Project
Photo: Alejandro Balaguer / Fundación Albatros MediaVictory: Panama Bay is Legally Protected
Panama Bay, one of the world’s most important nesting and roosting sites for migratory birds, is now permanently protected, thanks in part to AIDA’s expertise in international law.
The bay supports endangered species, including jaguars and loggerhead turtles, as well as the vast majority of the country’s fishing industry. Its coastal mangroves capture 50 times more carbon pollution than a tropical forest of similar size. Mangroves also protect coastal communities from storm surges that grow in severity as the climate warms. Panama has already lost 75 percent of its mangroves.
In 2012 tourism developers had secured a Supreme Court decision overturning the National Environmental Authority’s decision to protect the bay as a wildlife refuge.
AIDA worked with the Environmental Advocacy Center (CIAM), a Panamanian environmental law organization, to defend Panama Bay’s protected status. We submitted a brief containing arguments based on international law. We made analogies between Panama Bay and Las Baulas National Marine Park in Costa Rica. In a legal case about Las Baulas, a balancing test found that the public right to a healthy environment outweighed the interests of tourism developers.
Then, on February 2, 2015—World Wetlands Day—Panama passed a law creating Panama Bay Wetland Wildlife Refuge. The law emphasizes the importance of an ecosystem approach to management and the rational use of wetlands, as described in the Ramsar Convention.
AIDA and CIAM will continue working to see that the law is implemented properly and to ensure the protection of Panama Bay wetlands.
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In March 2023, world leaders and stakeholders across sectors will gather in New York for the UN Water Conference, dedicated to address the global water crisis. From countless experiences of people around the globe, and supported by substantial scientific evidence, it is obvious that major changes are needed in the way we share and care for water. In the decades since the last UN Water Conference in 1977, water sources have been further exploited and polluted for the economic gains of a few. As a result, ecosystems have deteriorated and the majority of the world’s people have been left with too little and unsafe water to rely on.The Transformative Water Pact (TWP) was launched at the 2023 Conference and has been developed in response to the continued exploitation of nature, neglect of human rights and the extreme power-imbalances that characterize contemporary water governance throughout the world. It details an alternative vision of water governance based on the tenets of environmental justice, equality and care. The TWP spans two sections of key principles and a framework for action, that provide anchor-points and strategic priorities to guide decision-making for transformative change in water governance.The TWP was initiated by the Dutch environmental justice organization Both ENDS and the international water knowledge institute IHE-Delft. It was developed and authored by a diverse group of 40+ environmental justice advocates from civil society and academia, notably from the Global South, who work extensively on water-related issues throughout the world. It’s content was defined through a process of online round-tables and writing from December 2022 to February 2023. The TWP is a living document that can serve as a basis for further discussion and refinement.The TWP can be endorsed by any actor that supports the transformative principals and is committed to implementing the framework of action within their own area of expertise and sphere of influence, including Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), policy-makers, academics, private sector actors, community groups and governmental organizations. Download the document
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"Our ocean, our connection." That was the theme of the eighth Our Ocean Conference, held March 2-3 in Panama, the first Latin American country to host the annual event. The conference began in 2014 as an initiative of the U.S. State Department to draw international attention to the serious global threats to the ocean and to secure to concrete commitments for marine conservation and sustainable development. The event brought together heads of state and representatives of the private sector, civil society and academic institutions under the specific objective of highlighting the urgency of implementing effective area-based management measures as part of interconnected systems including marine protected areas, the development of a global blue economy, and approaching innovative solutions to marine pollution. An AIDA delegation attended the conference and participated in the plenary sessions and side events. The following is a summary of the event. The inspiring The focus of the conference Our Ocean is not a space for sharing knowledge about this vast ecosystem and its biodiversity. The environmental community already knows for certain that the ocean must be effectively protected as soon as possible and that there is no need to present further evidence of the multiple services it has provided to humanity for centuries. The conference brought together leaders and ministers to advance international agreements and pressure nations to commit to taking the necessary steps to protect the ocean. The power of a generation The voice of youth was prominent throughout the conference, represented for example by more than 70 members of the Sustainable Ocean Alliance (SOA), which since 2014 has built the world's largest network of new generations of people working to create solutions to the ocean's greatest challenges. Hearing youth leaders speak passionately about the importance of caring for the planet for generations to come was encouraging. As the youngest member of AIDA, I found inspiration in meeting other young people advocating for the ocean and its biodiversity. In my daily work I’m surrounded by news and numbers about the damage humanity has caused to the ocean and being part of this