CBD Distr. GENERAL UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/20/INF/24* 11 April 2016 ENGLISH ONLY SUBSIDIARY BODY ON SCIENTIFIC, TECHNICAL AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVICE Twentieth meeting Montreal, Canada, 25-30 April 2016 Item 4.1 of the provisional agenda** REPORT OF THE REGIONAL WORKSHOP TO FACILITATE THE DESCRIPTION OF ECOLOGICALLY OR BIOLOGICALLY SIGNIFICANT MARINE AREAS IN THE SEAS OF EAST ASIA1 INTRODUCTION 1. At its tenth meeting, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity requested the Executive Secretary to work with Parties and other Governments as well as competent organizations and regional initiatives, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), regional seas conventions and action plans, and, where appropriate, regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) to organize, including the setting of terms of reference, a series of regional workshops, with a primary objective to facilitate the description of ecologically or biologically significant marine areas through the application of scientific criteria in annex I of decision IX/20 as well as other relevant compatible and complementary nationally and intergovernmentally agreed scientific criteria, as well as the scientific guidance on the identification of marine areas beyond national jurisdiction, which meet the scientific criteria in annex I to decision IX/20 (paragraph 36 of decision X/29). 2. In the same decision, the Conference of the Parties requested that the Executive Secretary make available the scientific and technical data, and information and results collated through the workshops referred to above to participating Parties, other Governments, intergovernmental agencies and the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice (SBSTTA) for their use according to their competencies. * Also issued as UNEP/CBD/EBSA/WS/2015/3/4. ** UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/20/1/Rev.1. 1 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this note do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/20/INF/24 Page 2 3. Subsequently, at its eleventh and twelfth meetings, the Conference of the Parties reviewed the outcomes, respectively, of the first and second set of regional workshops conducted and requested the Executive Secretary to further collaborate with Parties, other Governments, competent organizations, and global and regional initiatives, such as the United Nations General Assembly Ad Hoc Working Group of the Whole on the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socio-economic Aspects, the International Maritime Organization, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, regional seas conventions and action plans, and, where appropriate, regional fisheries management organizations, with regard to fisheries management, and also including the participation of indigenous and local communities, to facilitate the description of areas that meet the criteria for EBSAs through the organization of additional regional or subregional workshops for the remaining regions or subregions where Parties wish workshops to be held, and for the further description of the areas already described where new information becomes available (decisions XI/17 and XII/22). 4. Pursuant to the above requests and with financial support from the Government of Japan, through the Japan Biodiversity Fund, the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity convened the CBD Regional Workshop to Facilitate the Description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) in the Seas of East Asia. The workshop was organized in collaboration with the Action Plan for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Northwest Pacific Region (NOWPAP). This workshop was hosted by the Government of China (Ministry of Environmental Protection) in Xiamen, China, from 14 to 18 December 2015. It was held immediately following a training session on the description of EBSAs as well as other relevant areas of the CBD's work on marine and coastal biodiversity, convened by the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity, in collaboration with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) of Australia and the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (GOBI), on 13 December at the same venue. 5. Scientific and technical support for this workshop was provided by CSIRO, with financial support from the European Commission. The results of technical preparation for the workshop were made available in a document entitled “Data to Inform the CBD Regional Workshop to Facilitate the Description of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas in the Seas of the East Asia” (UNEP/CBD/EBSA/WS/2015/3/3). 6. The meeting was attended by experts from Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam, East Asian - Australasian Flyway (EAAF) Partnership, Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative (GOBI), NOWPAP, Sustainability Initiative in the Marginal Seas of South and East Asia (SIMSEA), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) - Malaysia, WWF - Hong Kong, and CSIRO (Technical Support Team). Some Parties in the region did not nominate experts, although invited to do so by the Secretariat. The full list of participants is attached as annex I. ITEM 1. OPENING OF THE MEETING 7. On behalf of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China, Mr. Bai Chengshou, Deputy Director-General of the Nature and Ecology Conservation Department, delivered an opening statement. He welcomed the participants, pointing out that the workshop is very important for sharing experiences and implementing decision X/29 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). He said that China, as one of the mega-diverse countries, had put biodiversity conservation high on the national agenda. He stressed that life arose from the oceans and that the future of human beings depended on marine biodiversity. China was very rich in marine biodiversity and had always attached great importance to protection of the marine environment. By the end of 2014, China had established 68 marine protected areas, covering a total area of 7115 km2. Seventeen of them were national-level, covering an area of 5089 km2; 58 special national UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA/20/INF/24 Page 3 marine protected areas had also been established. He also noted that marine biodiversity conservation and healthy marine ecosystems are the common responsibility of the international community, but stressed that further cooperation and actions were needed. He indicated that China would continue to fulfil its obligations and work hard to conserve marine biodiversity. He indicated that China valued and supported the work of the Convention, having previously hosted three regional workshops. He then highlighted that the workshop aimed to provide an interaction and communication platform for marine experts. He expressed his hope that experts gathered for the meeting should take full advantage of the opportunity for in-depth discussion and pool their collective wisdom to promote marine biodiversity conservation and a harmonious relationship between humans and nature towards the realization of the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. In concluding, he wished the participants a successful workshop and thanked the CBD Secretariat and Foreign Economic Cooperation Office of the Ministry of Environmental Protection of China for making this workshop possible. He also thanked the Environmental Protection Department of Fujian Province and the Xiamen Environmental Protection Bureau for their help and support. 8. On behalf of the Fujian Provincial Environmental Protection Department and its Director- General, Mr. Zhu Hua, Mr. Chen Ning extended a warm welcome to all the participants. He then introduced Fujian Province, which covered a total land area of 124,000 km2 and a maritime area of 136,000 km2. It was inhabited by 38 million people, and its GDP totalled 2.4 trillion Yuan in 2014. He noted Fujian’s abundant natural resources, ranking first in terms of forest coverage rate and second in terms of coastline length. Air quality and water quality were among the best of any Chinese city. It was also very rich in biodiversity. He stressed that Fujian Province paid great attention to biodiversity conservation, having carried out a basic survey on natural protected areas, assessed biodiversity and developed a provincial-level biodiversity conservation strategy and action plan for the period of 2014-2030. A total number of 92 protected areas were set up to protect endangered species and ecosystems. Mr. Chen noted that the workshop aimed to strengthen communication and cooperation and that it provided a great opportunity for Fujian Province to learn and to improve its future work in marine and terrestrial biodiversity and ecosystem conservation. Finally, he wished participants a successful workshop, and expressed his hope that Fujian Province left everyone with wonderful memories. 9. On behalf of Mr. Braulio de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, Ms. Jihyun Lee, Environmental Affairs Officer, delivered opening remarks. Mr. Dias welcomed the participants to the 12th regional EBSA workshop convened by the CBD Secretariat. In his