Economic and Social Council

 Distr. GENERAL
24 January 1997
ORIGINAL: ENGLISH

COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
Fifth session
7-25 April 1997


         Overall progress achieved since the United Nations Conference
                        on Environment and Development

                        Report of the Secretary-General

                                   Addendum

          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 *

                           (Chapter 17 of Agenda 21)

(* The report was prepared by the ACC Subcommittee on Oceans and
Coastal Areas, as task manager for chapter 17 of Agenda 21, in
accordance with arrangements agreed to by the Inter-Agency Committee
on Sustainable Development (IACSD).  It is the result of consultation
and information exchange between United Nations agencies,
international and national science organizations, interested
government agencies and a range of other institutions and
individuals.)


                                   CONTENTS

                                                              Paragraphs Page

 I.   KEY OBJECTIVES .......................................     1 - 2     2

II.   SUCCESSES ............................................     3 - 8     2

III.  PROMISING CHANGES ....................................     9 - 17    4

IV.   UNFULFILLED EXPECTATIONS .............................    18 - 22    7

 V.   EMERGING PRIORITIES ..................................    23 - 32    8


                              I.  KEY OBJECTIVES


1.   This report reviews progress made in the implementation of the
objectives set out in chapter 17 of Agenda 21 (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), 1/ taking into account the decisions taken by
the Commission on Sustainable Development on this subject at its
fourth session, in 1996.  The overall goal of chapter 17 of Agenda 21
is to promote the sustainable utilization and conservation of the
marine environment and its resources, both in the oceans and in
coastal areas.  Specific objectives are derived from the seven
programme areas of the chapter, namely:

     (a)  Integrated management and sustainable development of coastal
and marine areas, including exclusive economic zones;

     (b)  Marine environmental protection, from both land-based and
sea-based activities;

     (c)  Sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources
of the high seas;

     (d)  Sustainable use and conservation of marine living resources
under national jurisdiction;

     (e)  Addressing critical uncertainties for the management of the
marine environment and climate change;

     (f)  Strengthening international and regional cooperation and
coordination;

     (g)  Sustainable development of small islands.

2.   The sections below discuss the status of implementation of these
objectives since the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) in 1992, and identify some emerging issues and
concerns.


                                II.  SUCCESSES

3.   The concept of integrated management of watersheds, river basins,
estuaries and marine and coastal areas is now largely accepted in the
United Nations system and in most countries as providing a
comprehensive, ecosystem-based approach to sustainable development. 
Guidelines for integrated coastal area management (ICAM) have been
developed for various levels of governance and implementation and are
being applied by countries and financing institutions in a growing
number of technical assistance projects.  The International Coral Reef
Initiative (ICRI) and the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network are new
initiatives developed out of the concern of countries for the health
of such critical coastal ecosystems as coral reefs, mangroves and
seagrass ecosystems.  The TRAIN-SEA-COAST Programme developed by the
Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of
Legal Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat with the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has started  strengthening the
capabilities of local and regional training institutions in the field
of coastal and ocean management.

4.   With respect to land-based sources of pollution, a major
initiative was the convening of an Intergovernmental Conference in
Washington, D.C. (23 October-3 November 1995) which adopted the Global
Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from
Land-based Activities, subsequently endorsed by the Commission on
Sustainable Development at its fourth session and by the United
Nations General Assembly in resolution 51/189, of 16 December 1996. 
Participating States agreed that effective development and
implementation of national programmes of action should focus on
sustainable, pragmatic and integrated environmental management,
harmonized, as appropriate, with ocean basin management and land-use
plans.  Regarding marine environmental protection from sea-based
pollution, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted a
number of new protocols or amendments to existing conventions to
reduce these pollutants, including, most recently, the 1996 Protocol
to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of
Wastes and Other Matter 1972 (the London Convention, 1972), approved
on 8 November 1996.