conference helped me see the other side of the coin. Those of us who are actively working for a healthier, cleaner and more protected ocean are part of the change and, in large part, it is thanks to us that high officials have stopped to look at the evidence and take concrete action. It is this generation that will inherit the management of the ecological crisis, whose voice deserves to be reflected in commitments to improve the way we relate to the ocean. The positive Support for seabed defense AIDA co-hosted a side event on deep-sea mining with the not-so-simple task of bringing together decision-makers to support a moratorium on deep-sea mining and seabed protection. Thanks to the impetus of a group of co-organizers—including young people from Comms Inc, The Oxygen Project, Only One and SOA—Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. and Fiji Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka attended the event. High-level representatives from Latin American and European countries also attended. It was a space for dialogue between civil society and invited authorities that resulted in encouraging commitments, including France's commitment (seconded by Germany) to invest in scientific research of the seabed and to stop investments in industrial processes related to deep-sea mining. World-renowned oceanographer Sylvia Earle touched the audience with her love for the ocean and her undying commitment to its protection. Those who attended reaffirmed their commitment to the moratorium and the search for alternatives. Commitments to marine biodiversity Overall, the conference provided a unique platform for several nations to make valuable commitments. Participating government delegations made 341 commitments worth nearly $20 billion, including funds to expand and enhance marine protected areas and biodiversity corridors. In Latin America, Panama announced the expansion of Banco Volcán, a marine reserve in the Caribbean, from 14,212 to 93,000 square kilometers. With this, Panama will be protecting 54 percent of its exclusive economic zone, meeting the goal of protecting 30 percent of its territory by 2030. And Ecuador committed to protecting its first eighty nautical miles (14,800 square kilometers), allowing for only artisanal fishing. This decision positions Ecuador as a Latin American leader in marine conservation and sustainable natural resource management. Ecuador called on the other countries that make up the Pacific Marine Corridor—Costa Rica, Panama and Colombia—to take similar measures to preserve one of the most biodiverse spaces in the ocean. What's next? Nations are now expected to comply with their announced commitments. In the region, Panama and Ecuador must expand their protected territories, ensuring the adequate monitoring of biodiversity and the sustainable management of resources. Similarly, it is expected that the countries of the Pacific, Latin America and the European Union that have declared their support for halting deep-sea mining will continue with actions consistent with that position, including active participation in meetings of the Seabed Authority, supporting the moratorium or precautionary pause on extractive activity. While there is certainly a long way to go, each decision announced at the conference in favor of preserving marine biodiversity provides some hope and motivation for our work. We will continue to collaborate with governments and communities to preserve the ocean, the planet's largest and most diverse ecosystem.
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New Treaty agreed to protect half the planet but formal adoption still required. Late this evening governments meeting at the United Nations in New York reached agreement on key substantive issues for a new treaty to protect high seas marine life. To ensure this hard won progress is not lost, The High Seas Alliance is calling for the UN to conclude the formalities of adoption as soon as possible in the final resumed session. "Following a two week long rollercoaster ride of negotiations and super-hero efforts in the last 48 hours, governments reached agreement on key issues that will advance protection and better management of marine biodiversity in the high seas," said Rebecca Hubbard, Director of the High Seas Alliance. The high seas, the area of ocean that lies beyond countries’ national waters, is the largest habitat on Earth and home to millions of species. With currently just over 1% of the high seas protected, the new treaty will provide a pathway to establish marine protected areas in these waters. It is also a key tool to help deliver the recently agreed Kunming-Montreal target of at least 30% protection of the world’s ocean by 2030 that was just agreed in December- the minimum level of protection scientists warn is necessary to ensure a healthy ocean. But time is of the essence. The new Treaty will bring ocean governance into the 21st century, including establishing modern requirements to assess and manage planned human activities that would affect marine life in the high seas as well as ensuring greater transparency. This will greatly strengthen the effective area-based management of fishing, shipping and other activities that have contributed to the overall decline in ocean health. The issue of sufficient financing to fund the implementation of the treaty, as well as equity issues surrounding the sharing of benefits from marine genetic resources was one of the key sticking points between North and South throughout the meeting. However, right up to the final hours of the meeting, governments were able to land an agreement that provided for equitable sharing of these benefits from the deep sea and high seas. "It’s been a very long journey to get to a treaty. We will be looking to the 52 states that make up the High Ambition Coalition to lead the charge to adopt, ratify and identify important high seas areas to protect," said Hubbard. High Seas Alliance Member Quotes Gladys Martínez de Lemos, Executive Director, Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA): "Governments have taken an important step that strengthens the legal protection of two-thirds