in the catch of target species and minimize by-catch of non-target species
Ensure effective monitoring and enforcement with respect to fishing activities;
Protect and restore endangered marine species;
Preserve habitats and other ecologically sensitive areas;
Promote scientific research with respect to the marine living resources in the high seas.
17.47 Nothing in paragraph 17.46 above restricts the right of a State or the competence of an international organization, as appropriate, to prohibit, limit or regulate the exploitation of marine mammals on the high seas more strictly than provided for in that paragraph. States shall cooperate with a view to the conservation of marine mammals and, in the case of cetaceans, shall in particular work through the appropriate international organizations for their conservation, management and study.
17.48 The ability of developing countries to fulfil the above objectives is dependent upon their capabilities, including the financial, scientific and technological means at their disposal. Adequate financial, scientific and technological cooperation should be provided to support action by them to implement these objectives.
ACTIVITIES
A) MANAGEMENT-RELATED ACTIVITIES
17.49 States should take effective action, including bilateral and multilateral cooperation, where appropriate at the subregional, regional and global levels, to ensure that high seas fisheries are managed in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. In particular, they should:
Give full effect to these provisions with regard to fisheries populations whose ranges lie both within and beyond exclusive economic zones (straddling stocks);
Give full effect to these provisions with regard to highly migratory species;
Negotiate, where appropriate, international agreements for the effective management and conservation of fishery stocks;
Define and identify appropriate management units;
17.50 States should convene, as soon as possible, an intergovernmental conference under United Nations auspices, taking into account relevant activities at the subregional, regional and global levels, with a view to promoting effective implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks. The conference, drawing, inter alia, on scientific and technical studies by FAO, should identify and assess existing problems related to the conservation and management of such fish stocks, and consider means of improving cooperation on fisheries among States, and formulate appropriate recommendations. The work and the results of the conference should be fully consistent with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, in particular the rights and obligations of coastal States and States fishing on the high seas.
17.51 States should ensure that fishing activities by vessels flying their flags on the high seas take place in a manner so as to minimize incidental catches.
17.52 States should take effective action consistent with international law to monitor and control fishing activities by vessels flying their flags on the high seas to ensure compliance with applicable conservation and management rules, including full, detailed, accurate and timely reporting of catches and effort.
17.53 States should take effective action, consistent with international law, to deter reflagging of vessels by their nationals as a means of avoiding compliance with applicable conservation and management rules for fishing activities on the high seas.
17.54 States should prohibit dynamiting, poisoning and other comparable destructive fishing practices.
17.55 States should fully implement General Assembly resolution 46/215 on large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing.
17.56 States should take measures to increase the availability of marine living resources as human food by reducing wastage, post-harvest losses and discards, and improving techniques of processing, distribution and transportation.
B) DATA AND INFORMATION
17.57 States, with the support of international organizations, whether subregional, regional or global, as appropriate, should cooperate to:
Promote enhanced collection of data necessary for the conservation and sustainable use of the marine living resources of the high seas;
Exchange on a regular basis up-to-date data and information adequate for fisheries assessment;
Develop and share analytical and predictive tools, such as stock assessment and bioeconomic models;
Establish or expand appropriate monitoring and assessment programmes.
C) INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL COOPERATION AND COORDINATION
17.58 States, through bilateral and multilateral cooperation and within the framework of subregional and regional fisheries bodies, as appropriate, and with the support of other international intergovernmental agencies, should assess high seas resource potentials and develop profiles of all stocks (target and non-target).
17.59 States should, where and as appropriate, ensure adequate coordination and cooperation in enclosed and semi-enclosed seas and between subregional, regional and global intergovernmental fisheries bodies.
17.60 Effective cooperation within existing subregional, regional or global fisheries bodies should be encouraged. Where such organizations do not exist, States should, as appropriate, cooperate to establish such organizations.
