Negotiator's toolkit

Despite more progress at this two-week session than over the last decade, delegates were unable to reach consensus on a new high seas treaty addressing marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction and, instead, suspended the session, to be resumed

At the most productive meeting so far, “unprecedented progress” was made in discussions on marine genetic resources, including benefit sharing, area-based management tools, including marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments, and capacity building and the transfer of marine technology.

As well as the landmark decision on controlling sulphur oxide emissions—which will have major health and environmental benefits for Mediterranean communities—COP 22 adopted several significant plans.

The meeting successfully highlighted the importance of transboundary water cooperation, welcomed Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, and Togo as new Parties, and saw the signing of the Ministerial Declaration on the Senegalo-Mauritanian Aquifer Basin by ministers from The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, and Senegal.

Parties and stakeholders to the three global hazardous chemicals and wastes conventions convened online to deal with urgent operational and substantive work including election of officers, the programmes of work and budgets for all three conventions, and a decision regarding

Delegates delved, for the first time, into textual negotiations on the basis of a “zero draft” containing treaty text developed by Conference President Rena Lee (Singapore). Deliberations were productive but there is still much work to be done with the

The Conference adopted a number of decisions on a series of strategic, administrative, financial, and ecosystem-related issues of relevance to the implementation of the Convention and its Protocols. These included 37 decisions under the CBD COP; 16 decisions under the

Delegates considered a document prepared by the IGC President, which identified areas for further discussion not containing treaty text, aimed at leading to substantive discussions based on the elements of a package agreed in 2011 on marine genetic resources (MGRs)