of the ocean and with it marine biodiversity, the livelihoods of coastal communities and global food sovereignty. The agreement sets out a path for establishing areas of high and full protection on the High Seas, as well as for the environmental assessment of projects and activities that may harm this vast area." Laura Meller, oceans campaigner, Greenpeace Nordic: "This is a historic day for conservation and a sign that in a divided world, protecting nature and people can triumph over geopolitics. We praise countries for seeking compromises, putting aside differences and delivering a treaty that will let us protect the oceans, build our resilience to climate change and safeguard the lives and livelihoods of billions of people. We can now finally move from talk to real change at sea. Countries must formally adopt the treaty and ratify it as quickly as possible to bring it into force, and then deliver the fully protected ocean sanctuaries our planet needs. The clock is still ticking to deliver 30x30. We have half a decade left, and we can’t be complacent." Matthew Collis, Deputy Vice President for Policy, IFAW: "The agreement of a new Treaty to conserve the high seas is a wonderful way to celebrate World Wildlife Day for ocean animals and their high seas homes. IFAW congratulates governments on this significant step, which charts a course to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. To achieve 30x30, governments must now adopt, ratify and implement the new Treaty without delay." Minna Epps, Director of Global Marine and Polar Programme, IUCN: "The High Seas Treaty opens the path for humankind to finally provide protection to marine life across our one ocean. Its adoption closes essential gaps in international law and offers a framework for governments to work together to protect global ocean heath, climate resilience, and the socioeconomic wellbeing and food security of billions of people." Lance Morgan, President, Marine Conservation Institute: "Coming on the heels of the Global Biodiversity Framework, this historic agreement is a huge step towards ensuring marine protected areas in the High Seas and reaching 30x30." Lisa Speer, Director of the International Ocean program, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): "This text provides the basis for protecting key biodiversity hotspots in the high seas. We now have a pathway to achieve the goal of meaningfully protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030, a goal that scientists tell us is crucial to maintaining ocean health in the face of ocean warming, acidification and other impacts of climate change. Now let’s get started." Fabienne McLellan, Managing Director, OceanCare: "This Treaty will be the game-changer the ocean urgently needs. We particularly welcome the conservation focused elements, such as environmental impact assessments. EIAs are one of the most effective and important mechanisms to prevent, mitigate and manage harmful activities in cases where there is severe harm to marine life through, for instance, underwater noise pollution. While we advocated for more ambition in the EIA provisions, these requirements will nevertheless strengthen ocean conservation." Susanna Fuller, VP Conservation and Projects, Oceans North: "Following the Kunming Montreal Agreement, which sets out a global path for biodiversity protection, this treaty will bring a similar ambition to the high seas. Because Canada’s waters are bounded by three international ocean basins, it has an outsized role in ensuring that the treaty is fully implemented, once formally adopted." Liz Karan, Director of Ocean Governance project, Pew: "The effective implementation of this landmark treaty is the only pathway to safeguard high seas biodiversity for generations to come and provides a pathway for nations to fulfill the 30 by 30 target. Governments and civil society must now ensure that the agreement is adopted and rapidly enters into force." Christopher Chin, Executive Director, The Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education (COARE): "With this finalized text, the world is now one great step closer to embracing the importance of the High Seas, and to achieving the 30x30 objectives. Once adopted, however, member States must still ratify the treaty, and we call upon them to do so swiftly." Andrew Deutz, Director of Global Policy, Institutions & Conservation Finance, The Nature Conservancy: "While the treaty leaves room for improvement, we should nevertheless celebrate the fact that –after more than a decade of discussions and three concerted attempts to wrestle it across the line – we finally have a global framework in place for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity for almost half of our planet’s surface. Whether this has arrived in time to slow the accelerating ecological crisis happening in our ocean will depend on how quickly countries can ratify the treaty at national level and start mainstreaming ambitions like 30x30 into both their own decision-making, and that of the global bodies which manage human activity on the high seas. If they can do so swiftly, putting people and planet above politics, we may yet have a chance to move beyond the damaging status quo and into a new era of nature-positive stewardship for this most critical of ecosystems." Farah Obaidullah, Ocean Advocate and Founder, Women4Oceans: "This is an historic moment for humanity and for the protection of all living beings in our global ocean. A rare and welcome moment of hope for all of us rightfully concerned with the state of the world. Almost half our planet will now have a chance of some sort of protection from the ever-increasing onslaughts to the ocean. This treaty comes not a moment too soon. With the climate and global wildlife crises worsening and a reckless new industry of deep-sea mining on the horizon, we cannot afford any delays in putting this treaty into force." Press contacts: Patricia Roy (EU), +34 696 905 907 Michael Crocker (US), +1 (207) 522-1366 Mirella von Lindenfels, + 44 7717 844 352 Julio Whalen-Valeriano (UN), +1 (850) 292-4689
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