Effective monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) is critical for the success of marine conservation and management. Whereas States have the right to manage the marine resources within their national jurisdiction, the high seas are subject to a complex patchwork of international rules and regulations. As States begin to negotiate a new international agreement concerning areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), there is growing interest in how MCS tools and policies can be applied to this vast global commons.
The STRONG High Seas project aims to strengthen regional ocean governance for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ, including through enhanced MCS tools and policies.
This five-year project is working together with key science and policy actors in the Southeast Pacific and Southeast Atlantic regions to improve regional coordination and provide new lessons and approaches for high seas governance.
This workshop will provide an opportunity to take stock of existing technological tools for MCS in ABNJ, discuss possible future technological developments, and highlight appropriate technological options.
The workshop will feed into ongoing international negotiations on ABNJ, as well as provide regional leaders with the knowledge and options needed for improving MCS in ABNJ.
Whereas this workshop will focus primarily on technology, a second workshop in late 2018 will consider policy options.
In particular, this workshop will highlight:
- Possible needs, gaps, barriers, and challenges for the implementation of MCS technologies in ABNJ
- Options for scaling up technological tools for MCS and increasing their accessibility
- Possible future development pathways for MCS technologies
- Cost-effective options for improving MCS efforts at the regional level in the short- to medium-term, especially in the STRONG High Seas target regions- the Southeast Atlantic (Abidjan Convention) and the Southeast Pacific (Permanent Commission for the South Pacific - CPPS)
- How a new international agreement could contribute to the implementation of technological tools and development of an effective global MCS framework for ABNJ.