5.   The legal framework for the sustainable use and conservation of
living aquatic resources in the oceans, both in the high seas and
under national jurisdiction, has been substantially improved since
UNCED by the entry into force, in 1994, of the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea.  This Convention establishes the
rights and duties of States with respect to the conservation and
management of resources as well as marine environmental protection. 
Governments have increasingly become aware of the need for
conservation and management of fishery resources in the high seas as
well as in the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) and have, since UNCED,
adopted or voluntarily agreed to the following international
instruments related to fisheries:  the Agreement to Promote Compliance
with International Conservation and Management Measures by Fishing
Vessels on the High Seas (1993); the United Nations Agreement for the
Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea of December 1982 relating to the Conservation and
Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks
(1995); and the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (1995).

6.   Regarding critical uncertainties, agreement has been reached on a
development approach, strategy and time-frame for the Global Ocean
Observing System (GOOS), involving many national institutions and with
the effective cooperation of a number of United Nations organizations
(the International Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO),
the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP)) and other international organizations,
in particular the International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU). 
Several regional GOOS programmes have been initiated and there has
been an increase in efforts to collect and share critical types of
data.  In addition, significant progress has been made in numerous
scientific domains critical to the understanding of the oceans, such
as (i) forecasting of ocean conditions (floods, tsunamis, cyclones)
and related warning systems and protective measures; (ii) the role of
oceans in relation to greenhouse gases; (iii) quantifying the
vulnerability of low-lying areas to climate change and sea-level rise;
(iv) the impact of ultraviolet light on productivity; and
(v) implementation of the International Mussel Watch Programme.

7.   International cooperation and coordination for the sustainable use
of the oceans has been actively addressed by many international,
regional and national initiatives, which has helped to focus attention
on the critical issues facing Governments as they develop policies for
the wise management and use of their ocean and coastal areas.  The
recommendations reached at the London Workshop on Environmental
Science, Comprehensiveness and Consistency in Global Decisions on
Ocean Issues (London, 1995), co-sponsored by the Governments of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Brazil, for
example, served as a basis for the consideration of this issue at the
fourth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, in 1996. 
The Commission, in fact, held extensive discussions on how to improve
and ensure international cooperation and coordination with regard to
oceans.  It recommended to the Economic and Social Council, subject to
the outcome of the special session of the General Assembly in 1997,
that the Commission's future work programme should include a periodic
overall review of all aspects of the marine environment and its
related issues, as described in chapter 17 of Agenda 21, for which the
overall legal framework should be provided by the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, and that the results of such a
review should be considered by the General Assembly under an agenda
item entitled "Oceans and the law of the sea".  It further recommended
that this review should draw upon reports of UNEP and other relevant
United Nations bodies and international organizations, to be
coordinated by the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC)
Subcommittee on Oceans and Coastal Areas.  Finally, to address the
need for improved coordination, the Commission invited the Secretary-
General to review the working of the Subcommittee, with a view to
improving its status and effectiveness, and it also invited the
executive heads of the sponsoring agencies and organizations of the
Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine
Environmental Protection (GESAMP), to improve its effectiveness and
comprehensiveness while maintaining its status as a source of agreed,
independent scientific advice. 2/

8.   Subsequent to the Commission's recommendation, and even prior to
the fifth session of the Commission and the special session and the
fifty-first session of the General Assembly, the Assembly decided in
December 1996 to change its annual agenda item from "Law of the sea"
to "Oceans and the law of the sea", beginning at its fifty-second
session, and requested the Secretary-General to submit to that session
a comprehensive report on oceans and the law of the sea in connection
with its annual review and evaluation of the implementation of the
Convention and other developments relating to ocean affairs and the
law of the sea; the Assembly further reaffirmed its view that the
problems of ocean space were closely interrelated and needed to be
considered as a whole (Assembly resolution 51/34).


                            III.  PROMISING CHANGES

9.   As for many other chapters of Agenda 21, implementation of chapter
17 has certainly benefited from an increased awareness on the part of
the international community of what is meant by sustainable
development and global change, both from a conceptual and a pragmatic
point of view.  At practically all levels, the potential of the ocean
as a moderator of climate and a provider of food, transportation and
recreation is being recognized as a common heritage that requires wise
management and protection.  Indeed, the General Assembly has
recognized this importance in its decision to declare 1998
International Year of the Ocean (resolution 49/131).