17.61 States with an interest in a high seas fishery regulated by an existing subregional and/or regional high seas fisheries organization of which they are not members should be encouraged to join that organization, where appropriate.
17.62 States recognize:
The responsibility of the International Whaling Com mission for the conservation and management of whale stocks and the regulation of whaling pursuant to the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling;
The work of the International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee in carrying out studies of large whales in particular, as well as of other cetaceans;
The work of other organizations, such as the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and the Agreement on Small Cetaceans in the Baltic and North Sea under the Bonn Convention, in the conservation, management and study of cetaceans and other marine mammals.
17.6 States should cooperate for the conservation, management and study of cetaceans.
MEANS OF IMPLEMENTATION
A) FINANCING AND COST EVALUATION
17.64 The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total annual cost (1993–2000) of implementing the activities of this programme to be about $12 million from the international community on grant or concessional terms. These are indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been reviewed by Governments. Actual costs and financial terms, including any that are non-concessional, will depend upon, inter alia, the specific strategies and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
B) SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL MEANS
17.65 States, with the support of relevant international organizations, where necessary, should develop collaborative technical and research programmes to improve understanding of the life cycles and migrations of species found on the high seas, including identifying critical areas and life stages.
17.66 States, with the support of relevant international organizations, whether subregional, regional or global, as appropriate, should:
Develop databases on the high seas marine living resources and fisheries;
Collect and correlate marine environmental data with high seas marine living resources data, including the impacts of regional and global changes brought about by natural causes and by human activities;
Cooperate in coordinating research programmes to provide the knowledge necessary to manage high seas resources.
C) HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
17.67 Human resource development at the national level should be targeted at both development and management of high seas resources, including training in high seas fishing techniques and in high seas resource assessment, strengthening cadres of personnel to deal with high seas resource management and conservation and related environmental issues, and training observers and inspectors to be placed on fishing vessels.
D) CAPACITY-BUILDING
17.68 States, with the support, where appropriate, of relevant international organizations, whether sub regional, regional or global, should cooperate to develop or upgrade systems and institutional structures for monitoring, control and surveillance, as well as the research capacity for assessment of marine living resource populations.
17.69 Special support, including cooperation among States, will be needed to enhance the capacities of developing countries in the areas of data and information, scientific and technological means, and human resource development in order to participate effectively in the conservation and sustainable utilization of high seas marine living resources.
E) SUSTAINABLE USE AND CONSERVATION OF MARINE LIVING RESOURCES UNDER NATIONAL JURISDICTION
BASIS FOR ACTION
17.70 Marine fisheries yield 80 to 90 million tons of fish and shellfish per/year, 95 per cent of which is taken from waters under national jurisdiction. Yields have increased nearly fivefold over the past four decades. The provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on marine living resources of the exclusive economic zone and other areas under national jurisdiction set forth rights and obligations of States with respect to conservation and utilization of those resources.
17.71 Marine living resources provide an important source of protein in many countries and their use is often of major importance to local communities and indigenous people. Such resources provide food and livelihoods to millions of people and, if sustainably utilized, offer increased potential to meet nutritional and social needs, particularly in developing countries. To realize this potential requires improved knowledge and identification of marine living resource stocks, particularly of underutilized and unutilized stocks and species, use of new technologies, better handling and processing facilities to avoid wastage, and improved quality and training of skilled personnel to manage and conserve effectively the marine living resources of the exclusive economic zone and other areas under national jurisdiction. Emphasis should also be on multi-species management and other approaches that take into account the relationships among species.
17.72 Fisheries in many areas under national jurisdiction face mounting problems, including local overfishing, unauthorized incursions by foreign fleets, ecosystem degradation, overcapitalization and excessive fleet sizes, underevaluation of catch, insufficiently selective gear, unreliable databases, and increasing competition between artisanal and large-scale fishing, and between fishing and other types of activities.
