The Conference of the Parties,
Reaffirming decisions X/29, XI/17 and XII/22 on ecologically or biologically significant marine areas,
Reiterating the central role of the General Assembly of the United Nations in addressing issues relating to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity in marine areas beyond national jurisdiction,
1. Welcomes the scientific and technical information contained in the summary reports, as contained in annex I to the present decision, prepared by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at its twentieth meeting and the reports of the regional workshops to facilitate the description of ecologically or biologically significant marine areas held in three regions: North-East Indian Ocean (Colombo, Sri Lanka, 22-27 March 2015); North-West Indian Ocean (Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 19- 25 April 2015); and the Seas of East Asia (Xiamen, China, 13-18 December 2015), and expresses its gratitude to the Government of Japan (through the Japan Biodiversity Fund) and the European Commission for their financial support and to hosting countries and collaborating organizations involved in the organization of the regional workshops referred to above;
2. Requests the Executive Secretary to include the summary reports prepared by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at its twentieth meeting, as contained in annex I to the present decision, in the repository of ecologically or biologically significant marine areas, and to submit the summary reports to the United Nations General Assembly, in particular its Preparatory Committee established by General Assembly resolution 69/292: the Development of an international legally binding instrument under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, as well as Parties, other Governments and relevant international organizations in line with the purpose and procedures set out in decisions X/29, XI/17 and XII/22, and also requests the Executive Secretary to submit the reports to the Ad Hoc Working Group of the Whole on the Regular Process for Global Reporting and Assessment of the State of the Marine Environment, including Socioeconomic Aspects;
3. Reaffirms the sovereignty of coastal States over their territorial sea, as well as their sovereign rights and jurisdiction in the exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, as well as the rights of other States in these areas, in accordance with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, and recognizes that the sharing of the outcomes of the process under the Convention for the description of areas meeting the criteria for ecologically or biologically significant marine areas does not prejudice the sovereignty, sovereign rights or jurisdiction of coastal States, or the rights of other States;
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Annex III
TERMS OF REFERENCE OF AN INFORMAL ADVISORY GROUP ON ECOLOGICALLY OR BIOLOGICALLY SIGNIFICANT MARINE AREAS
I. MANDATE
1. The informal advisory group shall, in providing scientific and technical advice to the Executive Secretary, have the following objectives:
(a) Provide scientific and technical advice on matters relating to revising and further developing existing scientific guidance, particularly regarding information collection, protocol for data quality control and sharing, gap analysis, systematic assessment against the EBSA criteria, and improvement of the functionality of the EBSA repository;
(b) Provide scientific and technical advice regarding the need for additional workshops at the appropriate scale, based on the analysis of new information and a representativeness analysis with regard to the geographic coverage beyond national jurisdiction as well as coverage of ecological and biological features of existing areas meeting the EBSA criteria in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
II. COMPOSITION
2. The Executive Secretary, in consultation with the Bureau of the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice, will select scientific and technical experts from the nominations submitted by Parties, other Governments and relevant organizations, including indigenous peoples and local communities. The informal advisory group shall comprise up to 30 experts who are competent in the relevant field of expertise, with no more than 20 selected from a roster developed on the basis of nominations from Parties, with due regard to geographical representation, to gender balance and to the special conditions of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, small island developing States, and countries with economies in transition, as well as a limited number of experts nominated by other Governments and by relevant organizations, depending on the subject matter.
3. The informal advisory group is established for a two-year period, and may be renewed by a decision of the Conference of the Parties. The members of the advisory group shall be selected for two-year period. Changes in the membership should not affect the continuity of the work of the advisory group.
4. The informal advisory group may also draw on existing expertise and liaise with relevant international, regional and national organizations, as appropriate, in the execution of its mandate.
III. OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES
5. The Secretariat will use available means of electronic communication to reduce the requirement for faceto-face meetings. Subject to the availability of financial resources, the informal advisory group will meet as needed to ensure timely provision of advice, and will, wherever possible, meet back-to-back with other relevant meetings.
6. The results of the activities outlined above by the informal advisory group shall be submitted, after peerreview, as appropriate, for consideration by the Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice at a future meeting held prior to a future meeting of the Conference of the Parties.