10.  The relatively successful implementation of chapter 17 is
reflected in, and builds upon, a series of important international
legal and institutional instruments which have been completed or
agreed upon since UNCED.  Most significant is the entry into force in
1994 of the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.  In
addition to the list of fisheries-related instruments mentioned in
paragraph 5 above, other important recent agreements include the Rome
Consensus on World Fisheries adopted by the FAO Ministerial Meeting on
Fisheries (Rome, March 1995); the Jakarta Initiative entitled
"Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine and Coastal Biological
Diversity" (decision II/10 of the second meeting of the Conference of
the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity) adopted in
November 1995; the Kyoto Declaration and Plan of Action of the
International Conference on the Sustainable Contribution of Fisheries
to Food Security (Kyoto, December 1995); and General Assembly
resolutions 51/34 on the law of the sea, 51/35 on the Agreement for
the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation
and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish
Stocks, and 51/36 on large-scale pelagic drift-net fishing;
unauthorized fishing in zones of national jurisdiction; and fisheries
by-catch and discards.

11.  Individually also, Governments have taken significant actions. 
The direct involvement of member States in support of international
initiatives has been an important factor in their success.  Many
States have started changing their policies and adjusting their legal
and institutional frameworks.  Often this includes improved mechanisms
for peoples' participation, independent policy overview (e.g., in
fisheries) and recognition of the role to be played by macroeconomic
instruments.  In addition, the precautionary principle approach,
called for in the Rio Declaration, is progressively being recognized
and applied, for example, in fisheries where sectoral guidelines for
its application have been developed.  National policies are gradually
reflecting references to the need to (a) increase research and
systematic observations; and (b) address critical uncertainties.

12.  Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have operated as partners in
promoting the concepts of sustainable development and responsible
fisheries across all the above programmes.  A number of
non-governmental initiatives have been taken, the impact of which has
still to be seen, but which have the potential of mobilizing further
energies in favour of improved ocean management.  One example is the
Independent World Commission on the Oceans, which was established in
1995 with the view to promoting integrated management of the oceans. 
Attempts are also being made to use consumers' power to promote
sustainable fisheries through the establishment of eco-certification
of fishery management systems and eco-labelling of fishery products by
the Marine Stewardship Council (to be established in 1997) and/or
other existing certification systems (e.g., ISO 9000 and 14000).

13.  The experience of the United Nations system with the private
sector and NGOs (e.g., IMO in the area of shipping, FAO in fisheries,
UNESCO/IOC in research) has been very positive and signs of
willingness to cooperate further are evident.  Moreover, the
development of action plans and cooperative programme frameworks for
integrated management (e.g., of coastal areas), should offer more
opportunities for involvement of the private sector in the
intersectoral management of natural resources.

14.  Continuation of the long-standing cooperation within the United
Nations system dealing with oceans, reinforced by the creation of the
Subcommittee on Oceans and Coastal Areas of the Administrative
Committee on Coordination, has been a critical factor of success in
these endeavours.  The recent agreement of the Subcommittee, despite
the limited resources available to participating organizations, to
operate as an inter-agency facilitating mechanism for the
implementation of the Global Programme of Action for the Protection of
the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities is a further step in
system-wide cooperative efforts and could prove essential for the
success of the Programme of Action.  Inter-agency cooperation will
also be important in the United Nations preparations for the 1998
International Year of the Ocean.

15.  In the critical cross-sectoral area of financing, it should be
noted that the Global Environment Facility (GEF) adopted an
Operational Strategy in 1994, within which the international waters
and biodiversity components are of particular importance for chapter
17.  The role of GEF as a funding mechanism to provide grants and
concessional funds to developing countries and countries with
economies in transition will be an essential element in inter-agency
efforts to meet the needs of countries striving to implement Agenda
21.

16.  In addition, recognition of oceans as a major factor in world
ecosystem changes, on long-term and planetary scales (e.g., climate
change) or medium-term and regional scales (e.g., the El Nin~o
phenomenon) could increase government commitment towards the funding
of programmes such as GOOS, the Tropical Oceans and Global Atmosphere
(TOGA) programme, the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean Array (TAO) and the
World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE).