17.73 Problems extend beyond fisheries. Coral reefs and other marine and coastal habitats, such as mangroves and estuaries, are among the most highly diverse, integrated and productive of the Earth's ecosystems. They often serve important ecological functions, provide coastal protection, and are critical resources for food, energy, tourism and economic development. In many parts of the world, such marine and coastal systems are under stress or are threatened from a variety of sources, both human and natural.
OBJECTIVES
17.74 Coastal States, particularly developing countries and States whose economies are overwhelmingly dependent on the exploitation of the marine living resources of their exclusive economic zones, should obtain the full social and economic benefits from sustainable utilization of marine living resources within their exclusive economic zones and other areas under national jurisdiction.
17.75 States commit themselves to the conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources under national jurisdiction. To this end, it is necessary to:
Develop and increase the potential of marine living resources to meet human nutritional needs, as well as social, economic and development goals,
Take into account traditional knowledge and interests of local communities, small-scale artisanal fisheries and indigenous people in development and management programmes;
Maintain or restore populations of marine species at levels that can produce the maximum sustainable yield as qualified by relevant environmental and economic factors, taking into consideration relationships among species;
Promote the development and use of selective fishing gear and practices that minimize waste in the catch of target species and minimize by-catch of non-target species;
Protect and restore endangered marine species;
Preserve rare or fragile ecosystems, as well as habitats and other ecologically sensitive areas.
17.76 Nothing in paragraph 17.75 above restricts the right of a coastal State or the competence of an international organization, as appropriate, to prohibit, limit or regulate the exploitation of marine mammals more strictly than provided for in that paragraph. States shall cooperate with a view to the conservation of marine mammals and in the case of cetaceans shall in particular work through the appropriate international organizations for their conservation, management and study.
17.77 The ability of developing countries to fulfil the above objectives is dependent upon their capabilities, including the financial, scientific and technological means at their disposal. Adequate financial, scientific and technological cooperation should be provided to support action by them to implement these objectives.
ACTIVITIES
A) MANAGEMENT-RELATED ACTIVITIES
17.78 States should ensure that marine living resources of the exclusive economic zone and other areas under national jurisdiction are conserved and managed in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
17.79 States, in implementing the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, should address the issues of straddling stocks and highly migratory species, and, taking fully into account the objective set out in paragraph 17.74, access to the surplus of allowable catches.
17.80 Coastal States, individually or through bilateral, and/or multilateral cooperation and with the support, as appropriate of international organizations, whether sub regional, regional or global, should inter alia:
Assess the potential of marine living resources, including underutilized or unutilized stocks and species, by developing inventories, where necessary, for their conservation and sustainable use;
Implement strategies for the sustainable use of marine living resources, taking into account the special needs and interests of small-scale artisanal fisheries, local communities and indigenous people to meet human nutritional and other development needs;
Implement, in particular in developing countries, mechanisms to develop mariculture, aquaculture and small-scale, deep-sea and oceanic fisheries within areas under national jurisdiction where assessments show that marine living resources are potentially available;
Strengthen their legal and regulatory frameworks, where appropriate, including management, enforcement and surveillance capabilities, to regulate activities related to the above strategies;
Take measures to increase the availability of marine living resources as human food by reducing wastage, post-harvest losses and discards, and improving techniques of processing, distribution and transportation;
Develop and promote the use of environmentally sound technology under criteria compatible with the sustainable use of marine living resources, including assessment of the environmental impact of major new fishery practices;
Enhance the productivity and utilization of their marine living resources for food and income.
17.81 Coastal States should explore the scope for expanding recreational and tourist activities based on marine living resources, including those for providing alternative sources of income. Such activities should be compatible with conservation and sustainable development policies and plans.