17.  The achievements listed in the preceding section together
represent a significant change in the context of sustainable
development of the oceans and coastal areas, in the areas of
information, legal frameworks, institutions and catalytic financing,
auguring well for the future.  Since UNCED, government commitments to
implement pragmatic approaches to sustainable development, including
modifying their legal frameworks, improving institutions, and
exploring means of communication with the non-governmental community
and the public, have significantly increased, particularly in this
domain.  Given the entry into force of the United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea and the increasing pressure exerted by NGOs and
the public on Governments, there is reason to expect that the numerous
and significant international agreements relating to the ocean and its
resources will be acceded to in due course and that they will be duly
implemented and enforced, particularly in relation to fisheries
management and land-based sources of marine pollution.


                         IV.  UNFULFILLED EXPECTATIONS

18.  Within Agenda 21, chapter 17 is particularly complex in that it
touches upon almost all sustainable development concerns, from both
cross-sectoral and geopolitical viewpoints, and requires particularly
effective coordination of policies and action at the national and
international levels.  However, the past five years have shown that,
although there is a marked improvement in the awareness of decision
makers of the critical importance of ocean and coastal areas, there is
still a need to improve intersectoral coordination at the national
level and to better harmonize national policies and positions as
expressed at the level of United Nations governing bodies.

19.  Despite the notable successes outlined above, the degree of
implementation of chapter 17 is still insufficient.  Governments are
facing interacting problems resulting from global climate change,
growing populations (in the developing world), demand for and pressure
on living marine resources, and increasing pollution from urbanization
and industrialization in the coastal zone.  However, governmental
action has not yet been sufficient to bring about a reversal in the
decline of resources and environmental conditions or to ensure better
protection against natural disasters.  While legal and institutional
instruments have definitely improved the basis for sustainable
development of oceans and coastal areas, implementation lags behind
owing, among other things, to (a) the difficulty in making political
decisions regarding resources and wealth allocation; (b) the
difficulty of improving inadequate or inefficient institutions; and
(c) in many cases, difficulties in meeting the related financial
commitments.

20.  While recognizing the need to identify sustainable financing
mechanisms at the national and regional levels, it cannot be
overemphasized that without adequate financing (and financial
assistance) for implementation, many Governments may not be in a
position to implement the provisions of the various international
undertakings they have subscribed to.  Consequently, many of the
outstanding objectives within chapter 17 might not be reached.  The
deficit in financing of UNCED-related strategies is aggravated by the
significant decrease in funding available for technical assistance
within the United Nations specialized agencies and mechanisms.

21.  While the need for improved information is recognized, the actual
trend in the quality and quantity of data and information being
gathered and exchanged is decreasing owing to the impact of economic
constraints, particularly but not only in developing countries and
countries with economies in transition, and, often, the lack of real
priority accorded by Governments.

22.  Action to be taken in preparation for and during the 1998
International Year of the Ocean will help create further awareness and
perhaps strengthen the commitments of Governments to solve ocean
problems and give the right level of priority to the ocean as a finite
economic asset.


                            V.  EMERGING PRIORITIES

23.  The report of the Secretary-General on chapter 17, submitted to
the Commission at its fourth session (E/CN.17/1996/3 and Add.1), and
the consideration of its recommendations by the Ad Hoc Inter-sessional
Working Group on Sectoral Issues in February 1996, as well as the
decisions of the Commission at its fourth session, provided specific
direction for (a) the development of institutional arrangements for
the implementation of the Global Plan of Action for the Protection of
the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities, with particular
emphasis on sectoral integration; (b) the improvement of fisheries
management in EEZs and the high seas; (c) the fostering of cooperation
particularly in the area of programme coordination (through the ACC
Subcommittee on Oceans and Coastal Areas) and provision of independent
scientific advice to the United Nations system (e.g., through GESAMP).

24.  Among the long list of priorities contained in chapter 17,
developments during the past five years have underscored a few which
emerge as very critical because of their importance to the process of
evolution towards sustainable development.  These relate, inter alia,
to accelerated and viable (better supported) national implementation,
including through regional mechanisms; rehabilitation of critical
habitats, particularly in the coastal areas; protection of the marine
environment from all sources of pollution, including sewage and
reduced impact of land-based activities; better account of
intersectoral impacts; controlling resource use and improving resource
management approaches; removal of long-term development subsidies;
more effective people's participation in decision-making (e.g.,
through community-based management, co-management); better resource
pricing as reflected in new conditions for access to resources (e.g.,
granting of access rights, payment of user fees).

25.  More generally, there is the pressing need to (a) upgrade
information and ocean observational systems; (b) improve mechanisms,
including institutions, for the appropriate management of ocean
resources; (c) improve the availability of technical assistance and
finance; and (d) increase the effectiveness of international
cooperation.  These points are dealt with in more detail below.


                                A.  Information

26.  There is a need for better understanding of the interactions
between sectoral developments and their impact on the ecosystem,
including the reversibility of present situations.  In relation to
this, Governments should address as a matter of urgency the need to
maintain and reinforce systematic data collection and observing
systems and to provide access to modern means of information
processing and communications (e.g., the Internet), particularly at
the regional level.

27.  There is a need for better information systems (e.g., integrated
information systems, Geographical Information Systems) and support for
action-oriented research on multi-criteria analysis, communication and
negotiation techniques, participatory methods, rapid appraisal
methods, resource rehabilitation and reversibility, economic analysis
and resource valuation, the precautionary approach to development,
sustainability indicators and criteria and so forth.

28.  Scientific progress in ocean and coastal areas as well as
technological developments have greatly improved the contribution of
operational oceanography to ocean forecasting, opening the way to
improved management and more sustainable development, including
through the development of early warning systems in the near future. 
This is the rationale for the creation of GOOS, the further
development of which requires significant commitments at all levels.


                            B.  Resource management

29.  The past decade has shown that international trade in ocean
products, for which there is a growing demand, has developed much
faster than resource management institutions.  This has resulted in
resource depletion, and progress appears urgently required in three
areas.  First, exclusive property or use rights should be established
to promote more long-term conservation-oriented thinking and
behaviour.  Second, mechanisms should be created to facilitate the
participation of people in resource management decision-making
processes.  Third, the effectiveness of regional resource management
bodies should be improved and mechanisms are needed to ensure better
cooperation between those dealing with environmental conservation and
those in charge of development.


                    C.  Technical assistance and financing

30.  Considering the shortage of funding, cooperation in the delivery
of technical assistance, at the global or the regional level, should
be enhanced further.  Development of global or regional cooperative
programme frameworks and action plans should be encouraged, with a
view to optimizing the provision of assistance to countries in their
implementation efforts.  Periodic reviews, at the international or
regional levels, drawing attention to problem areas and resolving
outstanding issues would be important.

31.  Efforts should be stepped up to identify and implement innovative
fund-raising strategies and to increase government commitments to
sustainable development activities, including through better use of
trust funds and "seed money" as well as establishment of user fees,
taxes and other financial disincentives.  Better coordination among
donors is essential to improving the effectiveness of the available
financial resources.  Finally, there is a need for a change in the
profile of financing, with priority given to financial schemes that
would mitigate destruction of productivity and/or promote
rehabilitation.


                         D.  International cooperation

32.  As part of its review of implementation of chapter 17, the
Commission on Sustainable Development at its fourth session addressed
the need for improved international and inter-agency cooperation and
coordination in oceans issues and decided to invite the Secretary-
General to review the working of the ACC Subcommittee on Oceans and
Coastal Areas, with a view to improving its status and effectiveness;
it also invited the executive heads of the sponsoring agencies and
organizations of GESAMP to improve its effectiveness and
comprehensiveness while maintaining its status as a source of agreed,
independent scientific advice. 2/  All participating agencies and
organizations of the United Nations system should provide guidance to
the Secretary-General in these efforts and, if necessary, seek
additional financial support from their member States.  The further
views of the Commission at its fifth session and of the General
Assembly at its special session in June 1997 will also be valuable.


                                     Notes

     1/  Report of the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development, vol. I, Resolutions Adopted by the Conference (United
Nations publication, Sales No. E.93.I.8 and corrigendum), resolution
1, annex II.

     2/  Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 1996,
Supplement No. 8 (E/1996/28), chap. I, decision 4/15, para. 45.


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Date last posted: 10 December 1999 17:25:35
Comments and suggestions: DESA/DSD