17.82 Coastal States should support the sustainability of small-scale artisanal fisheries. To this end, they should, as appropriate:
Integrate small-scale artisanal fisheries development in marine and coastal planning, taking into account the interests and, where appropriate, encouraging representation of fishermen, small-scale fisherworkers, women, local communities and indigenous people;
Recognize the rights of small-scale fishworkers and the special situation of indigenous people and local communities, including their rights to utilization and protection of their habitats on a sustainable basis;
Develop systems for the acquisition and recording of traditional knowledge concerning marine living resources and environment and promote the incorporation of such knowledge into management systems.
17.83 Coastal States should ensure that, in the negotiation and implementation of international agreements on the development or conservation of marine living resources, the interests of local communities and indigenous people are taken into account, in particular their right to subsistence.
17.84 Coastal States, with the support, as appropriate, of international organizations should conduct analyses of the potential for aquaculture in marine and coastal areas under national jurisdiction and apply appropriate safeguards as to the introduction of new species.
17.85 States should prohibit dynamiting, poisoning and other comparable destructive fishing practices.
17.86 States should identify marine ecosystems exhibiting high levels of biodiversity and productivity and other critical habitat areas and should provide necessary limitations on use in these areas, through, inter alia, designation of protected areas. Priority should be accorded, as appropriate, to:
Coral reef ecosystems;
Estuaries;
Temperate and tropical wetlands, including mangroves;
Seagrass beds;
Other spawning and nursery areas.
B) DATA AND INFORMATION
17.87 States, individually or through bilateral and multilateral cooperation and with the support, as appropriate, of international organizations, whether subregional, regional or global, should:
Promote enhanced collection and exchange of data necessary for the conservation and sustainable use of the marine living resources under national jurisdiction;
Exchange on a regular basis up-to-date data and information necessary for fisheries assessment;
Develop and share analytical and predictive tools, such as stock assessment and bioeconomic models;
Establish or expand appropriate monitoring and assessment programmes;
Complete or update marine biodiversity, marine living resource and critical habitat profiles of exclusive economic zones and other areas under national jurisdiction, taking account of changes in the environment brought about by natural causes and human activities.
C) INTERNATIONAL AND REGIONAL COOPERATION AND COORDINATION
17.88 States, through bilateral and multilateral cooperation, and with the support of relevant United Nations and other international organizations, should cooperate to:
Develop financial and technical cooperation to enhance the capacities of developing countries in small scale and oceanic fisheries, as well as in coastal aquaculture and mariculture;
Promote the contribution of marine living resources to eliminate malnutrition and to achieve food self-sufficiency in developing countries, inter alia, by minimizing post-harvest losses and managing stocks for guaranteed sustainable yields;
Develop agreed criteria for the use of selective fishing gear and practices to minimize waste in the catch of target species and minimize by-catch of non-target species;
Promote seafood quality, including through national quality assurance systems for seafood, in order to promote access to markets, improve consumer confidence and maximize economic returns.
17.89 States should, where and as appropriate, ensure adequate coordination and cooperation in enclosed and semi-enclosed seas and between subregional, regional and global intergovernmental fisheries bodies.
17.90 States recognize:
The responsibility of the International Whaling Commission for the conservation and management of whale stocks and the regulation of whaling pursuant to the 1946 International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling;
The work of the International Whaling Commission Scientific Committee in carrying out studies of large whales in particular, as well as of other cetaceans;
The work of other organizations, such as the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission and the Agreement on Small Cetaceans in the Baltic and North Sea under the Bonn Convention, in the conservation, management and study of cetaceans and other marine mammals.
17.91 States should cooperate for the conservation, management and study of cetaceans.
MEANS OF IMPLEMENTATION
A) FINANCING AND COST EVALUATION
17.92 The Conference secretariat has estimated the average total annual cost (1993–2000) of implementing the activities of this programme to be about $6 billion, including about $60 million from the international community on grant or concessional terms. These are indicative and order-of-magnitude estimates only and have not been reviewed by Governments. Actual costs will depend upon, inter alia, the specific strategies and programmes Governments decide upon for implementation.
B) SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL MEANS
17.93 States, with the support of relevant intergovernmental organizations, as appropriate, should:
Provide for the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to develop fisheries, aquaculture and mariculture, particularly to developing countries;
Accord special attention to mechanisms for transferring resource information and improved fishing and aquaculture technologies to fishing communities at the local level;
Promote the study, scientific assessement and use of appropriate traditional management systems;
Consider observing, as appropriate, the FAO/ICES Code of Practice for Consideration of Transfer and Introduction of Marine and Freshwater Organisms;
Promote scientific research on marine areas of particular importance for marine living resources, such as areas of high diversity, endemism and productivity and migratory stopover points.
C) HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
17.94 States individually, or through bilateral and multilateral cooperation and with the support of relevant international organizations, whether subregional, regional or global, as appropriate, should encourage and provide support for developing countries, inter alia, to:
Expand multidisciplinary education, training and research on marine living resources, particularly in the social and economic sciences;
Create training opportunities at national and regional levels to support artisanal (including subsistence) fisheries to develop small-scale use of marine living resources and to encourage equitable participation of local communities, small-scale fish workers, women and indigenous people;
Introduce topics relating to the importance of marine living resources in educational curricula at all levels.
D) CAPACITY-BUILDING
17.95 Coastal States, with the support of relevant subregional, regional and global agencies, where appropriate, should:
Develop research capacities for assessment of marine living resource populations and monitoring;
Provide support to local fishing communities, in particular those that rely on fishing for subsistence, indigenous people and women, including, as appropriate, the technical and financial assistance to organize, maintain, exchange and improve traditional knowledge of marine living resources and fishing techniques, and up grade knowledge on marine ecosystems;
Establish sustainable aquaculture development strategies, including environmental management in support of rural fish-farming communities;
Develop and strengthen, where the need may arise, institutions capable of implementing the objectives and activities related to the conservation and management of marine living resources.
17.96 Special support, including cooperation among States, will be needed to enhance the capacities of developing countries in the areas of data and information, scientific and technological means and human resource development in order to enable them to participate effectively in the conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources under national jurisdiction.
This Convention is of course much broader in scope than marine resources, but has direct relevance to their appropriate use. Three main objectives of this Convention are mentioned in section 1 of UN (1994);
the conservation of biological diversity, defined as:
“the variability among living organisms from all sources including, inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species, and of ecosystems”;
their sustainable use;
the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources, including appropriate access to these resources and the transfer of appropriate technologies.
From the above, it is clear that two types of diversity are covered: genetic diversity (e.g. of a single species) which has immediate relevance to biotechnology, defined as “any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms, or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use”; and species conservation, the associated ecological diversity of species complexes, and the habitats needed to support these ecosystems. The first of the economic uses of marine (genetic) biodiversity is already relevant to marine aquaculture, and will undoubtedly become more important in the future. The second relates to the conservation of species, ecosystems, and the habitats necessary for their survival, and is of immediate concern to fisheries and their sustainable use.
With respect to jurisdiction, a distinction is made between components of biological diversity which lie within areas of national jurisdiction where the sovereign right to exploit them is recognized; but a supplementary responsibility is given not to damage resources lying beyond national responsibility by processes or activities on national territory where these effects have an impact beyond national jurisdiction.
National strategies are mandated for conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, including the identification and monitoring of the same, and their conservation.
The Article on ‘In-situ Conservation’ requires that a system of protected areas should be established, with environmentally should policies applied, especially in adjacent areas, but also in the national territory as a whole. Degraded ecosystems are to be restored, recovery of threatened species promoted, indigenous knowledge of resources preserved. Financial support is to be provided for these efforts as well as appropriate legislation.
The Convention provides for meeting the above requirement through incentives, research and training and public education and awareness.
In the case of marine fisheries, this Convention has obvious direct relevance to many of the issues covered by other international agreements discussed in this document, and the reader is referred to UN (1994) for further details, which go beyond the scope of this brief description.
